Front-line policing on the streets of Shropshire will be ‘retained’ despite huge budget cuts facing the force, the county’s top police officer said today.

West Mercia Police faces cuts of £5 million for the next year, but Superintendent James Tozer said the front-line staff would still maintain a visible presence on Shropshire’s streets.A

And the commander of the Shropshire Territorial Policing Unit warned that more people could be forced into crime if the economic downturn continued.

Mr Tozer said that the full effects of the economic downturn would be felt in the coming 12 months and that there was a possibility it could make more people turn to crime.

He said his previous experience of the recession in 1992 meant he was alert to the issue, and he said his force was more than capable of dealing with it, despite West Mercia Police facing cuts of £5million in its budgets for the coming year.

Mr Tozer said a sharp rise in house burglary across Shropshire in November, particularly in Shrewsbury, had now been dealt with effectively and work was also being carried out in communities to lower rates of anti-social behaviour.

“Throughout the coming year there is likely to be an increased pressure on us from the economic downturn which will inevitably push some people into chaos and into crime that they wouldn’t have necessarily been involved with before,” he said.

“I joined the police during the last recession in 1992 and I can recall there was a much higher crime rate then than there is now. Things like inquisitive crime (for personal gain) is something that will be under great pressure this year but we are alert to it and are closing down these avenues.”

Superintendent Tozer said technology could help mitigate the effects of budget cuts and keep a visible police presence on the streets, by plotting officers in the areas which are busy.

He added: “We have a resourcing issue and a funding gap but I would like to reassure people that frontline policing will be retained, although it won’t be in exactly the same format.

“There are different ways of doing things and it may well be that some people have to multi-task more and learn in different ways.

“I think it’s really important, as any force would, that we stay on top of violent and sexual crimes and there has already been some great work done in reducing this.”

By David Seadon