WHITEHAVEN police station could close if proposed cuts to the county force’s budget go ahead, a senior officer has warned.

Among the other “devastating” hits that the community may suffer, according to the area’s commander Superintendent Gary Slater, if a further £26million of cuts are imposed, include:

- experienced officers leaving the force

- the removal of the police community support officer (PCSO) position

- and the end of the police’s problem-solving/community role.

Supt Slater says that the cuts being faced – £26million by 2020 on top of £20million already saved – are the worst he and colleagues have faced in his 26-year career.

He said: “The public have to realise that the police’s core role is to protect the public from harm, and the cuts being proposed will seriously hamper our ability to do that.”

Supt Slater was speaking to The Whitehaven News in the week that the force’s chief constable Jerry Graham revealed that the cuts could reduce Cumbria Police to a response-only unit.

Mr Graham said that the reduction in the number of officers to around 600 – having been at 1,274 in 2009 – could result in a rise in crime, the end of the neighbourhood policing setup, and officers having to prioritise which offences to attend.

Departments such as roads policing, dogs handling and organised crime squads could also fall under the spotlight for potential savings.

Supt Slater, who was born and bred in Whitehaven, said: “I’m not pre-empting any decisions, but it doesn’t take a genius to work out that things will change drastically – and not for the better.

“Good, experienced officers are already leaving the force because they feel they can’t do the job they signed up to do – protecting the public, their families and the communities they live in. Then look at where we are going to be; this is going to get way worse.

“With the policing levels we are talking about, officers will feel they are not as safe or as protected as they should be.”

On Whitehaven police station, Supt Slater says he “will fight tooth and nail” to retain it. However, he admits that if the figures dictate that West Cumbria is to have only one operating base, it would be Workington’s station that would survive. “If there’s no staff in Whitehaven, how could we justify keeping it open?”

Police officers cannot be made redundant so cuts on this scale are likely to come from different sources, including civilian staff redundancies, and officers not being replaced when they leave the force.

“PCSOs are also at substantial risk, which is disgraceful,” Supt Slater added. “We have 95 in the county – around a third of them in the west – and they cost £3million a year. Can we afford to keep them now?”

Supt Slater added that the reduced force will have to apply “brutal criteria” to decide which calls they can respond to. “We currently attend every burglary, for example, but there’s no way that could continue. It would likely be top-end offences only.

“There would also be no routine, preventative patrols, and our award-winning community partnership working – with pubs and local authorities – would cease to exist.

“We’ve always punched above our weight as a police force and adapted to changes, but it’s now not sustainable. We will always do our level best, but the force that we might end up being in the future goes against everything that we stand for.”

The force could launch legal action against the government over the cuts, adding it “would consider all options available” if the proposed figures do not improve at the end of the current consultation on October 30.

It is understood this could involve seeking a judicial review, where a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision by a public body.

Mr Graham said: “We are doing everything possible to ensure the government is aware of our significant concerns if these proposed cuts were to take place. We will await the outcome of this consultation process with great interest.

“If the proposed figures do not improve, we would consider all options available to us at that time.”

And the head of Cumbria’s main police union says officers are in “utter shock” at the scale of the cuts.

Martin Plummer, chairman of Cumbria Police Federation, said: “The rank and file of Cumbria Constabulary in the light of this latest implication is in utter shock and complete dismay.

“The bottom line is these police officers in Cumbria now are seriously reviewing their position and their careers and looking elsewhere.

“This is because being a police officer in Cumbria, with these cuts, is not a viable option.”