
Hampshire Constabulary plans to axe 1,400 posts – 20% of its workforce – including police officers.
Forces are facing government cuts of 25%, with Hampshire reducing its budget by £70m (25%) over the next four years.
The job losses will see redundancies, positions left unfilled, redeployments and voluntary redundancies.
Staff and unions will discuss the plans which will go to the police authority. The police federation said it was a return to the “dark days of policing”.
The force, which employs about 6,700 staff, also plans to share and sell buildings and increase collaboration with other forces, especially Thames Valley.
Chief Constable Alex Marshall said: “I know all our staff join the constabulary to do the best job they can and that the changes ahead will be difficult for everyone.
“This uncertainty is unsettling and there is a human story and personal consequence every time someone leaves.”
No details have been released on the specific number of officers, police community support officers (PCSOs) and staff who face the axe.
Chief Constable Marshall added: “The funding will be similar to what we received in 1997.
“We managed then and, despite the new responsibilities placed upon us in the intervening 13 years, we will manage now.”
The plan would see the force restructured with locally-based PCSOs, police officers, special constables and police staff working to a local policing area based around council boundaries.
John Apter, chair of Hampshire Police Federation, said: “The staff, both officers and staff, have known for several weeks things look very bleak for the future.
“We have been saying that the dark days of policing will come and I am afraid that they have arrived.
“These cuts will have a massive impact on policing, especially on visibility.”
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