Police must face ‘hard choices’ as challenges increase
Mr Roussos, who said “all hell broke loose” at the arena after the bomb, was later told by a police detective that Saffie had died. He described his wife, who is still recovering from her injuries, as “like a soldier” fighting her way back to health.
After the bombing, a mass of floral bouquets, balloons and flowers were left outside the fish and chip shop which is run by Mr Roussos in Leyland. A TOP police officer has warned of “hard choices” ahead for forces amid considerable challenges such as the terrorism threat and rising cyber crime.
David Thompson, strategic firearms lead for the National Police Chiefs Council and the chief constable of West Midlands Police, said funding pressures meant his own force might have to cut neighbourhood policing and could struggle to fully implement new guidance on missing persons cases.
He warned the public might have to “wait a bit longer” for police to respond to non-urgent calls.
The chief constable said that amid the current tempo of counter-terrorism operations, just having to “manage the day job” had created “stretch”.
He added that despite the General Election result, “the challenges around Brexit” could make any conversation about money “more complex”.
Mr Thompson said he wanted “a straightforward conversation with Government”, adding “we have an apolitical responsibility to comment on where the system is”.
The chief constable of West Midlands Police said his own force had a “flat-cash” annual settlement until 2020, which was a cut in real terms.
He added police faced “considerable challenges”, like tackling terrorism, a rise in cyber crime – including the recent crippling attack on the NHS – but with the same amount of cash.
The top officer said that the solution was not a “bag of money”, but that “there has to be a debate around funding of local policing”.
He added: “We’ll make a strong submission to the Home Office in the summer over funding.”
Mr Thompson was speaking at a meeting of the regional police and crime board on Tuesday, when he was asked if “dialling down” police services was a serious proposition.