Unpaid police staff increase

POLICE jobs are being filled by unpaid volunteers as forces cope with spending cuts, a report claims.

Over 6,000 police support volunteers were in use across England and Wales last year – a 15% rise on three years before, Unison found in a Freedom of Information request.

Paid staff fell by 4,177, from 80,749 to 76,572, over a similar time – a 5% drop.

Dave Prentis of Unison said: “Volunteers shouldn’t be used as a replacement for highly trained staff.”