Warwickshire Police Force is undertaking massive restructuring to
try to claw back a £4.3 million budget shortfall and it might even lose its imposing
headquarters at Leek Wootton.
The county is now to be policed through two areas – north and south, instead of
the previous four. Nuneaton, Bedworth and Rugby in the north are to be merged and their
headquarters will be at Bedworth. Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon will merge with
headquarters at Leamington Spa.
A spokesman said:
"The areas will have sector policing. There will be seven sectors in the north and
six in the south. The sectors will be under the operational command of an inspector."
Warwickshire, the second smallest police force in the country after the City of London
force, was among the first to introduce community beat policing and sector policing is
considered to be an extension of that.
The new system takes twenty-two officers back to front line duties.
But
Andrew Timpson, Warwickshire’s Chief Constable has warned the Home Office that he
will not have the budget to police the Birmingham North Relief Road, work on which is due
to start this year. He says he will have to carefully examine the cost of any large-scale
operations if the Sheriff asks for police assistance in evicting road protestors.
The Chief Constable has launched a project to look at all capital resources to
investigate whether they are being used to full effect. Even the magnificently picturesque
force headquarters near Kenilworth will be assessed, but the police spokesman said:
