Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Whilst I know that in general, Traffic Cops are not the most popular it is without doubt the case that we have a very important role to play in road safety.

The UK homicide rate is around 750 per year, road fatalities account for around 3000 deaths per year.

And yet, GMP have just announced that as part of the Government savings, the Traffic unit is to loose 44% of the front line Cops. And I mean the lads and lasses out there on the roads in traffic cars, doing a job. We will be cut from 180 to just 100 and one of the three units will be shut. That will leave one base at Leigh and one in Wythenshaw. The numbers will be split amongst five shifts.

This is on the same day that the number of response officers on each division is cut from around twenty to just ten per shift. Just ten. Take out court, courses, leave, sickness, training etc and each shift will probably parade six or seven cops to answer all the 999 calls, fights, burglaries, domestics and so on. Each group of ten will be responsible for a whole division, so each council area in Manchester. Have a look on the map and you decide if that's enough;

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...nker51/map.jpg



So we have the Government saying there will be no reduction in front line Policing, the Force saying the same and yet the clear fact is, when you crash your car or your neighbour is breaking his wife's face and you dial 999, you will be waiting a long time.

I am in a very lucky position at the moment that as a cop, I can't be made redundant, so I will be paid every month, but how is reducing front line staff going to save millions?

There are 250 civilian staff loosing their jobs too, Manchester Evening News

I have no idea what I'll be doing in the coming months, the announcement was made today, but the names of who is going won't be announced for another week. That, to me is a really poor piece of management, keeping us hanging on like that.

So, a week of wondering, worrying and nerves.

Pete :(

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

scary just scary
sit and watch the crime figure rise expenitally

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Pete, it's ridiculous. I really cannot fathom what those with the shiny bits on their shoulders are thinking at the moment whilst sat in their ivory towers.

The effects of the budget cuts have not yet been announced here. I would imagine though, that we are about to see similar. Although, I believe from the recent media reports, that the wheels are in motion for an amalgamated Scottish Police Force - purely in order to save money.

But it's ok, cos if we cut the numbers of response, traffic and CID - ie the front line jobs, everything will be fine.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

be thankfull ur not in the military.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Utterly disgraceful.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Unfortunately the crim's in your part of the world will be rubbing their hands with glee, knowing full well that there's going to be less of you guys about.

As I keep hearing in my lot we have to do the 'Same with less' or 'More for less', just how is that possible? Still trying to do all the same jobs but with less staff, sorry something falls off the end, always.

What about all the other jobs that will go, drugs squad, anti paedophile units etc.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

It's also false economy, now there will be no preventative policing, just clear up.
Traffic offences as you know Pete have sometimes got other things involved like drugs, illegal immigration, outstanding warrants etc, so who is gonna detect these now?

Hope it works out for all of you, cutting frontline services of anything will come back to bite them on the jacksy.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

The speed cameras of course.

And the govt now wants to appoint local police commissioners - elected, so the turnout will be negligible - so when the crime rate starts to increase and the unresolved rate increases faster still, the govt can blame the commissioners for making the wrong decisions.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

First dibs on your bike, Pete.
Seriously, all the best with The Job.
I'm sure a lot of the cuts being made are a deliberate attempt to have maximum impact on the employees & Joe Public and that a lot of the ' non-jobs ' are left unscathed.
Sometimes wish I was cynical.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

That is the ****est news Pete.
Hope your job is safe.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

We've got speed cameras, and highways agency wombles, what do we need traffic cops for? :rolleyes:

I reckon I've not been stopped by the police in half a million miles. I'm on the road twice as much as your average motorist and my habitual motorway speed has a nine and a zero in it. 069 miles per hours perhaps? I'll let you figure it out. I never see a traffic cop. What's to deter me from driving 2 miles home from the pub pi$$ed as a pirate, other than my own common sense? Nothing, 'cos I'm not going to get caught.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

I'd pay extra tax if the government promised me there would be a traffic cop every 50 miles, who would be focussed on tailgaiting, undertaking, road rage, educating drivers in lane discipline, etc, etc, etc

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Shocking news Pete.

I'm quite sure there'll still be some jobsworth c*** happy to hand out a massive fine to honest folk for battering a burglar because the nearest copper was busy filling a form in on other side of country though :rolleyes:

Keep meaning to ask this, can those gimps actually stop you for anything or what?

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Truck driver friend said a VOSA person can stop you but no one else except a copper.

Might be a truck thing though.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Totally wrong! The vital emergency services are the things that our government should be putting more money aside for rather than cutting it. Doing what their doing is like shooting yourself in the foot for England! It's going to have massive ramifications and when that happens what will we do?

Most constabularies are not recruiting in the UK which means that when the top end of the force retire who is going to come in at the bottom to take their place? ..... No one will! It's shocking!

This country is going to deteriorate quickly the way that this government is going!

(beginning to wish i'd voted otherwise....)

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Because it's all this governments fault, and if the other lot had got in we'd have been able to double the number of coppers........ Until we totally ran out of money.

Edit: Sorry bluepete, it must be sh1tty to be told this and have to wait. And I don't agree with reducing police numbers. It just winds me up when it all gets blamed on 'the new lot' when it would have been the same either way.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Agreed Tommy, judge everything thats happening right now on the the previous government, cos they got us in the mess in the first place.
The tories have never taken over with the economy in reasonable shape, its always been in the mire.
Some tough times ahead for everybody, but rest assured, it would be a lot worse if labour wouldve stayed in power.
I firmly believe the tories will get us out of this mess by having the balls to make tough decisions, problem is they will upset the average person doing it then come general election time will probably vote labour back in and the whole process will start again.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Bad times pete :( as much as I hate having the police driving behind me (its like being on a test!) no one can deny that the role of the traffic police is essential... watch road cops, the amount of numpties who pull over in stupid locations on the motorways that would be dead if the police hadnt pulled over and moved them on :(...

Gov will realise in a year or two's time that they have made a mistake (like the PCSO program) but by then those road death stats will have rocketed.

hope you get good news back tho and if you ever pull me over ;) a clip round the ear will do thanks very much!

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Just remember.We are all in this together so everyone has to take their fair share of the cuts.And if that means they are cutting back on frontline policing you can all rest assured that senior police officers and managers will be facing even greater cuts and job losses.Same goes for senior managers and political leaders up and down the country.Even the bankers are having to go without their massive pay packages and bonuses.

ERRRRR Hang on a minute.None of that is strictly true is it?What a surprise.
It must be Gordon Brown's fault though surely?

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

As the govt is pricing fuel out of most peoples' reach, except for 'corprit' drivers and the rich, there will be far fewer cars and so less need for traffic officers:rolleyes:

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Very true.
Is anyone actually surprised though ? I mean the place is going to the dogs in general is'nt ? and as usual the crims will have all the advantages and the man in the street will still be getting **** on, same **** different govt.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

To be fair though... Police can't be made redundant... so surely this cut of 80 traffic cops means that those 80 people will just be redistributed to other front line duties, like walking the streets, which surely isn't a bad thing?

Gutted for you if you loose your current role though as it is an awesome job.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Yep, I agree, it'll be nice to have a "Bobby on the beat" again. However, read the OP about how many there will be. Ten per division.

That ain't good.

I popped in to work today, I've never seen so many glum buggers!

Pete

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

bobby on the beat again , pete come on you know as well as me that most will be stuck in admin jobs to deal with paperwork that the civiys used to do or other pointless b0llocks

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

X5 to Magnums... :( I would be pretty glum too.

You've just been through expensive Motorcycle training, which surely only a small % of traffic officers have. Hopefully the more strings you have to you bow, then the safe you are :(

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Fraid I have to agree with DP, all the civiy jobs will still have to be done

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

No they won't.

The job has become a culture of recording vast amounts of data, reproducing that data, checking that data, then sending it back to the originator (A bobby on the beat) who has to verify the data again. If anything is not correct, the whole process starts again.

My job, I assumed, was to lock up bad guys.

Now, and I'm not kidding, I am expected to submit intell entries over and above arresting scum. Where did we go wrong?

Each and every time we get a new idea to reduce paperwork, we have to fill in more forms and do more writing (read; justification of what we did, why we did it, why we didn't do something else, what we thought of doing and why we did what we did, instead of what we thought we might do)

It's all a back covering exercise. A "just in case" attitude backed up by a vast office staff of people who have no knowlege of the job, telling those at the front line how to do the lastest Governmet idea!

Pete ;)

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

look on the bright side your only being restructed with no redundancy at present were losing 8000 in the army alone over the next 3 years, we kinda lost our navy and the air force may aswell fly a microlight as its just as capable as that euro fighter trash and to top it off our operational requirement have now gone from 30 months between tours to 18 months in to be honest a country we should nt even be in.

Now they are slashing police, they probebly gonna start charging the fire brigade for water usage next :)

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Pete I'm not really clear what's gong to happen to all the redeployed officers. Please can you explain - will they be doing all this crass paperwork, or what? I thought the civvies would get the heave-ho, and officers made to backfill?

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

My thoughts too as if you can't make police redundant, then the civvies will have to make space for the redeployed officers.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Yes, that's what meant, the Bobbies will be doing the civies jobs, doing the paperwork, instead of being out and about?

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

As I said elsewhere, the govt is making fuel so expensive that there won't be any cars left on the road. I heard David 'I Went To Eton So What The Hell Do I Know Or Care' Cameron on Radio 4 the other day saying how concerned he was that people have to spend £70 in filling up a family car, 'nothing flash just a normal family car' and 'we're looking at that' - yes, looking at it but doing F all. And £70? Get real, £80 - £85. Oh and some Nectar points:rolleyes:

Very fed up and pi$$ed off today.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Problem is, there are a large number of officers retiring every year, but no new officers being recruited, meaning that the number of posts IS actually getting reduced through natural wastage so it doesn't necessarily(or likely) mean more cops on the street.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Pete

Hope you remain in traffic and your position is safe. I have plenty to say about the job but if I do I fear I wont shut up.

I would love to have 10 on shift but since the Government is all into cuts I think this is going to be a criminals world. We run on average 3-4 on shift, with cuts and wastage I could be parading alone in 5 years LOL

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Yep, time to get a stripey shirt & swag bag I'm afraid :(

No news about the cuts in Suffolk, but I'm sure they'll be just as deep.

In our lot two thirds of the equivilant of your Inspector grade posts are going in one region, these will be put in a redeployment pool, but if they don't find a new post, they'll be made redundant. :(

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Nail on the head here. Probably the reason why I often wonder what I'm doing with my life/career as the job really isn't what it looks like from the outside. Unfortunately, its not a good time to move and I should be grateful that I have a secure and reliable income.

Our force is also restructuring and has 3rd parties running all of the civilian posts. As this is relatively recent, the police which are currently in those roles are being redeployed so if you wanted that job in a crime team, some shiny pants in a back office has just taken it.

I know we are getting rid of all 30+ officers, PCSOs are being scaled down with wage cuts through shift allowances and there are rumours of CID being civilianised.

I think in the next 5 years there will be so much change that they will be unrecognisable from what they are now.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

It was inevitable as a corporation no? they want you to make money not help people or fight crime and the cameras are doing that job.
Rob you say CID will be civilianised are the police not classed as civvies then i thought it was just the army that gave up their civil rights.

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

No, we are not classed as civvies as for a start we hold the office of constable and secondly, we are a "servant" to Madge

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

You will find alot of councils wre reducing cameras. I know where I work they are getting rid of cameras soon. 24/7 operators costs and the cost of new installments (£50k to just put them in the ground let alone pay for one camera) has dictated that in the government reductions.

Whayyy another great way to allow the crims to run the world.

Reduce police and cameras that bring some to justice ..... glad I dont have kids as the future looks bright ........... NOT

Re: Traffic Police cut in Manchester
 

Cameras... justice? Woot?

Nicking motorists for 31mph is one of those things where I'd apply the "f*** off and catch some real criminals" logic.