HULL'S most senior police officer has said budget cuts are creating the "perfect storm" for crime to rise.
Chief Superintendent Keith Hunter, divisional commander for the city, said a combination of rising unemployment and cuts to the police are putting pressure on the force.
He said vehicle crime, shoplifting and burglary have already begun to rise as people struggle to make ends meet.
As previously reported, the Government has slashed Humberside Police's �186 million budget by �30 million.
In an exclusive interview with the Mail, Mr Hunter criticised the Government for asking the force to implement cuts of 20 per cent over two years.
He said: "It creates a perfect storm – people are being made redundant, unemployment is going up, offenders aren't going to prison for as long and the probation service has been slashed.
"The police service is being cut so our ability to catch people and lock them up is affected. People can make their own judgement about what is likely to happen because of that."
A recent report for Humberside Police Authority revealed 331 police officers' jobs would no longer exist by the end of the 2014-15 financial year, which represents a 17 per cent drop in officer numbers.
Mr Hunter said it is "impossible" for the force to cut 20 per cent of its budget in just two years without it affecting the frontline.
He said: "The Government wants the majority of 20 per cent savings to be delivered within two years.
"It is impossible for forces to do that without affecting frontline delivery and operational capability.
"More than 80 per cent of our budget is on people, so logic tells you, to deliver 20 per cent savings, a lot of that has to be on people.
"The reason for asking for the savings over two years is purely political. It gets the pain out of the way, with space before the next general election.
"The police service is being damaged for political reasons and that is very difficult to forgive.
"That's not to say I don't think we can become more cost-effective – there are definitely efficiencies that can be made in the police service, but there are ways of doing that."
Mr Hunter said the cuts were affecting morale among officers.
He said: "There has probably not been a time when so many cuts have come in such a short space of time.
"Everyone is in a state of shock about all these things hitting us – there has been a review into pay and conditions, tax rules on pensions have changed and there has been a shift review in the force which has been very unsettling "
In his four years heading up policing in the city, Mr Hunter has overseen a huge reduction in crime.
Crime has been falling faster in Hull than anywhere else in the force, with an overall reduction of eight per cent between April last year and March this year.
However, Mr Hunter admitted some offences have started to rise.
Last year, there were 104 more domestic burglaries – a rise of 5.6 per cent. Shoplifting rose by just 0.3 per cent, but is continuing to rise.
Although vehicle crime fell by 19.7 per cent, Mr Hunter says it is now rising. He said: "In the past four or five years, crime has been reduced by well over 30 per cent.
"That is not to say we have solved the problem of crime and antisocial behaviour in Hull – it is a tough city with many problems economically.
"Over the past six months I have started noticing it is getting a little bit tougher in terms of crime.
"We are getting a lot of low-level offences, although they still affect people's quality of life.
"Vehicle crime is starting to show signs of pressure, as is shoplifting for food items. That is one of the real changes because of the economic situation because people are struggling to make ends meet.
"In the past, we would see professional shoplifters stealing clothes and electrical items, now it is food so they can get by day-to-day.
"Stealing from cars – an area where we have seen massive reductions – is also going up because people are more willing to accept what they see as bargains.
"Before, when they had money in their pocket, they would have bought a new sat nav, but now they might buy a stolen one."
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