THE thin blue line is set to become even thinner in the Black Country after West Midlands Police today (Tuesday) confirmed proposals to axe 325 PCSO posts over the next 12 months.

The decision, which will see police community support officer numbers reduced across the force from 674 to 349, follows a review of local policing which aims to help the organisation find its way forward while making more than £130million worth of savings over the next five years.

Deputy Chief Constable David Thompson said: "From the outset of the review we were very clear that we anticipated we would have to significantly reduce the numbers of PCSOs employed by the force.

"This is a hugely regrettable but unavoidable set of proposals as we need to do all we can to ensure we are sustainable to 2020 and beyond."

The force's new local policing model proposes cutting PCSO numbers down to 119 by 2020 as falling funding from central Government continues to hit hard.

West Midlands Police has seen its budget slashed by more than £146 million since 2010, but chiefs say they are working to ensure the force can continue to serve the public against continued cutbacks.

However - as more than 80 per cent of its operating costs come from pay budgets the organisation faces workforce reductions of around 2,500 over the next five years which will make it smaller than when it was formed in 1974.

Deputy Chief Constable Thompson added: "I am confident though that policing will continue to protect the public but how services look and are delivered will have to change."

He said the force's WMP2020 programme aims to build an "effective and affordable force for the year 2020 and beyond" and he stressed: "I remain clear that we are not pulling away from working closely with our communities. It will be in a different way but I am committed to ensuring that what we do is more meaningful and has a positive impact on people’s lives."

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said the PCSOs were the "first expected casualty of the Government’s prolonged and continued attack on policing in the West Midlands" and he said there was no other option, adding: "There is no other way with the cuts we face. We have already closed front desks and are making difficult decisions on closing police buildings in order to focus all we can on officer, PCSO and staff numbers.

"I will do all I can to ensure neighbourhood policing continues to be at the forefront of everything that West Midlands Police does, but in future it will have to be delivered with fewer staff and in a more focussed way.

"We are faced with some tough decisions but I continue to support the professional and thorough approach the Chief Constable is taking. He is doing the absolute best with the resources he has."

The timescales for the PCSO reductions are yet to be determined but they will likely be phased and it is not yet known how the cuts will impact on areas like Dudley which has around 47 PCSO posts.

Taking existing empty posts into consideration (currently 139 across the force), it is expected 186 PCSOs will leave their jobs over the next 12 months if the proposals are approved.

A 45-day formal consultation period with staff and trade unions is now set to take place.

Meanwhile Unite, which represents police staff, is calling for an urgent re-think to safeguard neighbourhood policing in the West Midlands.

Unite national officer Fiona Farmer said: “Cuts have consequences - there is no way a police force can make cuts of this magnitude without it impacting on public safety.

“This is a terrible blow for communities in the West Midlands who are being forced to bear the brunt of the government’s reckless police budget cuts."