THE States police has dealt with an “unprecedented” level of major incidents recently and is “probably as busy as it’s ever been”, a Scrutiny panel has heard.
Police chief Robin Smith also confirmed to the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel that budget savings had to be identified for 2025 and 2026, which would affect two members of police staff and the forensics unit.
While the forensics unit itself will not reduce in size, “growth funding” for the unit – which was allocated as part of a successful bid to pay for new people and software licences – has been reduced as part of efficiencies.
The States police budget is set to drop incrementally over the next four years, with £30,185,000 set aside for 2025, £29,975,000 for 2026, and £29,954,000 for 2027 and 2028. However, these figures are all in excess of the £27,335,000 granted to the department in 2024.
Home Affairs Minister Mary Le Hegarat told the panel that police budgets “remain a challenge to us”.
Mr Smith explained that ongoing investigations into 15 homicides – ten from the Haut du Mont explosion, three from the sinking of L’Ecume II, and the deaths of Charlie and Dean Lowe – at the same time represented an “unprecedented” level for the small Island police force.
Mr Smith said additional funds had come into the police budget over the past four years to deal with investigations into major incidents, but as the force had made savings, “we have effectively given that money back”.
“Both in this current government and in the previous government, there has been a recognition that the States police is probably as busy as it’s ever been,” he said.
“There have been three enormous investigations, and we have been well funded effectively from day one. That funding has continued, and it is not just the funding of those very large and complex investigations, it’s also that we pull officers and staff from other places into that gap to deliver what we describe as business as usual.
“We have received additional funding from the government in recognition that it is unprecedented in the history of the States of Jersey Police, which insulated the impact to a degree and we have to properly account for that.”
He went on to say that 90% of the police budget was spent on “people” and “inevitably, if we are trying to drive savings, more often than not, it will be trying to drive efficiencies with people”.
Mr Smith continued: “We have identified our savings for 2025 and 2026, and that is two members of police staff, not police officers, and a small reduction in the forensics unit.”
He said the Chief Minister was “mindful” of frontline services and there were further meetings with ministers later this year to discuss the police budget for 2025 and 2026.
Mr Smith added that the “current affordable” number of police officers was 201, under the minimum number of 215 officers which States Members agreed in 2019.
On whether 201 was sufficient, he said: “With the funding that we currently get in support of Operation Spire and Operation Nectar, the funding is sufficient. It has insulated us and allowed us to deal with the business as usual.
“You still need a degree of resilience, because we police an island where we can’t easily get mutual aid, and we’ve seen in recent times the importance of maintaining a degree of police numbers.
“My hope is that our challenge will become less and less, particularly as we move into next year.”
