WILTSHIRE’S chief constable has said the force will need to be “courageous, ambitious and above all, innovative” in order to meet the latest savings targets imposed by central government.

Patrick Geenty said Wiltshire Police would continue with its “programme of transformation” to meet the targets set out in the Police Grant Settlement 2015/16.

In a statement he said: “The announcement of the police grant is a stark reminder that austerity remains very real indeed for Wiltshire Police and we will continue to have some challenging financial savings to make.

“The reality for us is a further £3m reduction in central government funding, equating to 5.1 percent cut in funding to Wiltshire Police.

“This demands that we think in radical new ways about the future model of policing in Wiltshire – and this will at times mean we will need to make difficult but necessary decisions.

“In the face of these new reductions, I will have to explore all options in order to continue to protect the public of Wiltshire, in the knowledge that we will have between £3-4m to save during 2015/16 dependent on the Commissioner’s decision further to consultation on the police element of council tax in the new year.”

Echoing the sentiments of Sir Hugh Orde from the Association of Chief Police Officers that investment in the Independent Police Complaints Commission, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and the national Police Innovation Fund was understandable, Mr Geenty said most forces would prefer that this money “remained within our local budgets so we can spend it where there is most need”.

He pointed out that by 2017, Wiltshire Police would have lost 25 percent of its budget.

“In the past four years we have worked really hard to make the required savings – we have reduced staff numbers and reorganised and transformed the way in which we work in order to minimise the impact of the cuts on the delivery of frontline services to the public.

“I will continue to ensure that we protect the people of Wiltshire, but I have to acknowledge that things will become even more challenging, with further savings forecast of £7.8m between 2016-2018. I want to assure the public that we are doing all that we can to deliver under this austerity.”

Mr Geenty said he would be watching with interest recent suggestions regarding the regionalisation of policing and would be working with the Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson and other south west forces to see how they could collaborate more closely.