Armed police patrols are stepped up in Staffordshire

Chief Constable Gareth Morgan, who replaced Jane Sawyers in the post this week, admitted the force is facing challenges as he stepped into the top job.

He said armed police will be increasingly visible in the wake of recent terror attacks – but promised this will not become the norm.

It comes as the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner called together leaders from across Staffordshire to discuss how ready public agencies are to respond to major incidents.

Senior managers and leaders from across all relevant public agencies will meet today when Mr Ellis will chair the meeting, which comes in the light of terrorist attacks in Manchester and London.

Chief Con Morgan said: “We’ve increased the number of armed officers deployed in Staffordshire in the last 18 months and will constantly review that in terms of what the threat is.

“I want to be sure I’m protecting the public – that’s my primary responsibility.

“The reality is people will see more armed police on Staffordshire’s streets.

“Do I recognise people are anxious when they see armed police officers? I fully accept that.

“The answer to that is for people to go and speak to the officers, talk to them, discuss what the issues are.

“The officers are there to look after people, but I know that causes a level of anxiety.

“We will only do that (deploy armed officers) when we decide a risk requires us to be available.

“The reason why you’re seeing them is not because a particular event is particularly risky, but it means we can deploy them quicker.

“When you’ve got a big event like a music concert if something happened it might take us a long time to get there, so why not have them there anyway.

“Do I want to see armed police on the streets as the norm of policing? No I don’t – and it won’t be the norm in Staffordshire.”

Armed police were seen at the Ironman event in Staffordshire and at the force’s own open day earlier this month.

Issues at the top of Chief Con Morgan’s to-do list include balancing the books and making major savings – while not cutting frontline officers and staff.

Chief Con Morgan said: “I think everyone knows there’s been a series of very challenging issues nationally and they impact on Staffordshire as much as they do anywhere else in the country.

“I need to be assured I’ve got the right level of resources to deal with the threats and challenges that present themselves.

“I’m concerned about that in the context I’ve got to make savings in my budget.

“By 2020 it’s another saving of about another £10 million – which could equate to nearly 100 officers.

“But it’s not going to, as the reality is we will make those savings by looking at everything else we do – making sure we’ve got the best, most efficient way of working to maximise every pound we spend.

“I don’t want to take any more police staff or officers out – we’ve lost significant numbers over the last five years. I think we need to have that conversation with Government and others about what we can and can’t deliver with the money we’ve got.

“We serve the public – it’s their police service – and I want them to understand the decisions we’re having to make and why we’re having to make them.

“However, it may well be we can’t continue to do all the things the public want us to do.”

Chief Con Morgan, who was previously the Deputy Chief Constable at Avon and Somerset Police, said the three things he aims to get done initially are; Be assured we’re keeping the people of Staffordshire safe, because we live in uncertain times. Make sure we’re making the best use of all the resources we’ve got – as it’s public money.

Finally to ensure there is a plan going forward for how we save the money that needs saving – we need to look at technology, our estate, our people and make sure we’ve got the right people, the right places, right buildings to do the job we need to do.

Mr Ellis welcomed Chief Con Morgan’s appointment.

He said: “A new era has started for Staffordshire Police with Gareth Morgan joining the force as its new Chief Constable.

“He becomes the leader of a police service which has evolved immensely over the last four years in order to deal with ever more complex crime and new threats which have international roots.

"Mr Morgan shares my passion for the most local policing in the heart of communities and I’m delighted that on his very first morning in post he has already been out and about talking to commanders in local areas.”

“I wish him the very best of luck and look forward to working with him to ensure police, along with other partner agencies, continue to keep people across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent safe and secure.”