Home Office remains silent over West Midlands Police force being ‘short changed’ and ‘ripped off’
The Home Office has not disputed claims that West Midlands Police force is being ‘short changed’ and ‘ripped off’ compared to other police forces.
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The remarks were made by West Midlands Police Crime and Commissioner, Simon Foster, at a recent meeting at Walsall Council.
Foster said the force was systematically underfunded ‘to the tune of £40million a year’.
He said Greater Manchester Police, the most similar force compared to the West Midlands, has the same number of officers now as they did in 2010, but in the West Midlands, the force is still 700 officers down.
Foster added that other forces, especially rural ones with lower crime rates such as Norfolk, Kent and Surrey, have ‘more officers than they’ve ever had in their force history’.
As PCC, Foster’s role is to hold the West Midlands Police to account on behalf of the public. He was reelected in May 2024.
At the meeting last month, Foster said: “The brutal harsh reality is that West Midlands Police continues to be structurally and systemically underfunded and under-resourced.
“We have a national police funding formula that disproportionately disadvantages West Midlands Police to the tune of about £40m per year.
“It’s inexplicable and inexcusable to be continually shortchanged and ripped off.
“The national funding formula needs to be reviewed to be more equitable.”
Mr Foster’s comments were put to the Home Office who declined to comment.
