Hampshire Police Join National Demo

More than 400 police officers from Hampshire to join in with a big protest march over spending cuts in London.

The national police budget has been cut by 20% with changes being made to police officers working terms and conditions – impacting on things like overtime, holiday and pensions. 

Hampshire Constabulary alone needs to save £54m by April 2015, leading to front desk closures and redundancies – so far around 650 police officer and staff posts have been axed.

The march will start at Millbank, London at noon passing the Home Office, Parliament Square, Whitehall (Downing Street), Trafalgar Square, and will finish at Waterloo Place.

Around 450 officers from Hampshire Police will be heading up to London in eight coaches to take part.

John Apter Chair of Hampshire Police Federation said:

“The cuts are an attack on policing everywhere. Morale has never been so bad. We have police officers now with 20 years plus service, who are actively looking for employment elsewhere - that’s never happened before. We have officers who are feeling so demoralised they feel trapped in a job that no longer cares for them. The Government need to realise that the cuts are disproportionate and police forces everywhere are reaching breaking point. Enough is enough. The march is about making our voice heard. We’ve got to do something.”