THAMES Valley Police is facing cuts as the force draws up sweeping budget reductions.

Chief constable Sara Thornton said last night she hoped frontline police and community support officers (Pcsos) would not lose their jobs as the force finalised its three-year cost-cutting plan.

But she could not offer the same promise to the hundreds of support staff including administrative workers and control room operators – which has angered unions.

The force has made £21m of savings in the past three years without shedding jobs or cutting the number of frontline officers.

Now it is drawing up plans for cuts totalling another £19m over the next two years.

The move comes in anticipation of a reduced central Government grant to the force.

Ms Thornton said: “The year 2010/11 will be a challenge, but we are working on the detail and I hope that we can maintain officer and PCSO numbers. However, it may not be possible to maintain support staff numbers.

“No decisions have been made nor have I discussed this plan with the police authority so it would be inappropriate to make any further comment.”

The force currently employs 3,397 people.

Savings over the last three years include £50,000 from closing the Abingdon police station canteen and £500,000 on a new interpreter contract.

Potential cuts over the next three years include £1.2m on ‘staff turnover’ – replacing senior staff with new recruits who are paid less – and £1.1m on overtime for major crime officers.

Police authority chairman Khan Juna said: “We have a statutory obligation to ensure the force is effectively resourced. Therefore, what I can say is this – cuts in funding may be inevitable, cuts in service are not.”

But Rod Matheson, Unison representative for police staff and Pcsos, said cutting backroom staff numbers would damage the quality of policing.

He said: “Many of the inquiries needed by officers are currently done by these members of police staff, and by cutting them, it either puts immensely more pressure on those staff left behind to pick up the work, or put a lot of these inquiries back to the officers themselves, thus cutting down on their ability to maintain a visible presence on the streets.”

John Grant, chairman of Thames Valley Police Federation, which represents officers, said: “There is no doubt there are difficult days ahead for the whole of the public sector.

“However, for the police it is vital officer numbers are maintained.

“It is just not possible to replace police officers with members of police staff.

“It is nice to have lots of support for these officers, but when the budgets get tight it will be questioned which supporting roles are absolutely necessary.”

The force will reveal its next three-year financial plan at a meeting of the Thames Valley Police Authority on November 27.