The chief constable of Cleveland Police has told the BBC that she is proud of her force but believes it is being let down by the level of funding it receives. Victoria Fuller made the remarks in the aftermath of the fatal crash on the A66 that killed seven people, including two of her officers, and her comments have reignited the long-running debate over police resourcing in England and Wales.
A proud force, she says, but under-resourced
In an interview with the BBC, Chief Constable Fuller did not shy away from the challenges her force faces. She described Cleveland Police as an organisation whose officers take real pride in their work, but she was equally clear that pride alone is not enough to meet the demands of modern policing. The force, she argued, needs to become part of a larger, more strategically resourced organisation if it is to keep its communities safe.
The timing of her remarks is significant. They came as the force was grappling with the aftermath of one of the deadliest road incidents involving police officers in the UK in recent years. Two serving officers died in the crash, and the investigation into what happened is ongoing. Against that backdrop, the question of whether the force had sufficient resources to carry out its duties has taken on a new and uncomfortable salience.
Fuller’s call for a larger, more strategic force reflects a view that has been expressed by police leaders in a number of regions. The argument is that some forces, particularly those covering areas with complex social and economic challenges, are simply too small to operate efficiently or to absorb the shocks that inevitably arise from major incidents.
The funding debate in context
Police funding in England and Wales has been contested for well over a decade. Government grants, local council precepts, and other income streams all play a part, but the overall picture is one of real-terms pressure in many forces. The National Police Chiefs’ Council has repeatedly warned that funding arrangements are not keeping pace with demand, particularly in areas where crime patterns, social need, and operational complexity are high.
Cleveland Police covers a large part of Teesside, including Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, and Redcar and Cleveland. The area has experienced significant economic change in recent years, and the force has had to respond to a range of challenges, from serious and organised crime to neighbourhood policing and community engagement. It is precisely the kind of force, its leadership has argued, that would benefit from a more strategic approach to resourcing.
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The government’s position is that police funding has been increased in recent years and that forces are expected to make difficult decisions about how to deploy the resources they have. Ministers have also pointed to the role of local policing boards and elected mayors in setting priorities. The gap between that view and the assessment of some force chiefs remains wide.
Why it matters
The question of police funding is not an abstract one. It affects everything from the number of officers on the streets to the ability of a force to investigate serious crime, manage major incidents, and support its own staff when they are killed or injured in the line of duty. When a chief constable says her force is being let down by funding, that is a statement that deserves serious attention, not least because it comes from someone who is accountable for the consequences of those resourcing decisions.
The remarks also land at a moment when public confidence in policing is already under strain in some communities. The A66 crash has generated a level of fear and distrust in parts of Middlesbrough that the local police leadership has acknowledged with unusual frankness. If the force is to rebuild that trust, it will need resources that match the task, and that means answering the question of how those resources are to be found.
What happens next
The next step is likely to be a continued focus on the crash investigation itself, which will run in parallel with any review of the force’s operations and resourcing. The chief constable’s comments are expected to be picked up by parliamentary committees and by policing campaigners, and they may well feature in the run-up to the next comprehensive spending review.
For Cleveland Police, the immediate priority is managing the investigation and supporting the families of those who died. But the broader debate about the scale and shape of policing in the north of England is unlikely to go away, and the chief constable’s intervention ensures that it will remain on the agenda for the foreseeable future.
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