Dyfed-Powys Police in recruiting freeze

Dyfed-Powys Police has frozen recruiting any new officers because of fears over budget cuts.

The force suspended its next intake of officers, due in September, pending the outcome of the Government's spending review.

In a statement issued to coincide with the latest Home Office performance figures, Chief Constable Ian Arundale said tough times lay ahead.

While welcoming a drop in crime levels and an overall detection rate higher than anywhere else in England and Wales, he urged caution about future expectations.

"The coming years herald a period of unprecedented budget cuts for public services and the police service is far from immune to these," he said. "The pressure on the economy will have an impact on families across Wales, and Dyfed-Powys will not be exempt.

"There is an obvious risk that this could lead to an increase in crime both nationally and locally.

"Add to this the fact that we will almost inevitably have to face the reality of taking tough decisions around our numbers of staff over the next three to four years and the challenge that we face is self evident."

A report for the Police Review magazine has warned of a "worst case scenario" of cuts leading to 60,000 fewer police officer and civilian posts in England and Wales by 2015.

But the Government said while police forces would have to make savings, the exact figures would not be known until the end of the year.