SURREY Police are to axe up to 400 jobs, including 32 officers, and give greater priority to tackling sexual offences in an attempt to cope with £25million budget cuts, the force has confirmed.

Chief Constable Lynne Owens said at a special briefing at Surrey Police’s Mount Browne headquarters, in Guildford, last week, her force would have to undergo a dramatic restructuring to adapt to the Government’s austerity cuts as well as the changing nature of crime.

Over the last three years, Surrey Police have seen a 153 per cent increase in reports of rape, a 122 per cent increase in sexual offences and a 34 per cent increase in reports of domestic violence.

During the same period, reports of house burglaries fell by 24 per cent and car thefts were down 32 per cent.

To meet that changing demand, Surrey Police will shift more resources into teams that specifically protect vulnerable people over the next four years, while using a “threat, risk and harm” approach to prioritise those in greatest need.

Surrey’s overall workforce will shrink by 10 per cent under the new model, set to be implemented in April, with the majority of posts cut relating to non-uniformed back office staff.

Safer Neighbourhood teams will be reduced from 438 officers to 187, and CID officers from 393 to 147 - in turn bolstering other areas such as the safeguarding investigation unit, which will increase from 133 officers to 178.

But the most striking feature of the new policing model is the advent of new ‘area policing teams’ to replace Surrey’s current targeted patrol teams.

Whereas the targeted teams are currently based in regional centres such as Guildford – covering wide areas across the county – the new area teams will see officers reassigned to a specific borough or district such as Waverley.

Managed by dedicated neighbourhood inspectors, the new area teams will be tasked with tackling “chronic” issues and repeat offenders, working with hospitals and councils, and supporting smaller but still dedicated neighbourhood teams.

Officers will be given greater responsibilities locally and training to investigate cases from start to finish – compensating for the reduction in CID officers.

And although the force admits a greater investigative role may result in a less visible police presence on Surrey’s streets, it hopes to reduce the demands on officers through a variety of other time-saving and efficiency measures.

Key to this will be the deployment of trained officers in the 999/101 contact centre to “resolve, resource and refer” – with the intention that many inquiries can be dealt with over the phone or via the online crime reporting service, without the need for a officer to attend in person.

Other initiatives will see larger businesses encouraged to invest more in crime prevention, such as pre-pay pumps at petrol stations, while other public bodies such as hospitals and councils will be expected to do more to ease the burden on the police.

Chief Constable Owens said: “This is not all about money. The nature of crime is changing and this is our response to it.

“We are re-focusing our services to protect the vulnerable and tackle the changing risks, threats and harm our communities face. We’ve seen huge increases in the number of reports of rape and other sexual offences over the past three years, and a third of these cases are historical.

“After the Jimmy Saville case, victims of rape and sexual abuse are more confident to come forward and we will continue to support those victims when they do come forward. But this means that as well as dealing with today’s crime, we are also dealing with yesterday’s crime today. Quite simply, we haven’t been able to keep up with this volume of demand within our current model.

“We recognise a visible presence is valued by the public, but in reality victims are more likely to be targeted in their homes and online than on the streets.

“We have to change the way we deliver our services to reflect that.”

She added a comprehensive review of services began a year ago, and the force has spent a lot of time talking to officers and staff in devising the new model.

She also promised even greater collaboration with neighbouring forces in areas such as IT, firearms, major crime investigation and cyber crime, to deliver “better, more cost effective” services.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Kevin Hurley praised the new model for “putting really vulnerable” victims first, but warned Government cutbacks would change the face of policing in the county.

A rationalisation programme over the past four years slashed the number of police stations in Surrey and found savings by working closely with neighbouring forces to reduce costs.

Mr Hurley said: “But even with the rationalisation, the cuts are now starting to bite. The Government has told us we need to find another £25million and as 80-85 per cent of our costs go on our wage bill, it is no surprise any budget reductions will result in a fall in staff.”