Surrey Police needs to save £10 million in the next four years, according to a government inspector’s report. 

The force was rated as ‘requires improvement’ for its efficiency around meeting demands, using resources and planning for the future. 

But officers are said to be ‘outstanding’ when it comes to preventing crime and tackling antisocial behaviour. 

The PEEL (Police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy) report was published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services at the end of September. 

Inspectors highlighted the need for savings and improvements in how it managed resources. 

But police financial bosses say the force has already made £73 million of savings since 2010/11 and the £10 million refers to targets set in its medium term financial plan. 

The inspection report praised Surrey Police for its effectiveness rating it Good overall with Outstanding in preventing crime and tackling antisocial behaviour, and Good for investigating crime, protecting vulnerable people and tackling serious and organised crime. 

And for legitimacy  – its treatment of the public, ethical and lawful workforce behaviour and fair treatment of the workforce – it also rated Good. 

Inspectors concluded that Surrey Police is outstanding at preventing crime and prioritising crime prevention, but doesn’t always respond to incidents involving vulnerable people fast enough.

However, despite the praise, the force’s efficiency was highlighted as an area for improvement. 

Inspectors said the force has “less understanding of the demand for its services than in 2017” when it was last inspected.

Surrey Police now has fewer staff than it did in 2017 with fewer full time police officers, police community support officers and police staff in post. 

Inspectors said slower response times and staff feeling they did not have enough resources to manage their work properly “may be happening because the force doesn’t have enough resources to deal with demand”. 

And they said there needed to be more work on how it collects data to analyse demand. 

They praised “innovative” ways of working in partnership with Sussex Police but said the force “could do more to find more efficient ways of working”. 

The report stated: “The force needs to save £10 million over the next four years. There is no evidence of how it will do this.”

The 2017 inspection found “that future financial plans could be regulated better” and inspectors suggested “switching to priority-based budgeting for more financial control”. 

And inspectors in the 2018/19 report said the situation “still applied”. 

This was the first year Surrey Police had received an Outstanding rating in the PEEL report. 

Peter Gillett, Surrey Police’s executive director of commercial and finance services, said: “The force is committed to ensuring that alongside the investment of additional precept in police officers, that it delivers the best value for money for the services it provides to local residents. In the 2019/20 financial year Surrey Policing is operating with a budget of £233 million.

“With a strong track record of achieving efficiencies, the force has delivered £73 million of savings since 2010/11. The strategy, where possible, is based on making efficiency savings in areas which enable continued investment in front-line services.

“As such, our forward financial plans currently include an additional savings requirement of £10 million, in years three and four of the medium term financial plan. The HMICFRS reference is based entirely on the figures and narrative already outlined in the force’s medium term financial plan.

“The force is already in the process of developing those future years’ savings in years three and four of the plan; as well as updating its financial plans based on good practice.”