THE alternative to a strategic alliance with Avon and Somerset Constabulary would be to lose up to 150 front line officers, according to the chief constable of Wiltshire Police.

This week talks were announced between the two forces as they move towards more integration of specialisms and merging roles of back-room staff.

But with a black hole of more than a £10m in the budget, said Chief Constable Pat Geenty, without greater integration the jobs of 150 neighbourhood and reponse officers would be placed at risk.

Wiltshire Police has a total of about 1,000 police officers.

While the ideal situation would be to be free of budget cuts, the alliance was the best option under the circumstances.

“To say I was happy about the situation would be difficult, because if someone was to say to me I did not have to find more than £10m in savings I would be a very happy man,” he said.

“Wiltshire Police is facing between £10.5m and £11m in savings that need to be made in our budget and we need to find the best way to do that.

“This strategic alliance is not a merger but what it does mean is that we will not have to lose between 100 and 150 front-line officers, which would have been the alternative.

"The one thing I am not prepared to do is to cut any of our front-line officers, so this was the best option to ensure we do not have to do that.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson is working on pushing ahead with the alliance alongside counterpart Sue Mountstevens.

“We will ensure policing of an everyday nature is offered locally, based locally and run locally,” he said.

“When you live in a safe area you need to find support rather than having a standing army.

“There are lots of smaller things in the margin we can look at as well. Everything in policing other than neighbourhood policing and response will be on the table. We will look for savings right across the force.

“We always look at efficiency in everything we do, but if you lose local policing you have lost British policing, and that is a step I will not take.”

Mike White, chairman of the Wiltshire Police Federation, said: “It will be of concern to the people of Wiltshire as well as those who work for Wiltshire Police that this could divert policing resources away from rural areas as cuts bite further.

“We know that Wiltshire is one of the safest places to live in the country and, over the years, Wiltshire Police have played a significant role in making that so.

“We are proud of our heritage and the service that we deliver to the people of Wiltshire and want to work with our senior leaders and counterparts in Avon and Somerset to maintain that service and the identity of Wiltshire Police.”