THE county’s police force has announced a new “operational model” which it says will save money and improve the service it provides.

We reported previously in your Worcester News how 98 officers and 189 staff roles are being cut to help West Mercia Police save £9.8 million over the next three years.

No police officer posts will be lost from the force’s visible patrol strength; most reductions relate to fewer senior officer positions and training staff.

We reported last week how Chief Superintendent Jane Horwood is retiring as the head of south Worcestershire police division.

In her place Superint-endent Stephen Cullen – one rank below – will take over with more responsibility for operational policing.

The changes, which take effect from this week, mean the force now has six commands rather than the five geographical divisions – south and north Worces-tershire, Telford and Wrekin, Herefordshire and Shropshire.

The new commands are: territorial policing; protective services; operational support; strategy and legal services; human resources and corporate services.

A spokesman said the changes are as a result of the force’s desire to provide a greater consistency of service to its communities and the need to secure value for money from the funding it receives.

Chief Constable Paul West said the changes will make the force more “streamlined”.

He said: “There will still be clearly identified senior officers responsible for local command and at the same time we will significantly restructure the ways in which we support frontline officers and staff.

“These changes will make West Mercia Police more streamlined and effective and will free up officers to focus upon operational policing and operational command.

“This is an important period in the force’s development during which we will continue to face new challenges – not least the additional budget reductions that the Government have made clear they will be announcing later this year.

“Nevertheless, I have every confidence that our new command structure and the many operational and organisational im-provements that we intend to implement will bring about numerous benefits for the public.

“At the same time we also need to ensure that the funds they provide us with are used in the most cost effective way possible.”

Along with other forces in the West Midlands region, West Mercia is investigating whether further savings can be ach-ieved through enhanced levels of regional collaboration.

Plans are also being developed to address the Government’s forthcoming comprehensive spending review, which will be announced in the autumn.

Sheila Blagg, chairman of West Mercia Police Authority, said: “The changes we are outlining are important and will position the force to deliver policing services effectively in a difficult economic climate.”

No one from the Police Federation was available to comment.