Cops still have 'scar tissue' of Tory cuts

Top officer says funding rise crucial

- TOM PETTIFOR

POLICE forces scarred by Tory cuts are desperate for more funding says Britain's top police officer.

Metropolitan Police head Sir Mark Rowley is one of six senior officers calling on the government to make a serious investment in policing at next month's spending review.

Sir Mark said: "We're carrying the scar tissue of years of austerity cuts, and the effects of that.

"Forces are much smaller when you compare the population they're policing than a decade or 15 years ago."