Patrol cars should carry advertising slogans for brands such as easyJet to raise money, police commissioners said yesterday as they issued further threats over the impact of funding cuts.
Chief constables said that investigations into several types of theft had also been downgraded in response to the cuts. The police were accused of “giving a green light to criminals” after it was disclosed that some force areas had abandoned inquiries into shoplifting, people leaving restaurants without paying and fuel theft from petrol stations.
Victims of vehicle crime in Surrey might not be visited by a police officer in future because of reduced funding, it was also revealed yesterday. Chief constables, appearing at the parliamentary home affairs select committee, were in open revolt about the plans