Editing Devon and Cornwall Police (section)

===Austerity===
The program of austerity from 2011 had an impact on the force: 
* The rural crime grant, worth £1.8M to Devon & Cornwall, about the cost of 70 officers, was abolished. 
* The central government grant was cut by 20%.
* In comparison to other forces, the council tax precept was low. Rises in the precept were capped by central government.

The organisation was forced to cut officers, from 3,500 to 2,810. It also had to cut PCSOs and police staff, losing around 350 posts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gmb.org.uk/news/shock-figures-reveal-23500-police-staff-cut-under-tories|title = Shock figures reveal 23,500 police staff cut under the Tories|date = 4 December 2019}}</ref>
Many stations were closed and sold, controversially including a brand new station at [[St Columb Major]]. 
The service offered to the public was scaled back: for example in the past victims of car crime or burglary would have seen an officer in person. Since the austerity cuts, the majority of these crimes are 'desktop investigated' by a centralised team.

A partial reversal of the cuts was announced in 2019 by the (then) new Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who pledged to replace 20,000 of the 21,000 officers cut in England and Wales since 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42977661.amp|title = Do Corbyn's police claims stack up?|date = 7 February 2018}}</ref>

Devon & Cornwall officer numbers are not expected to return to their 2010 levels until 2023. There are no plans nationally to reverse the cut in police staff.