POLICE plans to create a shared dog unit which would slash the number of animals by TWO-THIRDS have bene slammed as an “indictment of the cuts” facing forces.

Hertfordshire Constabulary and Bedfordshire Police already share a dog unit.

But this proposal – being mooted to help meet a 20 per cent cut in Government funding – would see Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s canine division also merged into the existing arrangement.

The move would reduce the number of handlers from 44 to 24, and the number of dogs from 74 to 24 – saving the three cash-strapped forces in the region of �1.1m a year.

But Neal Alston, chairman of the Hertfordshire Police Federation, which represents officers, hit out at the plans and said it would impact greatly on frontline crime fighting.

He said: “I think it is an indictment of the cuts that are planned.

“Typically the Government promises the cuts we face won’t be on the frontline. Certainly the dog unit is incredibly frontline.

“The chief officers are only doing it because they have no money and the impact is going to be that there will be less dogs and that will impact on the service we give Hertfordshire.”

He said: “I have been to jobs where we have had people take off from a burglary and dogs have tracked them.

“Police officers can do a lot but they can’t sniff out burglars.”

A Hertfordshire Constabulary spokesman said the proposals will ensure a continuation of core functions such as support at public order incidents and tracking suspects and missing people.

They also recommend using a private firm for occasions where dogs are needed which do not require a warranted officer, such as for drug searches.