FURTHER police staff roles are set to be cut across West Mercia as the force continues to battle funding shortfalls. Just months ago, in June, after the force announced redundancies in non-policing staff roles which have made ‘significant savings’, West Mercia says its £8 million budget gap ‘must be addressed’. West Mercia’s PCC, John Campion, and chief constable, Richard Cooper, broke the news to their workforce yesterday (Thursday, August 14) but have not confirmed how many roles will be affected. The pair said Government funding is not keeping pace with inflation and a growing demand on its services. Chief Constable Richard Cooper said: “The difficult decision we have made, to make further police staff redundancies, is certainly not something we would choose to be doing.