The number of PCSOs across the county will be slashed by half while civilian staff face losing their jobs in a huge shake-up at Kent Police.

Police staff were called to a meeting today where details of the changes were brought forward as part of the force's neighbourhood policing review.

The move is expected to save £6.7 million as Kent Police faces a £16m to £20m black hole in its budget next year, according to workers' union Unison.

Dubbed the "bedrock of neighbourhood policing", union leaders say the force currently has 336 PCSO (police community support officers) and civilian support staff posts with 203 PCSOs registered.

Under the plans, police confirmed this will be cut to just 104 PCSOs and support staff – a total loss of 232 posts (69%).

The force has confirmed these changes will reduce the equivalent of 208 full-time PCSO roles and a further 24 neighbourhood policing civilian support staff roles – affecting 205 people.

A 60-day consultation on the job changes will now begin following the meeting at the Ashford International Hotel this morning.

Unison, which represents the civilian staff and PCSOs at Kent Police, slammed the proposals saying the retained PCSOs will not be aligned to communities as they currently are and "specialist colleagues who work, for example, in youth engagement and supporting victims of domestic abuse".

Ian Pointon, branch secretary of Unison for Kent Police, said: "Kent Police will sell this as providing a better service to the public.

"However, with an estimated budget black hole next year of £16m-£20m, this decision will provide a saving of £6.7m, by any standard a significant contribution to that overall target.

"If you want to find a motive for this decision, my advice is to follow the money."

An increase to police funding in 2019 promised an extra 20,000 police officers to be recruited under the Home Office's police officer uplift programme.

Kent Police says it will have 4,145 officers by next March – the highest number in its history.

Deputy Chief Constable Peter Ayling said the "extra police officers going on to the streets of Kent" had led to the review which he said would "ensure our police officers and PCSOs are used in the most operationally effective and efficient way to serve the public".

But Mr Pointon has doubted the move, adding: "There will be those who welcome the additional police officers into neighbourhood policing.

"However, all my experience tells me those police officers will soon be pulled away for other duties because they have all the warranted powers of a police officer.

"This didn’t happen to PCSOs because of their biggest asset, the lack of those same warranted powers.

"PCSOs remained on their beats in their communities building those all-important local relationships, solving local problems around anti-social behaviour, obtaining vitally important community intelligence to assist in crime detection, and releasing police officers for duties that require their powers.

"PCSOs are loved by the public and they will be sorely missed. My real fear is that we won’t realise what we’ve lost until it’s too late.”

The changes will mean some roles proposed to be cut are job vacancies that have been held since postholders left their roles.

PCSOs were first introduced 20 years ago with the aim of acting as "eyes and ears" within communities.

Dept Ch Con Ayling said the increased funding to employ more full-time police officers would mean 134 more PCs and officers would be "moved into neighbourhood policing".

He added: "Every ward in the county will have a dedicated named officer.

"The model presented sees the retention of 102 PCSOs, and the introduction of dedicated task forces which will be a mix of police and PCSO officers, working directly with the public to tackle issues within their local communities.

"Additionally there will be further investment in rural policing.

"We believe the review and proposal is a positive step in reorganising neighbourhood policing. We have to make difficult decisions to ensure savings are met, and that the whole workforce provides value for money for the force, and to ensure the safety of the public it serves.

"The last few years has seen a lot of change in Kent. It is not uncommon to review our structure to ensure we are able to adapt to an ever-changing landscape and to seek every opportunity to enhance our model.

"Kent Police is comparatively poorly funded and the next few years will be challenging."

He said the force is looking at making savings of £30m over the next four years with 82% of its spending going towards people and employment.

'We believe the review and proposal is a positive step in reorganising neighbourhood policing'

The senior officer added: "Our relentless drive to deliver value for money has already identified over £3.5m worth of savings without the need for any redundancies.

"The force still has a savings target of £6.8m to find this financial year and we have continued to look at ways to meet this with a reduction in police staff posts as the last resort."

He said the force would be working with force welfare, staff associations, unions, and support group networks during the consultation period.

Mr Pointon noted discussions between police top brass and the Police and Crime Commissioner and unions had increased the number of retained PCSOs from initial proposals.

He added: " In the year marking the 20th anniversary of the PCSO, this is extremely poor thanks for that public service; public service that until now has always been lauded.

"Kent Police will continue to feel a relentless squeeze on its budget, a budget that has failed to keep pace with inflation and the rising costs of energy and fuel thanks to the Home Office.

"Having approved a welcome pay rise this year, they also failed to provide sufficient funding to meet that cost.

"Sadly, it’s a tale as old as time and the Chancellor’s autumn statement has done nothing to reassure me about the future.

“We must not lose sight of the people involved in this process; our valued colleagues who will lose their livelihoods in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis; lose the ability to pay their rent or mortgage; lose the ability to provide for their family.

"There is a significant human cost to this decision.”

The squeeze on resources at Kent Police has been highlighted with recent issues about the force's 101 calls response and transferring frontline officers to the control room.

Residents and victims have spoken out about long delays in getting through with figures showing 55% of calls to the 101 line going unanswered in one month.