A POLICE and Crime Commissioner (PCC) could "outsource Gwent Police staff jobs "very easily", and candidates for the job must be made aware of concerns about that prospect, says a union official.

Linda Sweet, Gwent Police and justice branch secretary for Unison, wants to meet candidates for the post - which will replace existing police authorities in November - ahead of the election which will decide who gets the job.

Mrs Sweet says that police staff, as opposed to police officers, are bearing the brunt of cuts to forces’ budgets.

"Such staff include custody officers, 999 and control room staff, scenes of crime officers and fingerprint experts, and we also have members in administration, human resources and finance," she said.

"We are very worried about cutbacks in policing. Forces are cutting back on police staff and Unison's view is that these people are the engine of the organisation.

"We are concerned at what the Police Commissioner (in Gwent) will do. They will be very much an unknown quantity.

"They could outsource staff jobs very easily and we are concerned about the privatisation of police forces.

"Such a move would be about cost-cutting and in our view it would not improve the service to the public. We also think police accountability would suffer.

"We are fighting for our members' jobs, and we have members who are fighting redundancy.

"We are seeking talks with people who are putting themselves forward to be Police Commissioner because it is very important they understand our fears."

Gwent Police Federation is also seeking to meet prospective PCC candidates for what chairman Jeff Mapps has described would be "frank and constructive" discussions of policing issues and the potential impact of cuts.