Police officers of all ranks are leaving in large numbers on the assumption that they will be losing several thousand pounds from their wages under the new pay regime.
With each of the existing units being cut to the bone anyway [1 sergeant and 8 has been mentioned as a unit standard] you would expect to get significant numbers of expensively trained Observer's around to fill any gaps.
This is patently not happening and the recent West Yorkshire adverts for a sergeant at Redhill and constables all across the country seems to underline a group of people just getting out wholesale.
If there were savings to be made it seems that they will be swallowed by the training bill in the short term. There will always be some who have never known the higher pay rate that will volunteer ...... or will they?