The police force that investigated a Telegraph journalist over a tweet has pleaded with the Government for more funding.
Ben-Julian Harrington, the Essex Police Chief Constable, said his force was “seriously underfunded” and facing a £34 million shortfall in the next financial year.
Mr Harrington said he had written to Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, to raise concerns about the financial position. He claimed he could be forced to cut 200 officers.
“To put it bluntly, the books don’t balance,” Mr Harrington told BBC News.
Mr Harrington said that although crime was falling thanks to the efforts of his force, he needed “fair funding” from the Government to make the work continue.
“All I’m asking for is fair funding to keep fighting crime”, he said.
“The cost to maintain all our buildings has risen by a third in the last couple of years and our energy bills alone have more than doubled. That’s millions of pounds a year more.
“I need to ensure that we can retain the officers we’ve recruited, support them, keep them trained, and provide them with the kit they need.”
On Monday, Essex Police and nine other forces wrote to the Home Secretary about the funding situation.
The Home Office said the police funding settlement would provide Essex Police with £406.2 million over the next year.
A Home Office spokesman said the funding would give forces more money to recruit officers.
“Further funding and details on the overall settlement will be announced in due course.”
The plea comes after the force faced criticism last month when its officers arrived at the home of Allison Pearson, an award-winning writer, to inform her that she was being investigated for allegedly stirring up racial hatred.
The investigation had been sparked following a complaint from a member of the public over a social media post made in November last year.
The force was criticised over the investigation, with Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, describing it as an “appalling” attack on free speech.
Essex Police later closed the criminal investigation as no offence had been identified.