Police chiefs in Wiltshire said last night they would continue to make cuts to the force and resist the temptation to raise their share of the council tax precept.

The Devizes-based police authority has passed a budget which freezes the precept for the second year running, while operating in “tight financial constraints”.

Authority chairman Christopher Hoare said the force had already found £4.5 million of cuts – the Government has ordered them to slash £15 million from their spending by the middle of 2015.

Mr Hoare admitted the number of staff employed by police – uniformed and non-uniformed – would fall but said Wiltshire was the safest constabulary area in the country because it has the lowest levels of violent crime.

“Given the continuing difficult economic conditions which everyone is facing, we again felt it right to fix the charge for police council tax at last year’s level,” he said. “It’s a fine balance between seeking not to add to people’s bills while striving to maintain, and where required improve, the policing service they receive.

"However, after working closely with Wiltshire Police, we believe we’ve set a budget for the 2012/13 financial year which allows these twin goals to be achieved.

“Policing continues to operate within the tight financial constraints. Wiltshire police is making good progress in implementing the agreed plan formulated to deliver the financial targets and already.

“Despite the inevitable impact on the total work force from the effects of the required savings, the performance of Wiltshire police continues to improve as clearly evidenced by Home Office statistics. This shows Wiltshire recording the lowest level of violence in the country, therefore making it the safest county in the country,” he added.