West Yorkshire Police is facing a battle to provide a high quality service to the public, as it grapples with huge spending cuts, a report reveals.

The HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has identified five forces, including West Yorkshire, which are struggling with cutbacks.

West Yorkshire needs to save more than £112 million in a four-year spending review to March, 2015, but is only budgeted to save £103 million – leaving £9.4 million to find.

It is cutting costs by reducing the numbers of officers and staff – though front line numbers have increased – but HMIC warns the force might need to make more workforce reductions than it is planning.

Roger Baker, HM Inspector of Constabulary for the Northern Region, admitted West Yorkshire has a more difficult challenge than many forces.

But he said: “The force has not grasped the same opportunities to transform and deliver savings as other forces. It is imperative that detailed plans are rapidly developed and implemented. Strong and effective leadership will be essential.”

HMIC will continue to monitor the force for the remainder of the spending review. The HMIC report said that recorded crime had fallen by 14 per cent in the first two years of the spending review, and victim satisfaction was greater than in other forces.

But Jon Christopher, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said: “I have always said that these cuts had to make a difference to the service we deliver to the public – and that is just around the corner.

“The savings the force has had to make have been catastrophic.”

Mr Christopher said police numbers in West Yorkshire would continue to fall, and the situation was being made worse by the secondment of officers to help colleagues in Northern Ireland.

Councillor Imran Hussain, deputy leader and executive member for safer communities at Bradford Council and a member of West Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel, said: “I don’t see how these cuts cannot impact on frontline policing services, and the effects will start showing in the next year or two.

“We will continue to do what we can, and work in partnership with police. But the reality of the situation is that the amount of cuts are not going to be easily absorbed and inevitably they will affect policing.”

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson said it was important people understood the severity of the cuts.

He said: “I have confidence in (Chief Constable) Mark Gilmore to deliver the necessary changes that need to be made and to meet the significant challenges ahead.

“The need for strong leadership identified in the report is now in place after a period of instability and I believe this will see West Yorkshire Police continue to cut crime and ensure people in our communities feel safer and are safer. I am pleased with the progress that is being achieved in relation to the savings that need to be made.”

Mr Gilmore said: “This report highlights the more difficult challenge West Yorkshire Police faces, compared to many other forces. I fully accept the HMIC assessment that the Force has not so far grasped the same opportunities to transform and deliver savings as other forces and will be working alongside the Police and Crime Commissioner, with other partners, to find better ways to deliver the significant savings that need to be made.”