PRESS ASSOCIATION -- Police forces are due to be told whether they can cope with controversial Government spending cuts.
Inspectors reviewing challenges facing forces across England and Wales are publishing findings after the Prime Minister delivered warnings over radical changes in store.
David Cameron has said the phone hacking crisis, with its allegations of police payments, "calls for us to stand back and take another, broader look at the whole culture of policing in this country".
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has inspected all 43 forces to assess how they plan to meet the spending slash over the next four years. The review is published amid warnings from rank and file officers that the Government is risking the nation's safety over cuts.
Reforms by ministers will fuel crime and take policing back to the 1970s, the Police Federation claims. More than 2,000 off-duty rank and file officers marked their anger at the Government as part of a day of action in Westminster last week.
Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation, won a standing ovation after saying the cuts were an "absolute disgrace". Mr McKeever said he has "no doubt" that a 20% cut to overall police budgets could lead to more crime.
Anger has been building in frontline policing since former rail regulator Tom Winsor said the most wide-ranging analysis of forces pay in 30 years showed more than £1 billion of savings should be made.
Mr Cameron has said there was need for major change regardless of economic challenges.
"At the moment, the police system is too closed," he said on Wednesday. "There is only one point of entry into the force. There are too few - and arguably too similar - candidates for the top jobs.
"As everyone knows, Tom Winsor is looking into police careers, and I want to see radical proposals for how we can open up our police force and bring in fresh leadership."