THE Police and Crime Commissioner for Notts has said he wants to cut the number of senior officers to save cash.
Paddy Tipping's comments came as new figures showed the force lost more than 300 constables over nine years, but the overall number of sergeants went up.
According to figures from a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request, the number of PCs has been declining steadily since 2003, apart from a small rise between 2007 to 2010.
In 2011-12(Apr to Mar) there were 1,691 on the books, down from 2,011 in 2003-04 – a fall of 320.
In the same period the number of sergeants grew overall from 350 to 367 – although it is down from a peak of 425 in 2009.
Mr Tipping said: "If you look at our comparison against other forces you find that the overall profile is more or less the same as most other forces.
"But reducing the number of senior officers overall is something I've been discussing with the chief constable.
"Although the number of chief superintendents has come down, as the budget tightens we've got to look at the hierarchy of the force."
The same figures , from a response to an FOI request the force published on its website, also show there has only been a small increase in the number of staff and officers from ethnic minorities.
In 2004, 3.4 per cent of the officers and staff were from an ethnic minority background. By 2012, this had risen by one per cent.
As part of a recruitment drive also designed to employ 150 new constables this year, the force has been running 'positive action' public events designed to encourage more applicants from under-represented groups, such as people from black and Asian backgrounds.
Mr Tipping said about seven per cent of applicants for the new jobs were from these backgrounds, which is the highest of any recruitment drive run by the force. In the city, about 35 per cent of the population are classed as coming from an ethnic minority background, and in the county it is about eight per cent.
Phil Matthews, chairman of the Notts branch of the Police Federation, said: "We've had to make savings and there was a push to do that from around 2000.
"We were quite good at that and shaving off the edges but we've had big budget cuts from the Government since.
"Despite the recruitment drive, I'm concerned that police constable numbers will stay the same because of officers leaving the force."
The force is trying to save about £43m due to Government cuts.
Stations have been sold and in 2011 the force used the "A19" rule to force more than 100 officers to retire in a move subject to an employment tribunal brought by the Federation.
