Better financial forecasting would have prevented a cash-strapped Government having to top up the police budget, according to Bermuda’s two opposition parties.The One Bermuda Alliance and United Bermuda Party have both reacted angrily to National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief saying he will reallocate additional funds to stop the police running out of money.Mr Perinchief said the Bermuda Police Service is suffering from a “budget stretch” but people shouldn’t panic as he would raise additional revenue from his Ministry or from other areas of Government.The police are said to be struggling to make ends meet after Government slashed its budget by 11 percent while the Island suffers its worst crime wave in history there have been 315 shooting incidents since May 2009 with 59 shot and 16 killed.For the 2011/12 financial year, the police budget is $58 million that’s $7.5 million less than last year and $10 million less than the year before.Shadow National Security Minister Michael Dunkley questioned whether Government was allowed to move money from one ministry to another and said any additional funds had to be done by supplementary estimates through the House of Assembly.He said: “Last time I checked you couldn’t move money from ministry to ministry. It’s not as if any other ministries have any spare cash anyway.“We just can’t see how they are going to do this, this isn’t the way to run the police. They can’t just top up a budget with supplementary funds, it’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul.“We keep seeing the same thing happening as the PLP don’t know how to allocate funds in a fiscal and prudent way. It’s like they are going to keep trying to move money around until they get it right, that’s not a responsible government.”Mr Dunkley said he fully supported the police and all their positive results, but stressed that having officers on the streets costs money. The OBA continues to stand by its position that this year’s police budget is “not enough to do the job required”.Mr Dunkley said: “We need men and women on our streets fighting crime, but all we are seeing is political posturing.“The correct funds to tackle the challenges should have been given in the first place especally since previous budgets show a fairly accurate explanation of what is required to get the job done. We are now just seeing Government trying to save its own skin”.He added: “We have confidence the Government’s wishful budget will become a realistic budget before the year’s out. Bermuda wants the police to have all the resources and support they need to get the job done.“I have every confidence that the Police Commissioner will manage funds in an effective manner. But a penny-pinching approach will not cut it.”Meanwhile, Kim Swan and Charlie Swan from the UBP issued a joint statement saying they feared “insufficient funding” was putting policing at risk.They urged the PLP to “get its financial priorities in better order” as the police needing supplementary funds “provided a further burden for a cash-strapped Government”.The pair said in a statement: “The latest debacle involving the cash shortage for the BPS is sending out mixed signals to the community and the workers on the front line.”We are appreciative that the Minister of National Security revealed to the public that he is committed to finding the funding, but unfortunately it follows a trend in recent years where millions have been spent, after the fact, in supplemental funding to meet the need for increased spending due to the prolific increase in violent crimes and unprecedented amount of murders.“We support the need for finding the financial resources to support the BPS, but we are duty bound to point out that better financial forecasting by Government is required.“The public discourse BPS encounters, due to financial shortages, exposes initiatives and puts forward planning at risk. We cannot continue to put the BPS and public safety in such an untenable position.”The two UBP MPs went on to say the past few years have seen “repeated financial hiccups” which had adversely impacted policing, crime detection and prevention.They said: “The criminal element are watching the politics of policing unfold and unfortunately they must be taking comfort at reports that reveal a financially hamstrung BPS.“Simultaneously, the good men and women on the front line of the BPS are adversely affected and their morale dampened with this unsettling news of an underfunded BPS.”l Are you a police officer? What do you think of the budget shortfall? E-mail shuish[AT]royalgazette.bm