KEEPING officers on the beat amid huge budget cuts is the biggest challenge facing Sussex Police, according to best selling crime author Peter James.

The Brighton-born writer, who made his millions basing his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series on an officer from the force, said uniformed police on patrol reassure the public. He made the comments days before his 13th DS Grace novel, Need You Dead, was due to be published.

Mr James, who regularly accompanies the police for his research and supports their work, said: “People want patrol cars driving around. If someone breaks into their house, they don’t want to be sent an email, they want to be visited by an officer.

“The Tory Government has done a lot of damage.

“Sussex Police have had to reduce their budget by thousands of pounds.

“The only way they can do this is by reducing patrolling officers. Traffic is particularly stretched.

“We all want to be able to feel safe but the police are having to prioritise.

“The reality is for most people there is no reassurance like a uniformed cop turning up.

“We were burgled years ago when we were living in Brighton.

“It was massively reassuring to have that uniformed officer visit us.

“But there are budget challenges, they have to strike the balance.”

He said tackling terrorism is the latest strain on budgets but this was the “sort of spectre” which is ever present.

He added: “Back in the 70s we had the IRA – and there wasn’t just The Grand bombing.

“Brighton is an iconic place, it’s always going to be a potential target.

“Terrorism is always going to be there.

“But what has always been there before, importantly, is officers.”

Click here to read an exclusive interview with Peter James on his new book

INSPIRED BY THE ARGUS AND POLICE

PETER James still meets former Detective Chief Superintendent David Gaylor – the real DS Grace – in The Ram Inn, Firle, to dissect plot lines.

His latest book mentions a host of Sussex locations including streets near the King Alfred leisure centre, Hollingbury and Lewes, the A27, and references The Grand hotel bombing in 1984. And there is a nail biting finale at the city's newest tourist attraction, the i360

Mr James acknowledges scores of current and former Sussex Police officers and staff who helped with his research as well as former Argus editor Mike Gilson and reporter Rachel Millard.

Current Detective Superintendent Jason Tingley, the force’s head of public protection, even makes an appearance.

Scenes from Need You Dead were inspired by a visit to The Argus in February last year when he shadowed the then crime reporter Ms Millard for the day.

The lavish houses they passed when they went out knocking on doors in Hollingbury helped him build a picture of character Lorna Belling’s home.

Ms Millard was also the inspiration for his fictional reporter Siobhan Sheldrake who finds love with Grace’s sidekick Glenn Branson.

She reappears in the latest novel as does a narrative explaining Grace’s feelings on the importance of the press, particularly a local newspaper, to inform the public, hold public services to account and act as a valuable ally to the police.

The next Grace novel will begin with a kidnap at the American Express Community Stadium and is due out next year after a short story in October.

  • Need You Dead by Peter James, the latest novel in the DS Roy Grace crime series, is out on Thursday in hardback published by Pan Macmillan costing £20