Thousands of extra officers will be needed to deal with rising property crime as the recession deepens, police rank-and-file representatives have claimed.
Acquisitive crime such as theft, burglary and fraud could soar by 25% over the next two years, the Police Federation of England and Wales said.
Senior members said an additional 2,000 police officers are required over the next three years if police chiefs want to maintain the current frontline service.
Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation, said research found the number of police officers per 100,000 people is falling.
He said police officer numbers increased or were maintained during previous recessions in the 1980s and 1990s.
Mr McKeever said: "With crime rates set to increase as the recession deepens, politicians of all parties need to sit up and take notice of this Police Federation research which clearly shows that the resilience of the service will be damaged unless police officer strength is increased over the next three years.
"We must not lose sight that we will also be policing the biggest sporting event this country has handled in 2012, when the Olympics comes to the UK.
"How we are expected to deal with the demands this will place upon the service, in addition to the increasing property crime rates with fewer officers per head of the population, is beyond me. My real fear is that the level of service and protection we will be able to afford the public will be severely affected unless action to address this is taken now."
He was speaking on the opening day of the Police Federation's annual conference in Bournemouth.
Policing Minister Vernon Coaker said the Government is determined to tackle the issues raised by the Police Federation "head on".
