Monthly Archives: May 2010

As the new government convenes in Westminster this week, startling research published today by the Police Federation of England and Wales, reveals the devastating effect of workforce changes made over the last decade, which could result in forces having more police staff than police officers, thereby threatening the resilience of the police service and exposing the public to risks.

The research, found that numbers of police staff have virtually doubled in just under a decade and the growth in their numbers has outstripped that of police officers despite assurances. This could threaten the long-term resilience of the police service to deal with unexpected and unplanned circumstances. The research analysed statistics from all 43 forces in England and Wales looking at the ratio of police officers to police staff from 2000 to 2009. Some of the findings present a stark picture demonstrating that for all the political platitudes about restoring public confidence in the police, forces are in fact putting short-term cost savings ahead of public safety.

According to the research, the average ratio of police officers to staff in 2000 was 2.3 to 1 and by 2009 Home Office figures show this as 1.4 to 1. Whilst the research found value in some civilian police staff roles there was a clear lack of training, role definition and consistency across forces, there has also been no evaluation taken as to whether they even present better value for money. With the National Policing Improvement Agency and some chief officers wishing to re-engineer the entire police service workforce, the Police Federation believes there is an urgent need for the new government, in liaison with the police staff associations, to ascertain the full range of police staff roles in existence; to examine whether civilianising tasks that do not require warranted powers has a negative impact on police officer diversity; to explore whether specific staff roles has a positive impact on performance or public satisfaction; and to ascertain whether that impact provides better value for money to the public than the equivalent cost of a police officer. The Federation believes the policing mandate from the public to the police needs to be revisited; that the only way policing can meet public expectation is by conducting a thorough and independent review of policing which must include the public and all the policing stakeholders.

Paul McKeever, Chairman, Police Federation of England and Wales says: “It seems clear that for all the platitudes on restoring public confidence in the police, promises to keep police officer numbers high may be nothing more a game of smoke and mirrors. “I find it alarming that there is no tangible evidence that even suggests, let alone proves, the value brought by civilianising increasing numbers of police posts. At a time of financial restraint across the public sector, a rise in police staff numbers is absolute nonsense when the public want more police officers on the beat. Instead we have more increasing numbers of unaccountable, unidentifiable police staff who do not have the flexibility or resilience to give what is needed as an emergency service. “We have a new government; we have a new Parliament. Now is the time to stop this uncoordinated and ill-constructed plan that will destroy the police service in England and Wales; to implement a full independent review and to have the courage to ask the public what they actually want and expect from their police service.”

http://www.polfed.org/mediacenter/E8CB00468FF24F7ABE143B838859AD2C.asp

See full report here -  http://www.polfed.org/Police_Numbers_Report_170510.pdf

Tens of millions of pounds in police bonuses faced the axe today after chief constables told Home Secretary Theresa May they were not wanted. A delegation of force leaders told the Tory Cabinet member that bonuses are not part of the country’s “policing culture” and should be dumped. They said the system of making special payments to all ranks was imposed on police despite concerns that private sector remuneration was not suitable for their unique role. The bonus system was covered during a wide-ranging discussion between a handful of chief constables, the Home Secretary and Police Minister Nick Herbert yesterday. Among those present were Humberside chief Tim Hollis, Thames Valley chief Sara Thornton, West Midlands chief Chris Sims and West Yorkshire boss Sir Norman Bettison. Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), who also attended the meeting, said bonuses have always been “anathema to policing”. He said: “There is a bigger debate here about the whole public sector. To deliver, the public sector needs to look at the whole reward structure. “There are some unique things about policing. These guys work in imprecise environments, we rely on them to make split second decisions. “That has got to be recognised, but we need to recognise it in a fair way. Acpo recognises there is pressure on the public purse. It is about recognising professional working practices and rewards.”

News of the meeting emerged after Scotland Yard boss Sir Paul Stephenson called for an end to bonus payments for all police officers to repair public confidence. Britain’s most senior officer said the service was damaged by the bonus culture, it does not motivate police to work harder and warned the payments could be “divisive”. The subject is now sure to feature when Mr Herbert faces rank-and-file officers at the Police Federation conference in Bournemouth today and when Mrs May attends tomorrow. Prime Minister David Cameron moved to curb public spending by announcing an end to “crazy” performance-related pay for senior civil servants. Sir Paul, who is paid £250,000 a year and previously called for a “fundamental review” of bonuses, said he has turned down more than £100,000 of performance-related pay since 2005. He told the Daily Telegraph: “If I had accepted a bonus I always felt as though I would compromise my operational independence and discharge of duties, and that is something that forms the basis to my whole approach to policing. “I am very disappointed that we still have bonus payments in policing. Now is the time to get rid of them, as far as I’m concerned. They should never have been there in the first place.” The issue of bonuses for top officers hit the headlines last summer when it emerged several forces were paying extra cash to their highest-ranking officers. Chief constables Ian McPherson at Norfolk, Sean Price at Cleveland and Sir Norman received incentives in addition to their published salaries. But the latest discussions included bonuses for all ranks of officers, including special payments for frontline officers who undertake particularly difficult or unpleasant tasks. Sir Paul added: “I’ve been an opponent right from the very outset of bonus payments for chief officers, special priority payments and competency threshold payments. “I think there is a whole scheme of payments and remuneration brought into policing that I do not think has served policing very well. “I think it has been divisive. I think it has complicated the whole purpose of policing and the tradition of police officers being paid a salary and the public knowing that for that salary they will get the officers’ independent discharge of their duties.”

Paul McKeever, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said bonus payments have always been controversial. Speaking in Bournemouth, he said the “time is right” for a review of all types of bonus for every level of officer. Mr McKeever said: “Bonus payments have not been working well for some time. The implementation is patchy as it is down to individual senior officers.” Clive Chamberlain, chair of Dorset Police Federation, said removing bonus would be difficult. He said the payments were originally implemented to cover for lost allowances, such as clothing payments for detectives and subsidies for firearms officers. Mr Chamberlain added: “It is not like it is new money. If they take away bonuses then people will have lost out.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/police-chiefs-urge-end-to-bonus-culture-1975787.html

Matt Dickinson, Press Association Thursday, 13 May 2010. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/record-number-of-police-but-overtime-bill-has-doubled-1972468.html

Spending on police overtime has nearly doubled over the past decade despite record numbers of police officers, a report said today. Overtime payments in England and Wales soared by around 90% between 1999 and 2009, hitting £400 million last year, according to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (CCJS).  The rise came as the number of police officers reached an all-time high of 142,151 in 2009 – 15,337 higher than a decade ago, the study found. Researchers said overall policing costs also grew by a “remarkable” 48% over the 10-year period, from £9.8 billion to £14.5 billion. After the future of the policing budget became one of the key battlegrounds during the general election campaign, the CCJS said its findings meant that a public debate about police priorities was needed “more than ever”.

The centre’s director Richard Garside questioned the value obtained from the massive spending hike as well as the rationale for the jump. He said: “Spending has gone up by nearly a half but the value of this huge increase is much harder to pin down. “We now have the largest police service ever. Yet there seems to be no clear rationale behind this incremental growth, nor a clear measure of its success. “Is there a point in having a ‘reserve army’ of this magnitude? Now more than ever we need a public debate about priorities and choices.” The report’s compilers said the rise in overtime appeared “counter-intuitive” given the current size of the workforce. But “the Home Office recognises its (overtime’s) necessary part in responding to unexpected major incidents”, they added. Spending on staff made up just over three-quarters of the overall costs (76%), with the rest coming through capital expenditure, property, transport and other services. The report also said the spending increase has been sustained by “significant increases” in council tax bills. It calculated that from 2003/04 onwards, council tax had provided around a fifth of police revenue expenditure.

The growth in civilian staff, including police community support offices, has also outstripped that in police officers, the report said. There were 77,609 civilian staff last year, up from 52,975 a decade ago. The number of PCSOs also reached 16,331 in 2009, since they were introduced during 2002. The report concluded: “The fact that spending has so vastly increased in the past decade should be a stimulus to fresh thinking about the shape and size of the police service as a whole. “A new political debate about police numbers could become a sterile diversion unless there is a fundamental discussion about what the police are for, and what that means for the public purse.”

Britain’s pagan policemen and women have been given the right to take time off to celebrate their ancient festivals. The Pagan Police Association (PPA) has been recognised as a ‘diversity staff support organisation’ by the Home Office, a move which has polarised the force. The PPA is thought to have up to 500 members, including Wiccans and Druids. Co-founder Andy Pardy has hailed the group’s progress, which will see members allowed time off to observe dates like the recent Beltane Fire Festival and Spring Equinox at Stonehenge. “The recognition of paganism is a slow process, but the progress is evident,” he says. “Officers can, for the first time, apply for leave on the festival dates relevant to their path, and allow them to work on other dates such as Christmas which bear no relevance to them.” Followers of major world religions like Christianity, Islam and Judaism already get time off to celebrate events in their religious calendars. Paganism is believed to be Britain’s fastest growing religion, and its followers have enjoyed increased exposure through the British media in recent years due to their protests at Stonehenge. Major festivals include Yule, an ancient precursor to Christmas in which pagans burn a Yule log in honour of the Germanic god Kriss Kringle, and Samhain, on Halloween, when food is left for the dead and worshippers cast spells as ghosts.

Dave Crossley National Policing Improvement Agency I came across this on the Yahoo News website. It is an article on QUANGOS and appears to indicate that one of the most expensive ones is the NPIA which costs half a billion pounds per year! Funnily enough NPIA recently submitted a paper suggesting a cut of 28,000 police numbers would save £545 million – the same as it costs to run NPIA per year!! http://uk.news.yahoo.com/elections/dont-panic-post/post/dont_panic/15/investigation-highlights-further-government-misspending.html