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Winsor Hutton Neyroud
Three reports published in as many weeks, Winsor on Policing Cuts, Hutton on Policing Pensions and Neyroud on Efficiency and Training.
So where does that leave rank & file police officers, the Office of Constable and more importantly our communities?
Winsor without doubt will cut the front line service of policing in the UK. 20% cut in any budget is huge but for the Police Service, who Labour had started to enforce cuts on at the end of their term its a bigger problem. Police Services in England Wales and Northern Ireland had started to collaborate and make savings on such facilities as admin, vehicle purchase and cuts in police staff. So when the Coalition took power and made further cuts the Police Service was already beginning to wind down procurement. Winsor will make this process worse forcing a complete new structure within the service at a time when restructure had started for some. Hutton looks at increasing Pension subscriptions to an organisation that already pays 11% of their pay into the pot, one of the highest in public service! Now this week Neyroud who promises to professionalise the service with a ‘Stay and Pay’ routine!
What about the Public? Where is their say in all of this? Well colleagues it’s time for honesty I’m afraid our senior management teams left them out in the cold years ago. Under the cloudy world of national recording systems, the fog of statistics and ‘detections’ there was then little room for sunny honesty!
For far too long our communities, the public we serve have had an expectation our senior management teams have failed to recognise and respond too. They have been too interested in pleasing their masters in Government and obtaining their own gains.
You may cringe at this next statement but these reports I’m afraid do not go far enough in modernising the Police Service for the future. Nor do they protect the Office of Constable or provide an adequate service to our communities.
Society has to be mobilised and made aware just what these 3 reports mean to them whether a member of the public, a police officer or politician there has to be wider understanding. The Association of Chief Police Officers official response to the Neyroud report stated “Raising the status of policing to that of a profession will represent a step change”
So, what will happen now? We will see months if not years of legal ramblings on what’s accepted and what’s not accepted within these three reports of proposals. What will the Pay and Negotiating Board do for rank and file? Well at the end of the day the Home Secretary has the final say? What will the Police Federation do? Well they will be guided as always to remain within the law using evidence based argument and put pressure on Government to repeal their proposals. What will rank and file officers do? Well if the past few weeks are anything to go by there will be those that will and those that won’t do anything?
Most importantly what will our communities, our general public, what will they do?
If none of us do anything one thing is for sure and that is we will end up with a state run Police Service!
ACPO recognises that there will be a ‘Step Change’, our public have no faith in our service due to the mismanagement by senior management teams over statistics and detections, the Association of Police Authorities are crumbling to make way for Policing Panels and a Commissioner. Add to this Winsors changes to Pay and Conditions and Huttons changes to Police Pensions we have a formidable change to the Service.
It is therefore time a Royal Commission reviewed the Police Service properly. The Public, our communities do not wish for crime to rise or see an unsettled crime fighting organisation constantly changed and reviewed every year for the next decade. Our Police Officers and colleagues do not wish for a decade of regular change without consistency in pay and conditions.
A Royal Commission on Policing will set the scene for the future once and for all and lead us into the future with security, commitment, reliance and most importantly trust!
What can you do?
Start by signing our petition for a Royal Commission here
Visit YOUR local MP and impress upon them that YOU want a Police Service YOU can rely on!
Most importantly GET INVOLVED. If you are a member of the public start asking those difficult questions! If you are a rank and file Police Officer speak with your Police Federation Reps.
DO NOT LET YOUR POLICE SERVICE GO . . . .
