Too many police chiefs? - A review of police strength and costs in England & Wales 2010
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS - ACPO - The Association of Police Officers
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Scrutinising the continuing value of 349 ACPO officers & 3,408 SMT Ranks, demanding that forces prove beyond doubt, the need for so many Chiefs drawing such a disproportionate percentage of the total staffing cost, both in numbers engaged and the bonus payments that are shrouded in secrecy.
He revealed that ACPO, which has campaigned relentlessly against placing constabularies under local democratic control, retained the services of a lobbyist, Connect Public Affairs, to represent it during the passage of the Policing and Criminal Justice Bill. Whatever the opinion about police accountability, it is outrageous that an unelected agency should use money from the public purse in an attempt (successful, as it turned out) to dissuade elected representatives from pursuing their stated policies? Here’s the best bit. Do you know what the Association of Police Authorities’ slogan is? “Giving people a say in policing”. Give them a say, ignore it, then spend their money.
And another …..
ACPO has spent millions of pounds meant for counter-terrorism work on luxury London flats for senior officers. The spending on an undisclosed number of apartments in the Westminster area is understood to be about £1.6million a year. The money is taken directly from taxpayers’ purse given to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) by the Home Office to tackle the terrorist threat across Britain. The funding – £33million last year – is supposed to be used to beef up regional police forces’ anti-terrorism response and pay for crucial equipment and facilities.
Instead, ACPO’s Terrorism & Allied Matters (TAM) committee, headed by Assistant Commissioner John Yates, has used millions of pounds from the budget to pay for flats. ACPO refused to disclose how many apartments it was paying for, or who was receiving the perk, but all are said to be well-appointed homes close to Scotland Yard.
ACPO insists they are ‘occupied’, but two well-placed sources told The Mail on Sunday newspaper that officers only occasionally stay in them. Local estate agents say the cheapest two-bedroom flats in the area cost £400,000 to buy or at least £300 a week to rent. But with the officers requiring a ‘secure location’ the flats are said to cost substantially more.
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Chapter 5
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