Too many police chiefs? - A review of police strength and costs in England & Wales 2010
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS - The Police Staff System
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The need for a review of the police staff system. Has civilianization delivered its intended purpose? Or is it largely a costly waste that diverts too much resource away from where the real need is, at the front line of policing.
Civilian staff outnumber police officers in two British police forces
Home Office figures show average ratio of officers to civilian staff has almost doubled in last decade. The numbers of civilian staff in two British police forces has overtaken those of uniformed officers, according to figures released recently.
The figures, compiled by the Police Federation, the national organisation representing rank-and-file police officers, showed there were now more staff than officers in both Surrey and Northamptonshire police forces. According to the research there were 1,938 civilian staff and 1,824 officers in Surrey last year, and in Northamptonshire the figure was 1,938 civilians to 1,785 officers. Across all 43 forces in England and Wales the number of civilian staff – which includes community support officers – had generally doubled between 2000 and 2009, while the number of officers had decreased.
The research, compiled from Home Office figures, shows that the average ratio of police officers to civilian staff in 2000 was 2.3 to 1, compared to 1.4 to 1 in 2009. The federation said it was concerned about the workforce changes and a trend towards the "civilianisation" of police, which it said would place the public at greater risk. Paul McKeever, chair of the federation, said: "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."
Nick Herbert, the police and crime minister, said he understood the federation's concerns but stopped short of offering a reversal of the figures. "The new government shares the desire of the Police Federation to see more of its officers out on the beat keeping our communities safe. That is why we will cut through the bureaucracy and red tape that frustrates the police and the public alike and free up officers to get back to doing what they do best – fighting crime," Herbert said.
As the HMIC police staffing chart showed earlier in this report, police staff levels stood at 82, 181 in 2009, costing £2.7billion, representing 25% of the total staffing costs and 33% 0f the total strength.
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Chapter 5
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