Too many police chiefs? - A review of police strength and costs in England & Wales 2010
Concluding Summary
Whilst this report is focused predominantly on the existence and structure of the senior management of policing, there are necessary reforms that cascade downward. From Governance, through to force structures, chief and management officer value and more cost effective and efficient use of resources.
GOVERNANCE
Unless the governance system itself is transformed, any other substantive programme of reform will suffer the same fate as those that preceded it: opposition within different parts of the service followed by a government ‘U-turn’ for fear of a politically costly conflict with the police. The first reform priority therefore has to be to design a system of governance that is more coherent and less fragmented and that empowers local and national police leaders to deliver change in the public interest. None of the police reforms can be progressed with any great success unless and until a wider set of problems are tackled that are caused by the way the police service is governed, organised and held to account.
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The need for a transparent, independent and detailed review of ACPO, the APA and the NPIA – their value and cost. The three organisations must be thoroughly and independently overhauled to determine if they should be scrapped, or if they are to remain, amalgamation of the resources should be considered, to avoid the blurring & overlapping of responsibilities, at the same time shaving millions of wasted expenditure.
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A National Policing Agency should be established by merging the National Policing Improvement Agency and the Association of Police Authorities with those parts of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that currently coordinate or deliver national policing services. The NPA would have powers to ensure that complex and serious criminal activity that crosses force borders was being effectively tackled through collaboration and to improve the efficiency of service delivery by all forces.
THE MERGING OF POLICE FORCES
The 43-force structure creates a substantial amount of waste, both through inefficiencies created by localised expenditure that would best be done regionally, and by duplicating expenditure which would best take place at a national level. It is clear that there is huge potential for savings to be made. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary has calculated that potential savings from merging existing forces could amount to up to £2.25 billion over ten years, so it seems reasonable to assume that at least this level of savings could be achieved. A greater pressure for value for money will lead to cost reductions of this kind. That pressure will come from greater accountability.
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Chapter 6
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