PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT


PLUMMETING PROMOTIONS


A CAUSE FOR CONCERN


The Federation has found that the majority of officers believe there are not enough line managers to cope with influx of new recruits


Concerns have been raised by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) over the ratio of frontline supervisors to new recruits with the number of promotions falling. In the year ending 31 March 2021, 3,343 police officers received a promotion in the 43 police forces in England and Wales – a decrease of 11 per cent in comparison to the previous year. At the same time, 11,053 PCs have been recruited through the Government’s Police Uplift Programme with the aim of bringing in 20,000 extra officers by March next year. The latest Home Office figures follow a survey conducted by PFEW that revealed almost half of officers do not believe their force will have enough sergeants or line managers to supervise all of the new officers they recruit. When we asked sergeants to share their concerns, 31 per cent expected the average number of constables they have direct line management responsibilities for to increase owing to the uplift programme; with more than half indicating it is unlikely or extremely unlikely they will have


enough time and resources to manage this (55 per cent).


More than 1,000 sergeants left comments to tell us about the impact that the officer uplift programme might have on their rank. Many comments indicated that inadequate training for the new recruits had led to additional burdens being placed on sergeants and tutor constables. Some sergeants highlighted that the sudden influx of inexperienced


Dave Bamber


He said that supervisors are “doing their best to manage the workforce”, but added that the pressure they are under is damaging welfare and wellbeing. This has a knock-on effect on the rest of their teams. “Getting the ratio of frontline officers


“Development in retaining officers of all ranks is imperative – retention is as important as recruitment”


officers could pose a risk to officer safety. “A drop in the number of promotions


at a time where there is a rise in new constables being recruited through the uplift programme is concerning,” said Dave Bamber, PFEW professional development lead. “Leading from the frontline is key to delivering policing, but many of my colleagues feel their ability to lead will be impacted as they now have to supervise a larger number of PCs on top of their already overstretched workloads.


to frontline supervisors is a critical component of a strong workforce,” Dave continued. “Key stakeholders have recognised the importance of this which is why online exams have been facilitated over the past year alongside the promotion process which leaves us questioning why forces haven’t been promoting people.” “As forces continue to recruit, it is imperative that they invest in the development of all ranks because retention is just as important.” The College of Policing


presented its review of the National Police Promotion Framework, which calls for a change in emphasis and the restructuring of the programmes, principles and priorities to the current promotion and career progression system.


PFEW has been involved throughout the review and supports the direction it advocates, with many of the issues we identified, and solutions proposed included in its report. Mr Bamber continued: Mr Bamber continued: “The review and the proposals are welcomed, PFEW’s voice can be seen throughout the report, hopefully the principles will be adopted fully by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.” However, he cautions that changes


to promotion processes are a long-term process that takes years to come to fruition. He calls for the service to recognise that existing supervisors and officers who will be promoted in the shorter term will need “investment and support immediately.” “The proposals should really benefit the supervisors of the future, which is great, but let’s not forget the supervisors of the present.”


19 | POLICE | FEBRUARY 2022


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