A raft of measures outlined by the Home Secretary today will save the Coalition says an estimated 2.5 million police hours – the equivalent of 1,200 police officer posts a year.
At a speech at Church House in London Theresa May told the audience of police officers: ‘These reforms are a watershed moment in policing, showing that we really mean business in busting bureaucracy and allowing police to police and not fill in forms.'<br><br>Police should no longer expect police to be scrutinised by the Home Office or given top down targets she said.<br><br>Instead, they will be given the autonomy to manage themselves and be encouraged to come up will innovative ways to save time, money and cut crime. <br><br>Mrs May spoke about what she claimed were radical new time-saving measures – for example, a process which allows police to inform defendants via post that they have been charged.<br><br>This will require the defendant to attend court on a specific date to answer the charge rather than calling the suspect back to the police station for charging. This would only happen in specific cases, she explained, but would save around 40,000 police officer hours annually.<br><br>Simplified crime recording process will also be championed, with forces encouraged to simplify their practices. <br><br>A current review of crime statistics could see the number of crime categories being reduced. This would reduce the amount of time spent filling out crime reports, saving around 95,000 hours of officer time each year.<br><br>And more efficient call handing processes, carried out by staff rather than police officers, should mean more efficient prioritising of incidents.<br><br>Meanwhile, a review by Sara Thornton, Thames Valley chief constable, is likely to see a reduction in the police service’s guidance by 2012. <br><br>This is likely to reduce current guidance from around 600 pieces of police guidance to fewer than 100, leading to significant savings for officers because they will no longer have to learn all of the guidance. <br><br>The Home Secretary congratulated chief constables in forces such as Avon and Somerset, Essex and Kent, and Hampshire and Thames Valley, who have achieved significant savings from outsourcing processes and sharing resources. <br><br>’These are all examples of chief officers using their professional judgement to best deploy their resources in the fight against crime,’ she said.<br><br>Meanwhile, according to the UK Police Federations which represent officers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the proposed amendments to the Police (Health and Safety) Act, 1997, will prevent members of the public from being able to make claims for injuries or actions taken by the Police. This will not only damage public accountability but will deny UK police officers the same rights as other workers in Europe. <br><br>The amendment put forward by Lord Blencathra, which proposes the repeal of sections 1, 2 and 5 of the Police Act 1997, will effectively remove the protection afforded by the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974, for police officers. <br><br>This amendment ignores the fact that all the major police representative bodies: ACPO, the Superintendents’ Association and the Police Federation agree the position that the Police (Health and Safety) Act in its current form has resulted in significant improvements in the health, safety and welfare of front line police officers whilst still allowing effective policing to be achieved. This is the approach embodied in the high level statement ‘Striking the balance between operational and health and safety duties in the police service’.
Comment
Speaking for ACPO, the association’s lead on bureaucracy Chief Constable Chris Sims said: "Steps by the government to reduce bureaucratic accountability and ensure that the police can get on with the job of keeping the public safe are welcome. Success in this area will be closely linked to a willingness to place trust in individual police officers to use their discretion and common sense on the job. Across the service ACPO is also leading in reviewing and reducing national guidance and advice.
“There will always be a requirement in policing to record some information in order to understand our service, work with local and national stakeholders and improve the way we work. It requires a balance to be struck in order get the right outcome, which is to improve the service we deliver to the public.”
