Appearing before the Home Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Sir Ronnie Flanagan said it was feasible some officers were spending up to 30 per cent of their time on paperwork.
But he said police officers on the ground were doing what they could to change this and that paperwork remains “crucially important” for some offences like domestic violence.
“There are areas where it is crucially important that we keep proper audit trails and engage in the necessary paperwork,” he said.
When quizzed on how the situation could be improved, Sir Ronnie said police need to have routine tasks diverted away from them so they can bring the public the benefit of their expertise.
Discretion
He also said officers should be afforded some discretion when deciding whether to fill in paperwork.
“Let’s get back to a position where officers are trusted and have the confidence to exercise their own judgement,” he urged.
His recommendations come a day after the Home Secretary and Prime Minister launched their new neighbourhood policing initiative. Under the plans, every home in England and Wales would be given a mobile phone number to call new neighbourhood officers.
Sir Ronnie supported the initiative, saying neighbourhood policing should become the “golden thread” running through policing at the local, national and international levels.
Proportionate spending
His nine-month review of policing in England in Wales claims that, although funding has greatly increased in recent years, there is still a need to give money out in a way that is proportionate to risk.
“The allocation of grant funding to police authorities should be based transparently on objective need in order to better match resources to threat and demand,” it reads.
Sir Ronnie also recommends reducing the number of police forces from 43 to a smaller number of “more strategically numbered” forces.