Sir Ronnie feels that the current “restricted financial world” means that it’s “simply not sustainable” to maintain police manpower at the current level of 141,000 officers. He’d like to see civilian staff drafted-in to take statements from suspects, for example, and leave fully-fledged officers more time to concentrate on front line crime-fighting duties.
On top of this, Sir Ronnie is proposing the greater use of technology (such as hand-held computers) by officers, and an end for the requirement placed upon officers to fill in lengthy forms as part of stop and search procedures.
The former chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland has declined to say how many police officers should be ‘lost’ as part of the Government’s cost-cutting drive, commenting that a “small reduction” would be needed. “There is widespread recognition among the leadership of the police service that maintaining police numbers at their current level is not sustainable over the course of the next three years. I don’t think that throwing numbers at the police is the answer.”
Sir Ronnie feels that reducing bureaucracy could save between five and seven million hours of police time each year (equivalent to something between 2,500 and 3,500 officers), and has highlighted simpler crime reporting processes as an essential way forward. For example, his report calls for a ‘receipt’ to be issued to suspects rather than police having to fill in “foot long forms”. The so-called ‘Stop and Account’ Form can take an officer up to half an hour to complete, and was first introduced in the wake of teenager Stephen Lawrence’s tragic murder.
Not everyone is happy with Sir Ronnie’s proposals, however. Jan Berry, head of the Police Foundation, has warned that reducing the number of duties carried out by fully-fledged police personnel will “dumb down” the service. “It would produce a totally different kind of police service” Berry told info4security. “One that’s only dealing with confrontational situations, like a paramilitary force. This isn’t the type of police service we’ve traditionally been privy to in England and Wales, and we must be extremely careful about going down that route.”
Speaking in the House of Commons, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith referred to the review as “independent and challenging”. Smith has explained that powers to stop and search will be extended to tackle gun and knife crime. “The use of virtual Courts and video ID parades will also be increased,” commented Smith.
The Home Secretary is set to publish a Green Paper in the spring setting out further reforms, while Sir Ronnie is to report back in around six months’ time on the progress made to date when it comes to streamlining policing procedures.
Sir Ronnie’s report has also recommended fairly radical changes to the ways in which police services across England and Wales are funded. This could dramatically alter the amount of money some regions receive to help in the fight against crime. Sir Ronnie feels that “various floors and ceilings should be removed from the funding formulas” so that police services receive money according to the demands placed directly upon them.
In the wake of Sir Ronnie’s report, the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has highlighted once again the vital role that the private security industry can play in supporting the modern-day police service, and its “willingness to engage wholeheartedly” in the future of policing.
Speaking to info4security, BSIA chief executive David Dickinson said: “It’s good to see this report placing a strong emphasis on police officers carrying out front line duties. Duties which they are uniquely qualified to perform. The report also states that ‘policing is much too important and too impactive on all of our lives to be left to the police alone’. This is an ethos that the private security industry has long embraced and, over the past decade, we have seen the private sector moving more and more into a support role for the police service. However, we’re keen to stress that the industry has no ambitions to provide second class police officers. Rather, we want to offer a first class support service.”
Dickinson continued: “There’s capacity within the private security industry to carry out a range of business functions without detracting from the efficiency and effectiveness of the police service. We are already providing services such as prisoner escorting, custody suite management and running public space surveillance CCTV Control Rooms, to name but a few. History shows that several thousand police officers have already been returned to front line activity because of our involvement. We look forward to continuing to play our part in the crime fighting family.”
