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| Police numbers 'not sustainable' | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Keeping police numbers at their current level is not sustainable over the next three years, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary has said. | |
| In a report after a year-long review, Sir Ronnie Flanagan said many police jobs could be carried out more effectively by clerical staff. | |
| The report proposes cuts to bureaucracy and says only 10% of policing tasks require fully-trained police officers. | |
| But the Police Federation has warned it could lead to a "de-skilled" force. | |
| It would produce a "paramilitary force" warned chairwoman Jan Berry. | |
| "It produces a completely different kind of police service, one that's only dealing with confrontational situations, like a paramilitary force," she said. | |
| "That's not the police service that traditionally this country had, and we have got to be very careful before we fall into that type of police service." | "That's not the police service that traditionally this country had, and we have got to be very careful before we fall into that type of police service." |
| If we are not very careful ... we might not actually have the numbers of uniform officers we need in times of incidents Ch Supt Ian JohnstonPolice Superintendents' Assoc | |
| The report says that when civilian staff are trained to carry out duties, such as taking statements, the evidence suggests they do so "more effectively", and that "further work" is needed to explore this approach. | |
| Chief Superintendent Ian Johnston, of the Police Superintendents' Association, said the police service had already been through "three or four different civilisation programmes" and many forces were saying they couldn't "civilianise" anything else. | Chief Superintendent Ian Johnston, of the Police Superintendents' Association, said the police service had already been through "three or four different civilisation programmes" and many forces were saying they couldn't "civilianise" anything else. |
| "The other thing, don't forget, if we are not very careful we'll have people specialising in different bits of policing and we might not actually have the numbers of uniform officers we need in times of incidents and national disasters." | "The other thing, don't forget, if we are not very careful we'll have people specialising in different bits of policing and we might not actually have the numbers of uniform officers we need in times of incidents and national disasters." |
| The report follows criticism from the Police Federation in Cumbria that Community Support Officers (CSOs) were replacing regular officers. | The report follows criticism from the Police Federation in Cumbria that Community Support Officers (CSOs) were replacing regular officers. |
| And in September former home secretary David Blunkett criticised two CSOs who did not attempt to rescue a 10-year-old boy who drowned in a pond in Wigan. | And in September former home secretary David Blunkett criticised two CSOs who did not attempt to rescue a 10-year-old boy who drowned in a pond in Wigan. |
| The officers said they were untrained in rescues and had "acted correctly". | The officers said they were untrained in rescues and had "acted correctly". |
| 'Dingy surroundings' | 'Dingy surroundings' |
| HAVE YOUR SAY Civilian staff can take care of all paper work done by police officers. They can provide support to police officers on the beat by staying in contact with them on radio/phone.Jawed Iqbal, OldhamSend us your comments | HAVE YOUR SAY Civilian staff can take care of all paper work done by police officers. They can provide support to police officers on the beat by staying in contact with them on radio/phone.Jawed Iqbal, OldhamSend us your comments |
| In his report, Sir Ronnie also calls for a "radical overhaul" of police station reception areas and the service provided to the public. | In his report, Sir Ronnie also calls for a "radical overhaul" of police station reception areas and the service provided to the public. |
| "Dingy surroundings, out-of-date posters and poor or slow service," he said, "have a negative impact on public satisfaction and confidence." | |
| The report also criticises the Home Office. | The report also criticises the Home Office. |
| It describes the decision to withdraw funding from the national non-emergency telephone number, 101, as "deeply regrettable". | It describes the decision to withdraw funding from the national non-emergency telephone number, 101, as "deeply regrettable". |
| Sir Ronnie has an extensive track record of managing police forces. | Sir Ronnie has an extensive track record of managing police forces. |
| He is best known for his former job in his native Northern Ireland, where he was Chief Constable of both the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. | He is best known for his former job in his native Northern Ireland, where he was Chief Constable of both the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. |
| During his time at the helm, he presided over some of the biggest changes in policing and witnessed some of the most significant events in Northern Ireland's recent history, including the Good Friday Agreement and Omagh bomb. | During his time at the helm, he presided over some of the biggest changes in policing and witnessed some of the most significant events in Northern Ireland's recent history, including the Good Friday Agreement and Omagh bomb. |
| Do you work for the police service as clerical staff? Can some policing tasks be handed over? | Do you work for the police service as clerical staff? Can some policing tasks be handed over? |