Uniformed police to face job cuts

Sworn police officers are facing a new threat to their livelihoods after the government announced plans to axe 28,000 uniformed positions, replacing them with civilian staff.

The proposal would involve police forces in England and Wales using thousands more ordinary staff in jobs done at present by uniformed officers.

The plans are being proposed as part of an effort to save £400 million by replacing up to one in five police officers with civilian staff.

The plans have been disclosed just 24 hours after the Government said rank and file officers would face pay cuts to reduce an overtime culture costing £500 million a year. The bill includes payments of time-and-a-third for a minimum of four hours if an officer is recalled between shifts.

Rank and file officers have already reacted angrily to the plans. The Police Federation warned that the service could even lose the ability to respond to emergencies properly.

Ministers have denied that the government is drawing up a policy to reduce police numbers. However, government sources have said that forces are free to take their own decisions over officer numbers.

When officers retire, chief constables can swell their ranks with police community support officers and civilian investigators rather than replace them.

The temptation for chief constables is that PCSOs take just five weeks to train instead of two years and cost less in basic wages and overtime.

However critics say civilian staff and PCSOs - dubbed plastic police - lack the powers to properly protect the public or solve crime. Crucially, they do not have the power of arrest.

The idea of replacing fully-trained police with civilian staff is raised in a ‘ten-year strategy’ document commissioned by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

The paper, prepared for today’s meeting of the Workforce Council for the police service says that if every police force in England and Wales comprised 50 per cent staff and a similar percentage of uniformed officers there would be savings of £400 million.

These workers would have less generous pay and pensions package than uniformed police.

The paper, prepared by Mark Rowley, the Chief Constable of Surrey, and Althea Loderick, of the National Policing Improvement Agency said that moving to this model of policing would mean a reduction of 28,000 officers from the current record 144,833.

Last night the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said it was receiving mixed messages. Paul McKeever, its chairman, said: “The Government says frontline services are going to be looked after yet behind the scenes there is work going on which could involve a potential cut of 28,000 uniformed officers.”

“To lose 28,000 officers would be a huge hit. We are astounded that people are even thinking along these lines,” he added.

Police Minister David Hanson said of the 28,000 reduction: ‘The figure quoted is in no way a reflection of Government policy. Next year’s police investment will go up to more than £9.7billion and it is for chief constables to spend it where it is most needed.

‘The increase in civilian staff is freeing up officers, allowing them to dedicate more time to protecting the public and keeping the country safe. Outcomes are what matter most. It is not record numbers in the workforce that by itself will deliver a better service for the public. It is what officers and staff do that is crucial.’