Crime figures up and police numbers at their lowest level since 1985

[LanceBombardEars]

Not relevant, but just bragging, I had to check my vetting date this week for something. I was delighted to discover that it expires two years after I retire!

 

[Boumer]

Funny how life is isn't it.

The very man who slashed police "back office functions" is now the HMIC who critcises the backlog of vetting which is probably in part due to lack of "back office functions".

He's practically invisible now, isn't Sir Tom.

I wonder if he realises he's been used like a bit of prison arse and is being left to twist in the wind.

Still got a knighthood and a silly outfit, so I suppose he's happy.

 

[BugsyIV]

Just look at the attention and time spent reporting Phillips apparent lack of due care and attention, that had more air time than any fatal RTC I can remember.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

He's practically invisible now, isn't Sir Tom.

Maybe because since July 2017 he's been looking after the fire fighters as well? I hope Trumpton gave him some more braid for his costume.

 

[Boumer]

Maybe because since July 2017 he's been looking after the fire fighters as well? I hope Trumpton gave him some more braid for his costume.

Goodness, not only does he know more about poilicing than the police but he knows more about fire safety than the fire and rescue service.

What a clever chap he is.

 

[DrunkenIrish]

Had a training day today (death by PowerPoint) with our new response Chief Inspector popping in for a chat at the beginning.
An hour later I don’t think it’d gone quite to plan for him. Not that he should have been surprised considering the SLT message was do even more with even less. We will now be expected to attend MH assessments and ‘minor’ money laundering jobs as Financial Crimes are being cut to the bone. We were also told that even though we’re at 40% of planned strength we should not be expecting any new officers any time soon. Still it’s always nice to have the opportunity to group bully a senior officer face to face.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Had a training day today (death by PowerPoint) with our new response Chief Inspector popping in for a chat at the beginning.
An hour later I don’t think it’d gone quite to plan for him. Not that he should have been surprised considering the SLT message was do even more with even less. We will now be expected to attend MH assessments and ‘minor’ money laundering jobs as Financial Crimes are being cut to the bone. We were also told that even though we’re at 40% of planned strength we should not be expecting any new officers any time soon. Still it’s always nice to have the opportunity to group bully a senior officer face to face.

Is he another direct entry type?

 

[moggy_cattermole]

I believe the same guy came to my one too. No, he's long in service and old-school. But if you want to get anywhere these days you have to be corporate. He's not exactly empowered or in a position to make our lives remotely easier but what grates is the "it's going to be fantastic!" attitude.

Drunkenirish the fact that your side of the monstrosity that is our merged unit doesn't have to do mh assessments yet has given me a touch of schadenfreud. We've had to do those for years. Misery loves company!

 

[DrunkenIrish]

I believe the same guy came to my one too. No, he's long in service and old-school. But if you want to get anywhere these days you have to be corporate. He's not exactly empowered or in a position to make our lives remotely easier but what grates is the "it's going to be fantastic!" attitude.

Drunkenirish the fact that your side of the monstrosity that is our merged unit doesn't have to do mh assessments yet has given me a touch of schadenfreud. We've had to do those for years. Misery loves company!

Team were doing them when I first started but it was then promptly hoofed to SNT as they were flush then. The three old sweats we have left are livid having thought they were gone forever .
As you said he’s got a decent sounding resume but is pushing the same Triumph of the Will fanaticism that SLT use to try and steamroll over reality. I’m away from team the next two days but am fully expecting that a chat with my Inspector will be waiting for me to discuss my defeatism.

 

[wetsmonkey]

Are some smaller forces on the verge of being unviable?

 

[Solo Dave]

Bone question, and maybe it has been covered before, but would there be any advantage in having a 'Police England' in the same way as Police Scotland and the PSNI? There are 43 police forces in England & Wales, each with a Chief Constable, DCC, several dozen ACPO level people etc etc etc.

There may (and I don't know definitively) be parallels in when the Army had a reorg and went from the old style Royal Scots / RHF / Black Watch etc to 1, 2 3, 4 SCOTS etc. Might give you better manouevrability on posting people, save a few quid on trg establishments etc etc?

 

[moggy_cattermole]

Are some smaller forces on the verge of being unviable?

Plenty of times I've heard "the cupboard is empty" when the section sgt is being chased for units to service calls. This is unsurprising.

 

[moggy_cattermole]

Bone question, and maybe it has been covered before, but would there be any advantage in having a 'Police England' in the same way as Police Scotland and the PSNI? There are 43 police forces in England & Wales, each with a Chief Constable, DCC, several dozen ACPO level people etc etc etc.

There may (and I don't know definitively) be parallels in when the Army had a reorg and went from the old style Royal Scots / RHF / Black Watche etc to 1, 2 3, 4 SCOTS etc. Might give you better manouevrability on posting people, save a few quid on trg establishments etc etc?

Well everyone seems to agree it was a complete cluster. There is a lot of sense in merging admin and support functions, and I am in agreement that senior managers aren't needed in such numbers. Our unit commander retired some years ago and carried on just fine. But even merging borough units in the met - doing the same job, same systems, sop's, training, equipment etc - has made things much much worse. I dread to think what it would be like crashing the likes of gmp into the met and seeing how they cope!

 

[Solo Dave]

Well everyone seems to agree it was a complete cluster. There is a lot of sense in merging admin and support functions, and I am in agreement that senior managers aren't needed in such numbers. Our unit commander retired some years ago and carried on just fine. But even merging borough units in the met - doing the same job, same systems, sop's, training, equipment etc - has made things much much worse. I dread to think what it would be like crashing the likes of gmp into the met and seeing how they cope!

I'm going to sound like a 6yr old here - but why?

 

[vvaannmmaann]

I'm going to sound like a 6yr old here - but why?

“The case for compulsory police force mergers fell apart in 2006 after public opposition and the estimated half a billion pounds transition costs.
Calls grow for single police force in England and Wales following £299m budget cut - Sunday Post

 

[moggy_cattermole]

Not sure which part of that you mean.

Police Scotland - Never had any interaction. I've gleaned that from people who have on here.

Our getting by without our unit commander - I guess you might take that as indicative of his leadership.

Borough Mergers - it's done for efficiencies and cost savings. And so you get them trying to rationalise the system. It's inevitably one-sided so one area benefits at the cost of the other, but we're talking about citizens who should have equal access to Police. Officers (that is to say, Uniform Response) have too much on their plate already in terms of work and suddenly they're fighting to Make It Work on an unprecedented scale. I'm not really keen to go too much into specifics but suffice to say it's been under-resourced and done for the wrong reasons. It has been a painful step backwards.

Also on a separate note, historic units are also disappearing. Pure sentimentalism, but I don't suppose that anyone serving in, say The Queens Regt was happy to find themselves in the PWRR. My great Grandad was in the same Division. Now it will cease to be. That's a crying shame.

But the other problems are a lot worse.

 

[needlewaver]

Bone question, and maybe it has been covered before, but would there be any advantage in having a 'Police England' in the same way as Police Scotland and the PSNI? There are 43 police forces in England & Wales, each with a Chief Constable, DCC, several dozen ACPO level people etc etc etc.

There may (and I don't know definitively) be parallels in when the Army had a reorg and went from the old style Royal Scots / RHF / Black Watche etc to 1, 2 3, 4 SCOTS etc. Might give you better manouevrability on posting people, save a few quid on trg establishments etc etc?

Back in 2006 it was mooted to merge West Mercia, Warwickshire, Staffs and West Mids forces. Public opinion killed it at birth and anecdotally one of the main drivers of opposition was resourcing.

To clarify; X constabulary has 2500 odd cops, serves 1.1 million people covering three counties and has three main population centres, these centres being allocated officer numbers proportionately. Any need for more officers in say, Birmingham, like in 2011 has to be thrashed out mutually and other forces give what they can.

If we now have the Greater Fulchester Constabulary containing three or four predecessor forces, you will not have the sum of those officers numbers. "Efficiencies" will see retiring officers not replaced to probably around 80 - 90% of before. All these officers are now controlled centrally. To put it in real world terms, a Regional Midlands force comprising the forces above will in reality be West Mids Police +, controlled from and for the greater West Midlands conurbation.

When all the crime and disorder occurs in two or three centres of this super force, that's where all the money and bods will go; if you live in a rural part of Herefordshire or Shropshire and your getting your diesel or farm kit rinsed by a certain demographic, you've got two hopes because all the moneys going on yardies in Brum.

This has also been seen by West Mids Ambulance Service; previously they were Staffs, Hereford/Worcester and West Mids. Resources were ring fenced, now an amby from Kidderminster or Redditch etc., will end up taking a patient to the QE or Heartlands (trauma centres of excellence etc.). Once they show available after dropping off the punter, they ping up as the next closest wagon to an RTC/Stroke/Stabbing in Selly Oak. So off they go and now they're caught up in the never ending maelstrom of centralised resources.

That's why you have stories like this

Will Hope: Swinton Lions forward angry at ambulance wait after serious injury

Its not right but as someone once said, more can be done with less....

 

[vvaannmmaann]

That and 43 Chief Constables not wishing to give up their fiefdoms!

 

[LanceBombardEars]

Over recent years there have been several much heralded alliances between forces to try and save money.....predominantly in back office functions.....although inevitably there has been mission creep into all aspects of the job.
Many, if not most, of these are now failing. The SW tri force, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Avon and Somerset are splitting up. Warwickshire and West Mercia are in the process of a very messy acrimonious divorce. Dorset and Devon and Cornwall never really got off the ground.
If regionalisation, by other names, has failed, God help a national force.
Won't happen though, as stated before 43 Chiefs, 43 Deps, countless ACCs, and 43 PCCs all out to protect their salaries......

 

[76mill]

That and 43 Chief Constables not wishing to give up their thiefdoms!

FOC.