A NEW deal for police officers and staff is needed alongside a review of the impact of the Winsor pay and conditions changes, a major policing report has stated.<\/p>\n
The Independent Police Commission \u2013 chaired by Lord Stevens (pictured) \u2013 said \u201cnecessary\u201d pay reforms had been imposed on police officers resulting in a \u201cdamaging stand off between the service and the Government\u201d. The report made 37 recommendations in total.<\/p>\n
The Labour Party said it would adopt the \u201cvast majority\u201d of them if it comes to power.<\/p>\n
Among other recommendations were that Police and Crime Commissioners should be abolished and replaced and that police force mergers should take place.<\/p>\n
It also stated that the Independent Police Complaints Commission and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary should be scrapped and replaced with a new Independent Police Standards Commission.<\/p>\n
The wide ranging review also called for a \u201cchartered\u201d police officer status \u2013 registered at the College of Policing \u2013 a code of ethics and a national procurement strategy for equipment and IT.<\/p>\n
It said neighbourhood policing needs to be protected.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the launch of the report on Monday, Lord Stevens said: \u201cAs a commission we hope that our conclusions will provide a road map for the professional evolution of our police service \u2013 and will serve to guide the integrity, practice and delivery of policing in the decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
On pay, the \u00a319,000 starting salary for PCs \u2013 introduced by Winsor \u2013 is rejected in the report. A review and \u201ccareful scrutiny\u201d of the Winsor pay and conditions changes is also needed \u201cwithin two years of implementation\u201d, the commission said.<\/p>\n
Lord Stevens added: \u201cWhilst the Government\u2019s reform of police pay and conditions is both important and necessary, the failure to engage the service in the programme of reform has resulted in a damaging stand off and plummeting morale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe seek to offer police officers in this country a \u2018new deal\u2019 that combines reform of pay and conditions with a serious and sustained effort to give police officers a greater say in the decisions that affect their working lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice officers should be treated as partners in reforming the police and raising standards \u2013 not as the objects of reform.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking at the launch, Labour leader Ed Miliband said: \u201cThis report will not gather dust on a shelf. It is a real plan for the next Labour government.\u201d Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said a Labour Government would adopt the \u201cvast majority\u201d of the 37 proposals.<\/p>\n
Mark Smith, chairman of Essex Police Federation, said: \u201cThe idea of neighbourhood policing is what all police officers want \u2013 but it is not going to happen if budgets keep on getting cut.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have got to move our budgets to emergency calls. Neighbourhood policing is disappearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t go for wholesale change of policing while cutting millions from your budget.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve White, vice chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: \u201cThe scale of police reform has clearly been too much, too soon and the public and government should be greatly concerned about the detrimental impact this has had on neighbourhood policing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is encouraging that the commission rightly acknowledges that the public still has confidence in its police service and it is imperative that this confidence is not eroded by unsustainable cuts to officer numbers and resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are now faced with the stark reality that demands on the service have never been greater and the reforms that have been imposed on the service to date are setting us up to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n
See the full report here<\/p>\n