Police Service Reform
Is the police service in need of reform?
Interesting discussion going on at The Times regarding the recent David Cameron speach on police reform.
The Conservative leader, who has called the police the “last great unreformed public service”, wants to end the restrictive practices that make it difficult to dispense with the services of bad officers.
The majority of what he talks about has already been covered in the Police Reform Act 2002. This has also been pointed out by the Police Federation and has been covered in the Politically Independent Police posted a few days ago.
Of more interest to me and a move away from the current climate in the police service, is the fact that Mr Cameron wants to give 'policemen the right to retire with dignity before their 30 years’ service is up if, because of ill health, they are no longer capable of working to the required standard. They should be given the right to carry their pensions on to other employment.'
Now from my point of view this makes perfect sense.
Current policy is to 'retain' officers who've received injuries which only a few years ago would have seen them retired on ill-health grounds. The reasons given vary from, 'not wanting to lose valuable skilled officers' and 'we're now an equal opportunities employer and therefore inclusive of people with disabilities.'
The harsh fact of life is that these once 'active' officers are generally retained against their wishes in office roles they would never have considered had they been fully fit.
These officers often suffer from high stress levels, poor moral and low feelings of self-worth. Generally they feel 'un-wanted' - They're expensive to employ when compared to civilian support staff, have poor promotional opportunities and suffer unduly with a 'shiny arse' tag.
Of even more interest to me and a distinct possibility if our Tony has is way, is the prospect of having seventy year old police officers on the beat. Now if Mr Cameron wants to do something about that then he'll definitely get my vote!
To take part in the discussion click Is the police service in need of reform?
Interesting discussion going on at The Times regarding the recent David Cameron speach on police reform.
The Conservative leader, who has called the police the “last great unreformed public service”, wants to end the restrictive practices that make it difficult to dispense with the services of bad officers.
The majority of what he talks about has already been covered in the Police Reform Act 2002. This has also been pointed out by the Police Federation and has been covered in the Politically Independent Police posted a few days ago.
Of more interest to me and a move away from the current climate in the police service, is the fact that Mr Cameron wants to give 'policemen the right to retire with dignity before their 30 years’ service is up if, because of ill health, they are no longer capable of working to the required standard. They should be given the right to carry their pensions on to other employment.'
Now from my point of view this makes perfect sense.
Current policy is to 'retain' officers who've received injuries which only a few years ago would have seen them retired on ill-health grounds. The reasons given vary from, 'not wanting to lose valuable skilled officers' and 'we're now an equal opportunities employer and therefore inclusive of people with disabilities.'
The harsh fact of life is that these once 'active' officers are generally retained against their wishes in office roles they would never have considered had they been fully fit.
These officers often suffer from high stress levels, poor moral and low feelings of self-worth. Generally they feel 'un-wanted' - They're expensive to employ when compared to civilian support staff, have poor promotional opportunities and suffer unduly with a 'shiny arse' tag.
Of even more interest to me and a distinct possibility if our Tony has is way, is the prospect of having seventy year old police officers on the beat. Now if Mr Cameron wants to do something about that then he'll definitely get my vote!
To take part in the discussion click Is the police service in need of reform?
posted by BluesAndTwos @ 1:58 pm
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