Policing UK 2013 - Police Federation

OVERVIEW
“We’re giving the police the tools they
need to get the job done: reducing
bureaucracy, cutting costs and creating
a stronger, more capable workforce.”
Renewed focus
The next year will see a renewed focus
on police professionalism, with the
new College of Policing, led by Chief
Constable Alex Marshall, playing a key
role. For the first time, the College will
set and maintain the high standards
the public demand of the police,
underpinned by an in-depth knowledge
of ‘what works’ in crime fighting. Above
all, it will ensure that policing works in
the public interest.
The work of the College will be
supported by the changes we are making
to the 30-year-old system of police pay
and conditions, ensuring they recognise
the hardest-working officers and reward
professional skills.
Building on the recommendations
of the Winsor Review, these reforms
will help to create the modern, flexible
workforce that Chief Constables need to
keep cutting crime.
And to ensure the police can attract
the brightest and best from all walks
of life, we will hold a consultation in
the coming year on Tom Winsor’s
recommendations on graduate fast-track
and direct entry schemes for the police.
If implemented, these proposals offer
the chance to develop a much stronger
and more diverse leadership cadre than
ever before.
Building on progress
2013 will also see us address a
longstanding imbalance in policing,
where Whitehall has paid a great deal
of attention to local policing, while
neglecting the fight against serious,
organised and complex crime.
So this year, a new National Crime
Agency (NCA) will become operational,
tackling organised crime and leading
the law enforcement response to
cyber crime, economic crime, child
exploitation and border security. Under
Keith Bristow, the NCA’s Director
General and an experienced operational
crime-fighter, the National Crime
Agency will use its new powers to
co-ordinate and task law enforcement in
the fight against serious, organised and
complex crime.
These changes build on the good
progress we have already made in the
last two years.
We have cut out waste and made sure
the police have the tools they need to get
the job done. We have reduced centrallyimposed
bureaucracy to free up police
time, which could save up to 4.5 million
police hours a year – the equivalent of
2,100 police officers on the streets. We
are making changes that will allow the
police to prosecute up to half a million
cases each year. And we’re creating a
new police owned-and-led IT company
to ensure forces have the technology they
need to fight crime.
And of course we have introduced
police and crime commissioners
(PCCs) to ensure the police are directly
accountable to the communities
they serve as well as providing more
information via the police.uk website and
community beat meetings.
Accountability
By giving them a more accurate picture
of crime in their forces, we’re making
it easier for the public to hold the
police to account via the PCC. And by
strengthening both the Independent
Police Complaints Commission and Her
Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary,
we’re ensuring the police are subject to
robust, independent scrutiny.
So we’ve given the public a say in
how they’re policed, and relinquished
central government’s bureaucratic grip
over local policing. We’ve provided
a renewed focus on the most serious
national threats. And we’re giving the
police the tools they need to get the job
done: reducing bureaucracy, cutting costs
and creating a stronger, more capable
workforce.
This isn’t about the Home Office
stepping out of policing – it’s about
creating a policing environment where
everyone plays to their strengths, and
where collectively we have a singular
focus on cutting crime.
People are just beginning to see our
reforms in action. Two years in, we can
say with confidence that our reforms
are working. Crime is down; public
confidence is high and the front line is
being maintained. Policing is rising to
the challenge.
POLICING UK | 13