Policing UK 2013 - Police Federation

THE POLICE REFORM PROGRAMME
“The decision on how many
officers can be deployed nationally
in public order situations is an
operational judgment.”
areas is not centrally located and thus
available for transfer, instead being deeply
embedded within police forces. But the
College will own the development of
policing and practice, answering to the
Chief Executive, before it is examined and
signed off by Chief Constables through
Council and put into operation across the
country.
Establishing a remit
Chief officers have routinely led as
volunteers on behalf of their colleagues
on a wide range of policing issues –
everything from anti-social behaviour,
e-crime, domestic violence and public
order to police finances, partnership
working and volunteering.
Much of this work will, in time, be
taken up by the College whose staff will
develop and research policing issues
through the Business Area portfolios, then
distil and share the outcomes and best
practice. In partnership with universities,
this will produce high-quality pieces of
research, which forces can draw upon
to inform how they operate in their own
communities.
As it is a non-operational and inclusive
organisation, operational police matters
such as national incidents, which demand
the voice of the professional leadership of
the service, will remain outside the remit
of the College of Policing. An accountable
and responsive voice will still be required
from the operational leaders of the
service at local, regional or national level
depending on the event.
Indeed, the College would be unable to
comment on many matters due to its very
independence. In public order, where the
memory of the 2011 riots is still relatively
fresh, the College would set the standard
for the level of training officers receive.
The financial consequences of training
a set number of police officers to that
standard nationally is rightly a matter for
consultation between chiefs and incoming
police and crime commissioners, who are
responsible for budgets. But the decision
on how many officers can be deployed
nationally in public order situations is
an operational judgment, to be taken
by chiefs.
I use this example to illustrate the
importance of delineating national best
practice and research from operational
co-ordination and commentary. I often use
the health service as a practical example
with which to draw parallels. In the large
world of healthcare there are a multitude
of professional bodies, including some
royal colleges. There is a Royal College
of Nurses, Physicians, Radiologists and
more. Where a particular area of health
policy is concerned, you expect one of the
representative bodies to engage publicly in
the debate – but only within their remit.
A voice for the leaders
The College of Policing is a different
model: to be successful, it must represent
the service from top to bottom; and
there are times when PCs and their
senior officers do not agree. Much as in
the armed forces, there are times when
soldiers don’t like the decisions made by
generals. But decisions still have to be
made, a course of action still decided
upon – and not always with the firm
support of those who have to carry it out.
For that is the job of leaders: to lead.
Therefore I, and others, maintain that
there needs to be continued provision in
the future landscape for the voice of the
leaders of the service. Whether that is
delivered through the evolution of ACPO
and renewal of the Chief Constables’
Council remains to be seen.
But my sense is of a growing realisation
that one cannot please everyone all of
the time, and sometimes a simple yes/no
answer is required, and for people to get
on with the job.
The service response to recent private
sector failings on the Olympic security
arrangements is a case in point. The
situation demonstrated with absolute
clarity the can-do attitude of policing:
there was a national requirement to fill
a public safety gap and we filled it.
Decisions like that do not belong to
a college.
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