TOO MANY CHIEFS - PART 3 - THE FULL REPORT

As promised, we are pleased to be able to announce that our report "TOO MANY POLICE CHIEFS" is now available on this site for download or viewing.  It has also been added to the "View Our Reports" sidebar on the right of the page. Click here to view the report now.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Inspector Gadget, whose insightful words and views bring a sense of reality that can so often be lost in numbers and statistics.

The report is intentionally hard hitting, focusing on the profligacy and waste, both financially and operationally that occurs within the higher ranks of British policing.

A widely held view from the front line of policing is that there are “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians on the ground”. Officers report that their forces are top heavy with Chiefs and Senior Management ranks, causing confusion with a blurring of

responsibilities. This causes inconsistencies in strategy with one Chiefs’ flavour of the month project being superseded by another, often opposite viewpoint, sometimes within weeks or months of the first being issued.

Officers feel that their forces employ an unnecessary number of police staff (civilian support personnel), who apparent sole purpose in life is to bury the front line, public facing officer with e mails, administrative tasks, data capture requests, box ticking and apparently valueless instructions that tie them up in administrative jobs, keeping them from front line duties..

Many front line experienced officers openly state that it is not a shortage of people or finances within the force that is the problem. They state there are adequate numbers to do the job, it is just that too many officers are assigned to non operational or clerical type roles when they should be “on the street” helping to reduce the burden of the front line response teams.

It is imperative that a closer examination of existing resources, Chief Officer, non operational and police staff now be conducted. This report is intended to stimulate informed debate by taking a closer look at the numbers and ranks of officers and police staff engaged and highlighting for the first time, the cost by rank incurred by each force, and whether these costs represent the best value for money the tax payers pound can buy.

Over the pages contained in the report, we provide detailed reports on officer numbers, split by rank and force, together with the costs that these numbers create. Interleaved between the reports we provide explanatory notes with the findings, bullet point observations and summaries.

The report contains a 6 page conclusions summary, where we bring all the content together to point out the more obvious, non front line areas where many millions can be saved without compromising essential resourcing.

We are aware that these pages are monitored by all ranks of policing, associated police and criminal justice agencies, political parties and the media. For many of the higher management ranks of policing, some of the content will make uncomfortable reading as it will cause many consciences to be pricked. We make no apologies for that. 

For the powers that be who may read this report , those who have the authority to implement real change and reform within our police service, we would urge you to listen to the heartfelt needs of your front line, grass roots officers. You may be surrounded by advisors, many of whom have little knowledge of front line policing, including civil servants and senior police officers, whose errors and personal agendas have created so many of the problems that now face the service. We would urge you not to always believe  what you’re told by your advisors. 

If you truly desire to bring about the reforms that would most benefit the tax paying public, listen carefully to the views and concerns of the front line officers. You will find that their views and thoughts echo those of the average citizen who you have been elected to represent.