5th September 2011
By Jack Doyle
Nearly 15,000 police officers did not arrest a single criminal last year, a report reveals today.
The figures will reinforce concerns that too many officers are stuck in ‘back office’ jobs, doing paperwork and not carrying out front-line police tasks.
Research by the Policy Exchange think-tank found 14,500 officers had no arrests against their names in 2010.
The findings are from 18 out of the 43 forces in England and Wales, and if repeated across the remainder it could mean tens of thousands more are not making arrests.
The report found one in 20 officers – a total of 7,280 – are doing roles which could be carried out by cheaper civilian staff, including work in control rooms, forensics, and administration. Replacing warranted officers with civilians would save around £20,000 a year for every job, the think-tank found.
The study, The Cost of the Cops, found that in one force barely half of all officers made any arrests last year.
More than 1,000 of the 2,076 officers In Derbyshire made no arrests, and in the West Midlands, the country’s second largest force, nearly 2,000 of 8,485 officers – nearly one in four – made no arrests.
The report accepts that many officers not making arrests do important work such as management, running police cells and undercover investigation. But it says the findings suggest ‘there remain too many officers not in front-line roles where their warranted powers are being exercised’.
Blair Gibbs of Policy Exchange said: ‘Too many sworn officers are hidden away in back offices.
‘Some forces like Surrey and Suffolk became more efficient by hiring cheaper civilian staff but many did not.
‘As a result taxpayers have spent at least £500million since 2006 in extra employment costs for more than 7,000 police officers who have a uniform, but who aren’t policing.’
The report will be welcomed by ministers, who have argued that police chiefs can maintain front-line services despite budget cuts of a fifth by 2015.
Peter Fahy of the Association of Chief Police Officers said: ‘In the past police forces would be financially penalised if they went below a target number of police officers, and this has acted as a barrier to further civilianisation.
‘That reflects historical political obsession with the number of police officers rather than the effectiveness of the overall workforce and service to the public.’
Mr Fahy defended the use of police officers in ‘office-based’ jobs such as handling intelligence, training and processing offenders.
The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers in England and Wales and is campaigning against cuts to funding, said the report’s claims ‘simply do not translate into reality’.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033755/The-15-000-police-make-arrests-busy-doing-paperwork.html#ixzz1X4tYtfHV
