Coalition policing policy

Home Secretaries and the Police have typically enjoyed a contentious relationship, and the current situation has proved itself to be no different, if not considerably worse.Much of the current contention stems from the effect of central Government cuts to police budgets, as part of wider moves to address the so-called fiscal deficit.Police concern has grown at both the level and nature of cuts made to local budgets, which have led to reductions the number of resources available and the number of officers in post, leading to falling morale and increased workloads.The Coalition ultimately disagrees with the Opposition about the extent and impact of police budget cuts, with the Prime Minister and Home Secretary responding that front-line officer numbers would be protected, if not increased, and that more efficient restructuring of constabularies would achieve this simultaneously with cost savings.Under the wide-ranging Winsor Review into pay and conditions for police officers and staff commissioned by the Home Secretary in 2010, the first report into short-term changes to be made to police pay has suggested an overhaul of the current pay structures to reward performance, risk, skill level and those officers working unsocial hours. The report’s author has maintained that police face low morale because of the discontent they feel with the inequalities that exist within the current pay structures, which arguably offer “equal pay for unequal work”.However, the Police Federation has conducted its own survey of lower ranking officers which suggested that if the Winsor recommendations are implemented, morale would fall even further. The Government has sought to tackle head on the widely-recgonised 'toxic' issue of police pay, but has clearly faced discontent.In real terms, numbers of police on the street, in front line roles, have fallen by 6,000, bringing the uniformed presence on streets down to its lowest level in a decade in England and Wales. Additionally, Home Office figures also show that a further 9,000 police staff roles and 907 Community Support Officers have been cut in the past year.At the heart of this, the Government would argue that ‘necessary’ cuts can be offset by restructuring to shift more officers to the so-called front line from the so-called back office, but opposition figures dispute definitions of the roles, and argue for the maintenance of crucial support to support front line policing.A central pillar of the Government’s police reforms have been the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), which would replace Police Authorities who currently have oversight for constabularies in England and Wales. With elections due to be held later this year, the role of PCCs still remains unclear, with Ministers emphasising the operational independence.However, critics warn of the increasing likelihood of politicising policing, with PCCs competing for office on political platforms. Candidates include former Deputy PM John Prescott for the Humberside Constabulary, but there are growing fears that the positions could attract more right-wing and populist candidates. Others reportedly interested in the roles include former model Katie Price, and former Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross.While PCCs would supposedly have no operational influence, the job would allow the individual to set the strategic direction of a police force, and would enable them to appoint (and sack) Chief Officers. There are concerns that the PCC role would ultimately become inherently political and populist, and attract wild rhetoric and controversial figures at the expense of rational and proportionate leadership for under-staffed and overstretched police constabularies. The rationale for the Government behind such a policy is to reduce costs by abolishing large Police Authorities and through investing the power of oversight in a democratically elected individual.There is an odd paradox with the Coalition’s policy on policing. One the one hand, the Conservatives have traditionally been cast as the party of law and order, personal responsibility, and as champions of strong institutions to support this. The Liberal Democrats’ policy has been less clear, given that before the last general election they were never considered as serious political contenders in the work of Government.However, the resulting policy towards policing has been a confusing one, with police being unable to shield themselves from the axe to public sector spending, facing controversial and wide ranging reforms to pay structures in a bid to modernise forces and save money. On top of this, the Government is also pursuing a populist, American-style accountability arrangement.With the publication of Tom Winsor’s ‘Part 2’ report into longer-term police pay reforms this week, and further fall-outs likely between the police and politicians, the debate will only intensify.Further reading:

• http://alevelpolitics.com/john-prescott-the-commissioner/
• http://alevelpolitics.com/audio-will-elected-police-commissioners-work/

Ted Davies