Police staff outnumber officers

Startling research revealed devastating effect of workforce changes over the last decade that could result in forces
having more police staff than officers, thereby threatening Police Service resilience and exposing the public to risks

The research published by the Police Federation of England and Wales found that numbers of police staff have virtually doubled in just under a decade and the growth in their numbers has outstripped that of police officers. This could threaten the long-term resilience of the Police Service to deal with unexpected and unplanned circumstances.

The research analysed statistics from all 43 forces in England
and Wales, looking at the ratio of police officers to police staff from 2000 to 2009. Some of the findings present a stark picture
demonstrating that for all the political platitudes about restoring public confidence in the police, forces are, in fact, putting shortterm cost savings ahead of public safety.

According to the research, the average ratio of police officers
to staff in 2000 was 2.3 to one and by 2009 Home Office figures show this as 1.4 to one.

Whilst the research found value in some civilian police staff roles, there was a clear lack of training, role definition and consistency across forces; there has also been no evaluation taken as to whether they even present better value for money.

With the National Policing Improvement Agency and some chief
officers wishing to re-engineer the entire Police Service workforce, the Police Federation believes there is an urgent need for the new government, in liaison with police staff associations, to:

• Ascertain the full range of police staff roles in existence
• Examine whether civilianising tasks that do not require
warranted powers has a negative impact on police-officer
diversity
• Explore whether specific staff roles has a positive impact on performance or public satisfaction
• Ascertain whether that impact provides better value for
money to the public than the equivalent cost of a police
officer.

The Police Federation believes the policing mandate from the
public to the police needs to be revisited; that the only way policing can meet public expectation is by conducting a thorough and independent review of policing, which must include the public and all the policing stakeholders.

Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, Paul McKeever, said: “It seems clear that for all the platitudes on restoring public confidence in the police, promises to keep
police-officer numbers high may be nothing more than a game of smoke and mirrors.

“I find it alarming that there is no tangible evidence that even
suggests, let alone proves, the value brought by civilianising increasing numbers of police posts. At a time of financial restraint across the public sector, a rise in police-staff numbers is absolute nonsense when the public want more police officers on the beat.

“Instead, we have more increasing numbers of unaccountable,
unidentifiable police staff who do not have the flexibility or resilience to give what is needed as an emergency service.

“We have a new government; we have a new Parliament. Now
is the time to stop this uncoordinated and ill-constructed plan that will destroy the Police Service in England and Wales; to implement a full independent review and to have the courage to ask the public what they actually want and expect from their police service.”

Police staff up 80%
In March 2000 only 30% of the police workforce was made up of non-warranted officers – by 2009 the percentage of the workforce represented by police staff had increased to 40%.

This included the recruitment of 16,000 police community support officers (PCSOs). The growth of both PCSOs and other police staff have each outpaced the growth in the numbers of warranted police officers. Nationally, there has been a 16% increase in police officers but an 80% increase in police staff (49% excluding PCSOs).

South Yorkshire has seen a five per cent drop in officer numbers against a 76% increase in staff (52% excluding PCSOs). North Yorkshire, the force that had the greatest increase in police staff at 158% (122% excluding PCSOs), saw only a 12% increase in officers.

Surrey has the lowest ratio of officers to staff and is the first
force where the number of police staff exceeds that of officers. It has the lowest detection rate in England and Wales – this does little to support the likelihood that civilianising policing duties that do not require warranted powers will lead to improved performance or value for money for the public.

Twenty-nine out of 43 forces have less than 1.5 officers to
each member of staff. Whilst these numbers are less dramatic
when PCSOs are not included in the numbers of police staff,
there are still 15 forces with less than 1.5 officers to each staff
member.

In 11 forces police staff numbers have increased at 10 times
the rate of officers.

In Durham, police officer numbers have increased by 0.5% while
staff numbers have increased by 86% – an incredible 167 times
the rate of officers.

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