Chief warns policing in “extraordinary period of turmoil”

THE Police Service in England and Wales is in “an extraordinary period of turmoil”, the vice-president of the Association of Chief Police Officers has said.

Tim Hollis said that while he does not think the Coalition Government “hates” the Police Service “there is a feeling among officers that it is not respected by the current administration.”

Mr Hollis, who retired that the end of March as chief constable of Humberside Police, also thinks the future of ACPO “is in doubt”.

“Nationally, I think the service is in a period of turmoil,” said Mr Hollis. “I have never known a period in my service where the number and scale of changes are so extraordinary.

“There is a feeling that the British Police Service is not respected by the current administration. If you are hitting pay, conditions, pensions – not just of police officers but also of our police staff colleagues – then it is inevitable that the workforce feels unappreciated and hard done by.

“When it comes to motivating the workforce to work differently, accept change and maintain a level of service at the same time as taking substantial funding and numbers out of policing then it is a challenge.”

The experienced chief – who was awarded the QPM in January 2000 – began his career in 1977. He took over Humberside Police in 2005 when the force was reeling in the wake of the failures that allowed Ian Huntley to get a caretaker’s job in Soham, Cambridgeshire, where he murdered Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002.

What would his departing message be to Home Secretary Theresa May? “I would try and reassure her that we do understand the need for change, but trust the Police Service. We want to contribute earlier rather than later.

“It is entirely appropriate for the government to make judgements and decisions about what to do, taking into account their own views, the views of their officials and the service itself. We are not asking to dictate what happens, but we do hope our professional views – drawn from a lot of corporate knowledge and wisdom – are respected and taken into account.”