Crime is ‘small proportion’ of police work, MPs hear

“A RELATIVELY small proportion of police time is spent on crime,” Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary has told MPs.

Sir Tom Winsor told a Public Accounts Committee hearing that increased demand in cyber crime and child sexual exploitation will mean the traditional model of policing will “no longer be sustainable”.

Sir Tom’s views were backed by the Home Office.

Mark Sedwill, Permanent Secretary, stated that the Home Office “recognises crime is not the only source of [police] demand.”

Both men were grilled by MPs last week following a National Audit Office report that stated the Home Office has “insufficient information” on how much further it can cut police funding in England and Wales without “degrading services”.

That report stated that 22% of incidents that police responded to were crime-related.

Speaking at a Public Accounts Committee meeting on 13 July, both Sir Tom and Mr Sedwill agreed that only 10 forces in England and Wales have a true picture of the demand their forces face. Thirty three, they said, do not.

Sir Tom said: “It’s quite startling how little police forces truly understand the nature of demand. Not only demand today, but demand tomorrow as well.

“Police forces need to understand the demand they face. And ensure they have the skills in their workforce to meet that demand.

“The traditional model of policing will no longer be sustainable.”

There was very little mention in the hearing of the 17,278 fewer police officers and 17,000 fewer police staff in England and Wales over the past five years.

However the hearing did focus on “fair” police force funding, with MPs being told that there was a review of police force funding taking place.

Mr Sedwill told Parliament that the Home Office hopes its findings will influence funding for forces in 2016/17 – which will be announced later this year.

Chief Constable Alex Marshall, head of the College of Policing, was also at the hearing. He emphasised the differing demand police forces were facing and said in the future the “workforce that will be needed [in policing] will perhaps be a quite different workforce”.

Also at the hearing, MPs were told of the “unprecedented surge” in Home Office funding to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for inspection of police forces.

Sir Tom said it is a common complaint – “often unjustified” – that HMIC asks for too much information from police forces.

The hearing heard that details of how private companies who are the beneficiaries of public money/outsourcing from police forces will be held to account will be in the new policing bill, which is due this autumn.

Sir Tom also told MPs that at the moment HMIC does not have the power to inspect private companies who work for police forces – but that he would like that power.