Police Federation questions accountability of volunteers

MOVES to substitute fully trained and warranted police officers with volunteers are ill-thought out and will not allow the service to best serve the public.

The criticism by the Police Federation is in response to an announcement by Home Secretary Theresa May that police chiefs would get the power to give more responsibility to support staff and unpaid helpers, without them having to become a Special constable.

It will open the way for members of the public, who are experts in computing or accountancy, to be recruited to help tackle cyber or financial crime.

The Police Federation of England and Wales questioned the accountability of volunteers.

Steve White, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “We and our members understand the need for further police reform. However, the British public deserves and expects a properly resourced, professional and fully accountable police service to keep them safe in these dangerous times.

“We have seen no convincing arguments on the need to provide powers above or beyond those that already exist to police staff and volunteers.

“Having recently had the Government say ‘the police protect us and we are going to protect the police’, which clearly infers a need for greater resources, we appear to now be looking at a situation where they want to provide these resources on the cheap.

“Special constables and a significant army of volunteers up and down the country do sterling work, but they should not be a replacement for a sworn-in professional officers.”

Home Secretary Theresa May said: “Police officers across the country carry out a wide range of duties, keeping the public safe and ensuring justice for the most vulnerable members of society.

“We value the essential role they play, but they cannot do this on their own.

“We want to help forces to create a more flexible workforce, bring in new skills and free up officers’ time to focus on the jobs only they can carry out.

“At the same time, we want to encourage those with skills in particular demand, such as those with specialist IT or accountancy skills, to work alongside police officers to investigate cyber or financial crime, and help officers and staff fight crime more widely.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Citizens in Policing, Chief Constable Dave Jones, said: “The new approach to designating police powers will help the police service be more flexible when it comes to attracting and deploying volunteers with valuable skills, especially in situations where the full powers of a constable are not necessary.”