Scepticism Over White Paper Reform Plans

The Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation has slammed the idea of merging forces to create fewer ‘super forces’ and requiring officers to have a licence to practise.

Steve Kent was speaking following Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s speech in which she proposed root-and-branch changes to policing.

Mahmood said the Government intends to reduce the number of police forces from the current 43, with local policing areas dealing with ‘everyday’ crimes such as shoplifting. An FBI-style National Police Service will be created to lead on terrorism, fraud and organised crime. And a new police commander will lead on violent disorder and rioting.

Steve said he was “very sceptical” about the proposed merger of forces. He explained: “It shouldn’t be a priority for policing at the moment. The priority for policing should be sorting out funding and officer numbers. Let’s focus our energy on building up police forces in terms of numbers and resilience for our cops.

“We’ve been here before. We’ve done it with homicide, it was a disaster. I know they’ll say it’s different. No, it won’t be. The public of South Yorkshire on social media have reacted with hostility towards it, they do not want to be swallowed up by a large force, that is absolutely clear.

“Mergers are the biggest thing on cops’ minds, and whether they will become deployable in Leeds or York or Hull, because forces will start to move cops wherever they want to.”

Steve also called the licence to practise “absolute nonsense”.

He said: “We don’t need a licence to practise. Policing is totally different to nursing, in terms of the vocation. It’ll just be another way to get rid of cops who might have performance issues, rather than following due process. And will it cost cops money to actually get a licence to practise? Probably, because I can’t see the Government footing the bill.

“Police officers already go through a lot of training, and they’re under more scrutiny than any other job in the country. This is just another added layer of bureaucracy.”

Steve said he agreed with the Police Federation of England and Wales’ five tests that any reform must meet if it is to deliver for the public and for police officers on the frontline. These are:
Test 1: Leadership and structure
Does reform give officers and the public clarity, consistency and confidence in how policing is structured and led?
Test 2: Funding and resourcing
Does reform properly resource policing for the demands officers are facing now and will face in the future?
Test 3: Workplace safety and fairness
Does reform create a fair, safe and modern workplace that protects officers and supports them under pressure?
Test 4: Tools and systems
Does reform give officers the tools, systems and time they need to police effectively rather than firefight bureaucracy?
Test 5: Confidence and legitimacy
Does reform rebuild trust and confidence in policing by valuing professionalism, attracting the right people and retaining the right experience?