REMOVING\u00a0all police officers below inspector level from Kent\u2019s control room will limit the force’s expertise to filter out calls that police do not need to attend, it has been warned.<\/p>\n
Ian Pointon, Chairman of Kent Police Federation, (pictured) said that – as a second round of 20 per cent cuts threatens to bite again – the decision to remove constables and sergeants from the control room was \u201cmadness\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said he is constantly being told of calls that the police should not be attending; calls that are \u201csimply not a police matter\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cTo the man who lives next to a canal and reports swans in his garden \u2013 I say here\u2019s the number of the RSPB. To the nursing home manager who wants us to speak to a gentleman with advanced dementia about his behaviour \u2013 I say there\u2019s really no point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking at Kent Police Federation\u2019s Open Meeting in Maidstone, Mr Pointon said he neither knew nor understood the rationale behind the policy.<\/p>\n
Mr Pointon said officers with medical restrictions are being removed from the force control room – an operational role where they could draw on their skills and experience – and sent back to their division to a role that they cannot fully perform.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe staff within the force control room lose an important point of reference; somebody they can go to for valuable advice and guidance; somebody with years of policing experience; somebody who can sift the calls the police do not need to attend,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis seems like madness to me. Perhaps it is time to push the pause button on this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Pointon warned that a repeat of the 20 per cent cuts already inflicted on police budgets would reduce the service to \u201clittle more than a fire brigade service responding to emergencies\u201d with no capacity for proactive policing.<\/p>\n
He urged Kent Police Chief Constable Alan Pughsley to allow staff in the force control room to use their discretion and professional judgement to help reduce demand on the force.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time to empower the staff to say: \u2018That isn\u2019t a police matter; we won\u2019t be sending an officer; here\u2019s a number for an organisation that can help you,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The chairman praised the force for attempting to reduce officers\u2019 workloads but said that \u201cwhatever time is freed up seems to be instantly gobbled up by something else\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said that morale was \u201cat rock bottom\u201d and that \u201cofficers of every rank and in every department are exhausted\u201d.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Kent Police said: “Like many public sector organisations, we have been carefully planning for the challenges of the second comprehensive spending review and the force is evaluating the operation of the control room and the best use of operational police officers, which is ongoing.”<\/p>\n
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