THE Police Service in England and Wales is in \u201can extraordinary period of turmoil\u201d, the vice-president of the Association of Chief Police Officers has said.<\/p>\n
Tim Hollis said that while he does not think the Coalition Government \u201chates\u201d the Police Service \u201cthere is a feeling among officers that it is not respected by the current administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Hollis, who retired that the end of March as chief constable of Humberside Police, also thinks the future of ACPO \u201cis in doubt\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cNationally, I think the service is in a period of turmoil,\u201d said Mr Hollis. \u201cI have never known a period in my service where the number and scale of changes are so extraordinary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a feeling that the British Police Service is not respected by the current administration. If you are hitting pay, conditions, pensions \u2013 not just of police officers but also of our police staff colleagues \u2013 then it is inevitable that the workforce feels unappreciated and hard done by.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The experienced chief \u2013 who was awarded the QPM in January 2000 \u2013 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\u2019s job in Soham, Cambridgeshire, where he murdered Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002.<\/p>\n
What would his departing message be to Home Secretary Theresa May? \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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 \u2013 drawn from a lot of corporate knowledge and wisdom \u2013 are respected and taken into account.\u201d<\/p>\n
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