HANDING police officer powers to volunteers is another idea from \u201ccloud cuckoo land\u201d, the Chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Neil Bowles accused the Government of trying to rush through plans without due consideration.<\/p>\n
The Home Office has launched a consultation that says it wants chief officers to have the ability to bestow any police power on volunteers \u2013 outside a reserved list of nine \u2013 including arrest and stop and search.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a short consultation,\u201d said Mr Bowles. \u201cThey\u2019re just trying to rush through something totally inappropriate.<\/p>\n
\u201cVolunteers are great in what they do and wherever they do it, but we\u2019re talking about police powers. We\u2019re talking about enforcing the law in one description or another.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can you ask volunteers, with no accountability, no training, to take up some of those powers, however minor they are.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know they want to preserve about nine for warranted officers, but we are the police service, they know that we\u2019re all warranted officers, we\u2019re powered to do x, y and z. It just complicates the matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it links into this direct entry, how can you possibly train someone in a matter of a year or so what the experience and training of 15\u00a0years\u2019 service to become a Superintendent? It\u2019s just cloud cuckoo land.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Bowles added: \u201cWe need to reprioritise policing like the armed forces, their budget\u2019s been protected,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0equally part of that whole security issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe country\u2019s population has increased, diversity\u2019s increased, we\u2019ve got a whole different community dynamics within South Yorkshire – the public still demand a service, their [council tax]\u00a0precept\u00a0costs have gone up and yet they\u2019re getting a lesser service.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey deserve more. It\u2019s the Government\u2019s duty to protect its citizens and they\u2019re not doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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