New Home Office unit: Fed says ‘get basics right first’

20 November 2024

The best way to guarantee police performance is by improving the pay and working conditions of officers, says the Federation, after the Home Secretary unveiled yet another layer of service monitoring today.

Yvette Cooper, speaking to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and Association for Police and Crime Commissioners yesterday (Tuesday 18 November), announced the creation of a Home Office unit for ‘overseeing police performance’ which she said would drive forward reform of the service.

The new unit will help drive improved performance in key priority areas such as tackling violence against women and girls, as well as knife crime and neighbourhood policing.

But Nottinghamshire Federation chair Simon Riley, pointed out that policing is already heavily scrutinised, from the College of Policing to the policing inspectorate (His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services), the police watchdog and PCCs (Police and Crime Commissioner).

Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper.

“Any increased focus on Violence Against Women and Girls, Knife Crime and Neighbourhood Policing has to be welcomed, however, nobody has a problem with transparency, we are one of the most visible, monitored and scrutinised public services already,” said Simon. “If funding is available for a new unit, the money would be better spent addressing the real issues facing police officers, such as workloads, pay and mental health.”

He added: “We are losing experienced officers because they’ve had enough and believe they can make ends meet better by doing something else. The Government needs to make police officers feel more valued and supported and empowered, and ultimately this is the best route to improved performance.”

Communities

Officer time spent on the frontline will also be monitored and response times standardised and measured, while the Government’s ‘Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee’ would ensure officers spend more time being “visible and accessible” in communities rather than stuck behind desks, the Home Secretary claimed.

She told police leaders: “We have a huge opportunity to reset the relationship between government and the police, to regain the trust and support of the people we all serve and to reinvigorate the best of British policing.

“Strong and consistent performance is critical to commanding public confidence. I truly believe that working together we can mobilise behind this mission – and deliver a fairer, safer country for all.”

Assaults

A BBC investigation this month showed there were 37,786 physical assaults on the police in 2023 – an average of 103 every day – and an 11 per cent rise from 33,864 in 2021.

Simon added: “These are the sorts of priorities we need to see from the Home Secretary, tackling the issues that make the difference between retaining brave and experienced police officers and losing them.”

In a TV interview this morning, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “This is the biggest suite of police reform since around the 1960s. It’s about restoring public confidence in policing. 

“It’s about driving up performance and making sure that every pound we spend, we get really good value for it.”

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