‘Policing does not need another monitoring body’

22 November 2024

West Mercia Police Federation chair Steve Butler says policing does not need another body to monitor performance.

Steve said Government resources would be better directed at improving the efficiency of the existing organisations and in supporting officers to do their job.

He was commenting after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a new Home Office unit to monitor force performance.

Speaking at the annual conference hosted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (Tuesday 19 November), Ms Cooper unveiled plans for a Police Performance Unit to track national data on local performance and drive up standards.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Steve said: “We already have numerous bodies and organisations that scrutinise policing and hold individual forces and officers to account.

“There’s His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), the Independent Office for Police Conduct, individual force professional standards departments and even the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

“Will another layer of scrutiny in the shape of a data monitoring unit really win back public confidence?

Home Secretary

“I really don’t think so, and I think the Home Secretary has her priorities all wrong on this occasion.”

Steve this week highlighted the drain on the public purse of lengthy police misconduct investigations.

And he said that protracted investigations also undermine the confidence of officers and the public in the process.

It came after the formal dismissal from the Force last week of former student officer Joseph Mudd more than 18 months after his conviction for perverting the course of justice.

Steve has also highlighted the continued impact of a lengthy investigation on PC Abbie Myers, who was cleared of causing death by dangerous driving and death by careless driving in March. She continues to wait to hear if she will face an IOPC hearing.

Steve said: “Another monitoring body won’t speed up the timeliness of the processes that already exist.

“Delays in the process and inefficiencies take their toll on the wellbeing of our members, whose lives are put on hold, but they also undermine public trust and confidence.

Investment

“How will a new unit restore that?”

Steve said in order to restore trust, investment was needed in the existing process in order to speed it up ‘for the good of officers, victims, and the public’.

He added: “Our officers are under more pressure than ever but their pay has failed to keep pace with the demands and with the cost of living.

“The introduction of an independent pay review and the restoration of their pay would have a meaningful impact on recruitment and retention.

“Policing is a challenging profession and our members are often exposed to traumatic incidents, which is why we need investment in the health and wellbeing of officers.

“And policing is not an island. We work alongside and with the CPS, social services, mental health support, and they have also been chronically underfunded for the past decade and more.

“Investment in these areas would free up police resources that could be directed at priority crimes and allow us to work more effectively.

“Our members need the right funding, resources, and support, not more oversight.”

Neighbourhood policing

The Government hopes the unit will help to rebuild relationships between the public and policing.

Ms Cooper said: “Public confidence is the bedrock of our British policing model but in recent years it has been badly eroded, as neighbourhood policing has been cut back and as outdated systems and structures have left the police struggling to keep up with a fast-changing criminal landscape.

“That’s why we’re determined to rebuild neighbourhood policing, to improve performance across police forces and to ensure the highest standards are being upheld across the service.

“The challenge of rebuilding public confidence is a shared one for government and policing. This is an opportunity for a fundamental reset in that relationship, and together we will embark on this roadmap for reform to regain the trust and support of the people we all serve and to reinvigorate the best of policing.”