'More plans to do things cheaper rather than better' - Police Federation response to Home Office
Will Riches, vice Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales said (in response to plans tocollaborate onpolice and fire services):
"Midweek, we had the Home Office plan for volunteers to take on the traditional work of the police. Today, they are asking whether Police and Crime Commissioners would be able to take over effective management of Fire services. Perhaps they can, but why?
Call me cynical but it all feels like musical chairs here: a PCC doing the work of the FRA (Fire and Rescue Authority), an unpaid volunteer doing the work of an employed PCSO, a PCSO doing the work of a Special Constable and a Special covering for a Police Officer. Is this just more change for change sake?
The Home Office claims it has no plans to give firefighters the power of arrest - as if that is all that police officers do. There is good reason why police officers come from all around the world to learn how we do things, because every aspect of policing in the UK is admired internationally: from neighbourhood policing, to crime investigation, counter-terrorism work and beyond. To boil that all down to the simple power of arrest does a great disservice to the vital and difficult work officers do day in, day out.
Fire, ambulance, NHS and police routinely work together and, during major incidents like the London bombings, life and death decisions are shared between multiple agencies. We welcome the move to save money, and recognise the importance of having efficient public services, but the public also wants them to be effective.
Shifting a few managerial roles from one elected official to another will make no difference and I ask why the Government is pushing this now, at a time when further huge cuts are on the way?
What concerns us, as a profession that relies on continuity and resilience, is that all these plans point in one direction: toward ways to do things cheaper rather than better."
