Police recruitment "Shake up" - long

[cromwell]

A gentleman named Tom Winsor, who is now Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, has come up with a report. He is advocating that the Police recruitment be "shaken up". Specifically, that "the best and brightest" be allowed to enter the police at ranks up to Superintendent level; graduates to become Inspectors inside three years etc. Atm everybody has to start as a Constable. Also, people from abroad can be directly appointed - straight in as a Chief Constable.

Imo there are so many things wrong with this it's difficult to know where to start, but here goes anyway. Old Tom doesn't think much of coppers. We know this because he has said he wants to "remove the image of policing as being an intellectually undemanding occupation". Oh, so they are all thick then? He also wants to see people in the police with abilities "distinctly above those of a factory worker".

This is naked elitism - "You're all thick, you need people like me with brains, telling you what to do".

Kaz and I have mentioned before about the mad theory sweeping British management circles - that if you are a "Manager" you don't actually need to know anything about what you are managing - the underlings can take care of that. It is an insane theory - I've seen it at work, and I'll be honest, it doesn't work at all; it doesn't come anywhere near starting to work. It breeds an arrogant and lazy attitude among people who are in charge, and that isn't good.

We are going to end up with someone who was an area manager for Asda as a Superintendent, telling Constables with 15 years of experience how to do their jobs, when they have never had any experience of doing that job themselves. How is that going to work?

Then there is political control - "Here's my boy, stright in as Chief. I like him because he will do what we, the politicans who got him in there, want". Politicans want control of everything in this country, Police included.

My late father used to be bobby in a pit village; you needed more than a degree from Oxford to keep order, I can tell you. My daughter's partner is a Constable. In the last twelve months he has had to hold a dead baby in his arms, deal repeatly with incidents of domestic violence, try and resuscitate a man who had hanged himself, and help rescue people who had thrown themselves into the river to die. All this besides dealing with aggressive drunks who are trying to assault you.

That needs a toughness; toughness not only of body, but of mind. Which is something arrogant, know nothing elitists like Tom Winsor can't even begin to understand.

[Aggers]

There's a lot of truth in what you say, Cromwell - but there is other sides of the situation, too.

I agree that the police should not be controlled by politicions.
It is Parliament's responsibility to make laws, and police responsibility to enforce them.

There is ample evidence that police operations could be improved, and I had hoped that the appointment of
Police Commissioners might have achieved this, but that, so far, does not seem to be the case. However, the
recruitment of senior police officials from outside the force might well produce favourable results.

I'm afraid I don't agree with your opinion that it is necessary for someone managing a workforce to be conversant
with the nitty, gritty of performing the manual work. That is a common shop-floor belief, but my experiences in
industry show that the basic principles of successful man-management apply to any industry or organisation.

[Workingman]

This is hardly unexpected, is it? It comes from a man who was appointed to the position of Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary without ever being in the police. He was a rail inspector. If he can get a top cop job without any experience why can't anyone else? Why can't a former ASDA manager slip into a Super's uniform and be a success?

The way this is being presented also raises serious questions. The BBC uses phrases such as "it sounds like a very modest reform" and "this apparently innocuous plan" when the reality is that these proposals, if adopted, will fundamentally change policing in this country. That work has already started with elected PCCs.

I am actually surprised that ACPO and the Police Federation are being so quiet on the subject. Maybe the police have been beaten up so much by successive governments that they have given up the fight.

[Rodo]

What about them bringing in senior police officers from overseas? The mind boggles

[KateLMead]

When we look back at Blair... Tony B'liars old flat mate , knighted for his time in the force... We certainly need change... Jobs for the boys.. Rings of "Common Purpose"....

[Kaz]

Cromwell, call me a cynic but I wonder if you think the same as I do - that this new announcement is directly linked to the announcement recently of the drop in pay for police recruits? I honestly believe that this government is out to make sure the upper echelons of the police service are filled with the 'right sort' of people............ie not honest working coppers who have come up through the ranks (ugh, how un U!!!!) but with a load of hooray Henry's who don't know Sh1t from pudding!

We already know exaclty how much contempt the average Tory minister has for the police force - plebs I think was the term used - and this is a way of making sure the lower orders stay in their place

My BIL is currently an acting DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) and has been in the force for almost 25 years. It is a massive insult to guys like him to suggest that somebody from outside the force or even from abroad could know the job better then they do

It's truly appalling