The maintenance of peace, order and security is one of the oldest functions of civil society. The prevention of crime and the timely and efficient apprehension and conviction of criminals are among the highest obligations of the State.
My 18-month review of the police has made two great impressions on me. The first is the dedication, professionalism, courage and hard work of police officers and staff who are motivated by public service, not money. The second is the unfairness and inefficiency of a system of police pay and conditions of service that was designed in 1920, has remained largely unreformed since 1978 and impedes and frustrates when it should encourage and reward.
Policing today is far from the relatively simple occupation it used to be. The sophistication, intelligence and resources of some criminals, the malignancy of their motives and methods, and the technology available to all citizens, mean that policing will continue to require people of the highest integrity, intelligence and skill, as well as courage, self-control, maturity and judgment.
Yet the lack of formal educational attainments for entry is striking, and could well deter intellectually able people with the right qualities. For too long, policing has been unfairly regarded by many as an occupation with most in common with blue-collar work. The roots of policing are firmly in that context and the attitudes of some police officers remain fastened in that mindset of the past. It holds them back and reinforces the lower social and professional standing that too many people wrongly associate with police officers.
If policing is to become the profession that it deservedly should, police officers must come to think of themselves not as the blue-coated workers of the past, but the practitioners of a profession that requires skills and attitudes significantly above those of factory workers. Policing should be a career and a vocation that is attractive to the brightest and the best in our society, as well as the many people of considerable quality who are already part of it.
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Reforms should ensure that all young men and women of intelligence and character consider a policing career on a par with the law, medicine, the clergy, the Armed Forces, the Civil Service, finance and industry. Policing has a great deal to offer able people, including professional variety and huge satisfaction in serving the public. It should no longer be dismissed as the preserve of any particular stratum of society, ill-befitting those of good education and high aspiration.
The police service of the future needs the best of the nation’s human capital, from every background. Intelligence and integrity are available in equal proportions in every community. Merit is not segregated by race, sex or class. The parents of the brightest and the best, whatever their background, need to accept that recruitment and advancement now is devoid of any prejudice. When they do, our society will be richer and better protected for it.
Accelerated promotion systems should be re-established; it should be possible for the most able to become inspectors within three years and superintendents within eight. At the moment, it takes on average 17 years to become an inspector and 23 to reach the rank of superintendent. The chief officers of the future will be drawn from these new high-flyers, as well as from the most able who joined as constables.
Police officers wish to be — and should be — treated fairly. Many officers resent a system of equal pay for unequal work, where the demands of the job and hard work are inadequately recognised.
With a few exceptions, such as big public order events, public protection depends principally on what police officers do and how well they do it, not on numbers of officers. A highly efficient police officer who has good policing skills and strong motivation may be more effective than two or three who do not.
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In too many respects, officers suffer frustration and must work around unnecessary bureaucracy, antiquated and malfunctioning systems and outdated practices. Much can and should be done to improve efficiency, to allow officers to do their jobs.
Policing is undergoing a great deal of change. The architecture of accountability will change when police and crime commissioners are elected and take office in November. Much is demanded of police officers and more will be expected in the future. They need systems of pay and conditions of service that are attuned to what they face now and will face in future, not to a regime rooted in the past.
My recommended reforms are radical. They could if fully implemented improve policing fundamentally, giving police forces the means and the motives to make the best of their precious assets, and to attract, retain, reward and develop police officers of the highest ability.
Tom Winsor is the independent reviewer of police pay and conditions; he is a partner in White & Case, the global law firm, and was Rail Regulator between 1999 and 2004