Be careful what you wish for…

Sir Ronnie Flanagan has published a review on policing. In his considered opinion, only 10% of the stuff we do needs a police officer’s training to do it.

The solution to this dilemma is apparently quite simple. Get more civvies in to do the jobs that don’t require a police officer.

So statements will be taken by a member of police staff. Prisoner interviews will be done by police staff. Collection of CCTV from the petrol station who have had their fifteenth drive off of the week would be done by police staff.

This is all very well, until the time comes when industrial relations break down and all those civvies put down their pens and walk out. Who will be left to take the statements? Oh yes - all those police officers who have never been trained to do the job and have no idea how to gather the evidence needed. Who will be told to interview Billy Burglar? The probationer who has never even seen a tape machine, let alone used one or interviewed anybody.

It’s all very well saying that police officers shouldn’t be doing this stuff, but one of the reasons we should be getting a decent pay settlement is that we can’t go on strike.  As Jan Berry has quite rightly pointed out, if the Home Office take away all the personal interactive stuff from us, all that will be left is the door kicking, drunk lifting and brick catching. Some might like the idea, but it isn’t what policing in this country is about.

I think Sir Ronnie might have missed the point.