Police top brass facing cull as £5m diverted to fund front-line officers

Published on Wednesday 28 January 2009 20:55

THE chief constable of Scotland's biggest police force will today outline plans to plough nearly £5 million more into front-line policing by axing more than 130 senior officer posts.

A report from Steve House to be discussed by the Strathclyde joint police board contains details of a huge shake-up in the force.

The move was first revealed by The Scotsman last year and the full extent of the cuts among senior ranks has only now become clear.

The number of superintendents will be cut by a third and chief inspectors by more than a quarter, while two chief superintendent posts will also fall. The move will create nearly 100 extra front-line constables and 35 more sergeants – a decision welcomed by local councillors, who say fewer officers should be stuck behind desks.

Mr House, a former assistant commander at the Metropolitan Police, embarked on a massive restructuring of the force's management structure after deciding it was top-heavy.

Strathclyde, the fourth-biggest police force in the UK, has a disproportionately high number of senior-ranking officers – higher, for example, than Greater Manchester, which has a similar overall strength.

Councillor Paul Rooney, convener of the Strathclyde police board, last night strongly backed the move to cut senior posts.

"The police authority is determined to ensure officers in Strathclyde are being used in the most efficient and effective way," he said.

"We remain convinced that streamlining our supervisory ranks and investing these savings in recruiting more constables will deliver better policing across Strathclyde.

"Our budget for 2009-10 invests heavily in more police officers. We want these new officers out policing our streets and not tied up behind desks."

Some 131 posts between the ranks of inspector and chief superintendent will be abolished as senior officers retire.

The axe will fall most heavily among superintendents and chief inspectors.

The number of superintendents will be slashed by 25 from 82 to 57, with chief inspector posts being reduced by 37, from 127 to 90.

The cuts will generate an extra 7.7 million, with 4.9 million being spent bolstering front-line policing. Constables will increase in number by 96 – from 5,737 to 5,833 – with the number of sergeants rising by 35 from 1,019 to 1,054.

The move will save Scotland's biggest police force 2.8 million, which will help Mr House meet tough efficiency targets imposed on every police force by the Scottish Government.

The plans are likely to prompt other chief constables to look afresh at their own structures to see whether more resources could be diverted from senior desk jobs into funding more bobbies on the beat.

Councillor Iain Whyte, the convener of Lothian and Borders joint police board, said the issue would be raised with the chief constable, David Strang.

"I think we will look at the numbers (from Strathclyde] when they come out and ask some questions of the chief constable," he said.

"We would want him to identify resources and see what the needs are.

"We are always looking for efficiencies that help the front line while considering the command structure needed for the areas being served."

The Scotsman understands that every post in Lothian and Borders is being reviewed in a bid to help the force meet its own demanding efficiency targets.

The move will not result in job cuts, but could lead to less dramatic changes, for instance in job roles.

Other forces, such as Tayside, hope to place more civilians in traditional police roles.

Recruitment targets in disarray as force faces cash shortfall

UNPRECEDENTED budgetary pressures on Strathclyde Police are putting serious strain on the force's plans to recruit extra officers.

The Scottish Government pledged to pay for an extra 1,000 officers by 2011 in response to public fears about crime.

Strathclyde's share of those extra officers is 457, to be recruited between 2007-8 and 2010-11.

Figures seen by The Scotsman show that the force expects to increase its strength from 7,821 in March 2007 to 8,104 in March 2010 – a net increase of 281.

Further officers will be recruited using ring-fenced government cash, but it leaves the force 176 officers short of the SNP's target and the force may struggle to increase numbers much beyond that.

Ministers have set police forces tough efficiency targets of 2 per cent this year, rising to 6 per cent in 2010-11. It means the force will have to find 48 million in savings over the next three years.

At the same time, a huge rise in the number of retiring officers has caused the pensions bill to soar by several tens of millions.

Senior officers are also finding it difficult to recruit and train sufficient numbers of new officers to compensate for the retirement "bulge" caused by a massive recruitment drive in the late 1970s.

Strathclyde has recruited and trained 810 officers since March last year – which has just covered the number of retiring personnel.

Bill Aitken, the Scottish Conservatives' justice spokesman, said: "They will have to end up with 176 more officers than they've got at the moment. We will be insisting that next year's budget is sufficient to enable this to happen."

IN NUMBERS

STRATHCLYDE Police aims to cut the number of its chief superintendents from 20 to 18.

Superintendents will be culled by 25 from 82 to 57. Numbers of chief inspectors will also be "rationalised", falling from 127 to 90. Inspectors, too, will not be spared the axe – 459 will be cut by 67 to 392.

However, sergeants and constables will see ranks swell. Numbers of sergeants will rise by 35, from 1,019 to 1,054, while constables will increase by 96, from 5,737 to 5,833.

The force's budget for next year is 571 million, nearly half the total expenditure on police across the country. It has about 2,700 civilian staff and covers nearly 2.3 million people, from Glasgow to the Inner Hebrides.

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