Call for police independence

Jun 21 2008 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

ANORTH police chief last night said forces which perform well should be given “foundation” status to allow them more independence.

Jon Stoddart, Chief Constable of Durham Police, spoke out in support of one of the country’s most senior officers, Ken Jones, who said adopting a status similar to that of foundation hospitals would allow forces to decide their own priorities locally and focus their efforts on frontline policing rather than paperwork.

Mr Jones, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Acpo) said senior officers had “100% confidence“ that the change would result in better performance and more efficient use of police resources.

The status would relieve foundation forces of the heavy bureaucratic burden of meeting targets set by regulatory bodies and Government, he said. But forces would still have to follow national procedures on counter-terrorism and organised crime, to prevent a “free-for-all”.

It is understood that three or four forces, including Durham, have expressed an interest in taking on foundation status, and there were reports yesterday that the idea was being considered for inclusion in the Home Office’s upcoming Green Paper on police reform.

Mr Stoddart said he first put a paper together proposing foundation status for the best forces two years ago.

“I see it as a way of rewarding high-performing forces, giving them freedoms and flexibility,” he said.

“It will also help to modernise the force. We are always trying to find alternative ways of working to provide better value for money.

“Foundation status would help us free up more time. It costs hundreds of thousands of pounds a year just for Durham Police to be inspected.

“That money should be used more appropriately in local communities rather than serving the beast in the centre, as it were. They should be an enabling centre rather than a controlling centre.”

Northumbria Police said they were not in a position to comment on the proposed move yesterday.

Meanwhile, speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Mr Jones said it was time to consider “taking a few more risks” with the organisation of policing.

“If a force is performing well the regulators would say: ‘Actually, we’ll just leave that force to plough its own furrow and we’ll see where it goes’.”

He explained the advantages which senior officers expect to result from foundation status: “It would mean a lot of money being freed up for frontline policing. It would mean a lot of people whose jobs are now currently engaged in gathering data on behalf of regulatory bodies and Government actually being put at the service of local people.

“We in Acpo are convinced with 100% confidence that more performance, more efficiency, would follow and fundamentally more confidence in the public.”

Mr Jones said foundation status should give forces more freedom to decide local priorities in consultation with the people they serve, but insisted national standards should be maintained on issues with a wider relevance.

Home Office minister Tony McNulty told the BBC in a statement: “We’re determined to cut red tape and ensure police officers are best placed to make decisions about local policing.

“That’s why we’ve already transformed how we measure them – slashing the number of central targets.... Chief Constables already determine how they spend their resources.”