Officerisation is decivilianisation!

Conference notes the negative impact on Police Forces across the country and in particular

the number of police staff roles that have been cut, left vacant or filled by Police Officers as a

direct result of the conservative government’s commitment to increasing Police numbers by

20k over the last 4 years.

It was recently reported in the Guardian newspaper that Gavin Stephens Chair of the NPCC

said that 6,000 of the 20,000 new officers were doing roles usually or better performed by

police staff. He went on to say ‘effectively the pain of the budgetary pressures are felt by

Police Staff.’

UNISONs ‘We are Police Staff’ campaign goes some way to highlight the varied and vital

roles that Police Staff undertake and challenges the public belief that Police Officer numbers

alone make for safer communities. We need to educate the public on what the uplift actually

means in terms of the service they receive from the Police and highlight the cost of using

Police Officers to undertake Police Staff roles and how this is not good use of the public

purse.

During the General Election both the Labour and the Conservative parties committed to

further increases to Police Officer numbers with no reference to Police Staff and the effect

this may have on their roles. Both parties highlighted the need for community Policing,

ensuring that there is a local Police Officer on every beat.

Conference notes that the number of Police Community Support Officers has fallen

dramatically over the last 4 years and throughout the years of austerity, with some forces not

having any PCSOs left at all. we know that a good PCSO is worth their weight in gold, they

are the eyes and ears of the Police and are integral to proactive, preventative and effective

community policing.

In order to ensure Police Staff do not bear the brunt of any increase in police officer numbers

going forward, conference asks the Service Group Executive (SGE) to:

Work with the UNISON Labour Link Committee and Labour Police and Crime Commissioners to

campaign for Police Officers recruited as part of Operation Uplift to be out on the street and not

filling Police Staff roles or vacancies, with a view to restoring the ratio of Police Staff and Police

Officers to pre uplift levels.

Work with the UNISON Labour Link Committee to educate the incoming government over police

officer numbers alone not equating to an effective police service or being an effective use of public

funds