Police Federation Responds to today's capping announcement
Thursday, 27 March, 2008
Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:
"The government are sending out a confusing message. On the one hand they encourage local communities to lead with policing issues, yet when local authorities start to make policing and financial decisions they are penalised for doing so. This then results in chief officers being left with limited choices and often reducing the resilience and effectiveness of the police service by cutting police officer numbers and increasing numbers of police staff with limited or no powers.
"The over riding issue here is what do the public actually want from their police service, and what are they prepared to pay for. This is a question that successive governments have failed to ask, preferring to second guess public opinion. That is why the Police Federation has been demanding for nearly a decade now, an independent and holistic review of policing that would determine expectations, roles, responsibility, governance and accountability."
