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Call for major review of policing Call for major review of policing
(40 minutes later)
A fundamental and independent review of the long-term direction of policing is needed, the head of the Association of Chief Police Officers has said. An independent review is needed into the long-term direction of policing in England and Wales, says a top officer.
Ken Jones told the Acpo conference in Manchester that the world - and police duties - had changed. At the Association of Chief Police Officers conference in Manchester, president Ken Jones said bureaucracy was "strangling" the service.
The review should "position the service strategically to be fit for purpose for the next 20 years", he said. He said the review should "give us all the mandate and opportunity to give the public the very best service".
Gordon Brown told the conference he wanted "to do more to protect and enhance our British way of life".Gordon Brown told the conference he wanted "to do more to protect and enhance our British way of life".
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said senior officers believed the police service was at a crossroads with a long period of investment ending and officer numbers beginning to fall. In his first major speech on law and order since being confirmed as the next prime minister, Mr Brown said he wanted to "support a strong vibrant civic society... a citizenship of responsibilities as well as rights and a citizenship based on fairness to all who play by the rules".
At the same time, the duties and responsibilities of the police appeared to be growing more demanding. Growing demands
Mr Jones told delegates: "An open, independent, unrestrained review would surely give us all the mandate and opportunity to give the public the very best service, as they rightly deserve."
Earlier, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are being asked to do more and more things, which we are taking on willingly, but the fact is that we can't do everything."
For example, he said, there was "right and proper" investment in neighbourhood policing but at the same time police were being "pulled in the other direction" with increasing roles in countering organised crime and terrorism.
It is high time the government accept that quick wins and part measures are not sufficient Jan BerryPolice Federation chairman
He said that, while the government of the day clearly needed to have its say, politics should be "taken out of the equation" for the purposes of the review.
That would enable it to have broader support and survive long-term, he said.
Police Federation chairman Jan Berry said it had been making the case for a policing review and was delighted at the backing from Acpo.Police Federation chairman Jan Berry said it had been making the case for a policing review and was delighted at the backing from Acpo.
"It is high time the government accept that quick wins and part measures are not sufficient to address the problems that have built up over the years," she said."It is high time the government accept that quick wins and part measures are not sufficient to address the problems that have built up over the years," she said.
'Non-political' Abandoned mergers
The last such review, in the early 1960s, led to the tripartite system of police governance and accountability, involving the home secretary, police authorities and forces.The last such review, in the early 1960s, led to the tripartite system of police governance and accountability, involving the home secretary, police authorities and forces.
Earlier, Mr Jones told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are being asked to do more and more things, which we are taking on willingly, but the fact is that we can't do everything." BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said senior officers believed the police service was at a crossroads with a long period of investment ending and officer numbers beginning to fall.
For example, he said there was "right and proper" investment in neighbourhood policing but at the same time police were being "pulled in the other direction" with increasing roles in countering organised crime and terrorism. At the same time, the duties and responsibilities of the police appeared to be growing more demanding.
He said that, while the government of the day clearly needed to have its say, politics should be "taken out of the equation" for the purposes of the review.
That would enable it to have broader support and survive long-term, he said.
Mr Jones said he was not calling for a reinstatement of plans to merge some police forces, which faced strong opposition.Mr Jones said he was not calling for a reinstatement of plans to merge some police forces, which faced strong opposition.
The Home Office proposals were all but abandoned last year after the only two forces to be actively seeking a merger said it would not be possible on cost grounds.The Home Office proposals were all but abandoned last year after the only two forces to be actively seeking a merger said it would not be possible on cost grounds.
The Association of Chief Police Officers represents 340 top officers in England and Wales.