Police operational duty shortage

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A poll of senior officers who run "basic command units" across England and Wales found that on average 5% of officers are sick, 5% are seconded to headquarters, 5% are on training and 4% of posts are vacant.

In total, 19% of the workforce is unavailable for operational duties at any one time, the poll by think-tank Policy Exchange said. Government targets have served to increase bureaucracy and stifle innovation, the survey added.

Policy Exchange polled all 228 superintendents who run basic command units, with a 68% response rate.

In all, 71% of superintendents believed the Home Office's reporting requirements had a negative impact on the quality of policing in their area. And 85% of superintendents regarded the number of officers unavailable for operational duties as a problem.

Policy Exchange research director Gavin Lockhart said: "The perception that forces are tied up in red tape and political correctness seems to be borne out in reality.

"Effective internal management reform could provide a real opportunity for the creation of policing structures that are linked to the communities they serve, providing a stable local platform for the introduction and delivery of neighbourhood policing."

Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "This report reinforces what we have been saying - that Gordon Brown's targets are stopping the police from doing their job and keeping officers off the streets.

"In contrast to Gordon Brown's command and control approach we have spelt out detailed proposals on how to introduce a zero-tolerance approach to crime, put more police back on the streets and give communities direct democratic control over local policing."

A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in March found just one in 40 police officers are available to respond to 999 calls in some areas. The report said there were 800 officers on an afternoon shift in a command area of one unnamed force, but only 20 free for emergency response. It also disclosed that police dispatchers routinely downgrade emergency calls to relieve pressure on the system.