Report urges police culture change

Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Ronnie Flanagan set out a wide range of proposals to cut red tape and improve neighbourhood policing in England and Wales.

He said there was too much emphasis on recording and investigating minor crimes - such as playground fights - and he called on ministers and the criminal justice system to refocus on serious crime and other issues which matter to local communities.

In a report commissioned last year by the then home secretary, Sir Ronnie said influences from inside and outside the police had made forces "risk averse".

Police will sometimes do too much paperwork and fail to deliver a good service because they fear missing something or being vulnerable to criticism, the report said.

"I believe that the primary driver of bureaucracy is cultural and exists not only within the police service but on a much broader basis, and part of the answer ... has to be a vocal national commitment to replace the risk averse culture with one of judgment, discretion and accountability," Sir Ronnie said.

Recommendations in the paper, published by the Home Office as Home Secretary Jacqui Smith prepared to stage a citizen's jury on crime alongside Prime Minister Gordon Brown, include:

Allowing volunteers to become police community support officers (PCSO) on an unpaid basis to contribute to their communities; setting up "virtual courts" which allow offenders to be dealt with by magistrates by video link from police stations.

Speeding up adoption of mobile data technology such as palm-top computers; setting a target across the criminal justice system to cut red tape.

Encouraging Home Office agencies and other police groups to devise a set of standardised incident forms which could then be used across England and Wales; giving greater recognition to police officers who choose to stay in neighbourhood teams.