Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff Remuneration and ...

Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff Remuneration and Conditions – Final Report
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establish 211 . The General Secretary of the Police Federation said that officers who are unable to
perform the full duties of a police constable should receive a pension. This is their entitlement.
He argued that Home Office targets had led to forces creating a group of people who should be
entitled to an ill-health retirement pension but whom forces cannot afford to retire 212 .
5.2.58 At the seminar on exit strategies and restricted duty held for Part 2 of the review, Sergeant
Andy Garrett (Metropolitan Police Service Disability Staff Association) stated that the
omnicompetent officer no longer exists, but that police culture still expects officers to meet
this standard 213 . He said that officers who lose some capability are sometimes regarded as
“useless” 214 . He likened the situation to that faced by women in the 1950s, when they were
not considered able to discharge the full responsibilities of the office of constable. He said
that the police service lacks the flexibility to put people in the correct jobs, suitable for their
individual abilities. Instead, he said such officers are “castigated ... for their incapacity and cast
... on the heap”. He added that an officer with a disability undertaking an essential role, such as
intelligence handling, was of no lesser value than a patrolling officer 215 .
5.2.59 Mr Bob Crawley (Head of Health and Wellbeing at the Metropolitan Police) said that, in the
Metropolitan Police, officers with physical restrictions tend to move to the outer London
boroughs, and this concentration of officers on restricted duty in such places can have a
detrimental effect on performance 216 . He said that it is possible to be a restricted officer and
remain operational. He gave the example of a restricted duty officer who is unable to patrol
but can do surveillance. Ms Ashley Judd (Head of Human Resources, Lancashire Police)
said that forces have recently become more flexible and considerate in making better use of
officers on restricted duty. In Lancashire, some officers who qualify for ill-health retirement
do police officer jobs with adjustments to accommodate their physical restrictions. Others are
retired on ill-health grounds. She added that her force has begun to increase its rate of ill-health
retirement because it has not been possible to continue the service of so many people with
physical restrictions 217 .
5.2.60 Mr Alan Johnson (Metropolitan Police Authority) suggested giving Chief Constables the ability
to move their personnel between warranted, part-warranted and non-warranted roles depending
on their training and abilities 218 . Sergeant Garrett said that if officers with physical restrictions
were penalised, there would be a danger that people would conceal non-visible physical
infirmities, putting themselves and the force at risk 219 . He argued that forces should concentrate
on retraining officers with physical restrictions so that they can still do work of value 220 .
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5.2.61 The review’s Part 1 online consultation received a range of views which appeared to be
strongly held. This was in response to the question: “How would you treat officers on
restricted duties?” 221 . Analysis of 852 responses to this question identified seven themes 222 .
Approximately half of the respondents argued for better management of officers on restricted
duty. Some respondents argued for better support for those on restricted duty, and a small
number stated that restricted duty was not being used appropriately. A few respondents
suggested that payments to officers on restricted duty, or being ill-health retired, should be
reduced. Some suggested that no changes should be made. One respondent stated that:
211 ibid. page 16
212 ibid. pages 27-28
213 Career model seminar (2011), page 8
214 ibid. page 8
215 ibid. page 9
216 ibid. page 62
217 ibid. page 64
218 ibid. page 81
219 ibid. page 85
220 ibid. page 86
221 Part 1 report, page 204
222 Analysis of responses to police review of remuneration and conditions for officers and staff, Greenstreet Berman,
London, December 2010, page 13