The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) is fully-supportive of the Home Office White Paper ‘Policing A New Century’ – a document which it believes will "offer a real opportunity to modernise policing in the UK, and harness the positive contribution of other crime prevention agencies".
In what represents its most comprehensive attempt to date in attempting to reform the police service, the Government’s blueprint proposes new tiers of civilian quasi-policing figures, who would have limited powers to supplement those of regular officers and special constables. Members of this ‘extended police family’ would be allowed to stop and detain suspects, for example, and demand their names and addresses.
The White Paper also outlines measures aimed at improving the performance, training and skill levels of those in the regular force (funded to grow to 130,000 by March next year). These include a dedicated Standards Unit to monitor the performance of forces and localised police divisions, a National Centre of Excellence and a new corps of specialist detectives.
Commenting on the Government’s plans, BSIA chief executive David Fletcher told SMT: "These proposals are plain common sense. The police service is bogged down with paperwork and a host of mundane tasks which do little to test their specialist skills. Thankfully, the proposals laid down in this White Paper will enable the police service to concentrate on its core activities of detecting crime and bringing criminals to justice."
The White Paper proposes a further tier of policing – that accomplished by accredited community safety organisations – in a bid to harness the collective energy and commitment of security staff, neighbourhood wardens and street wardens.
Accreditation would be at the discretion of the chief constable, and subject to annual review. On top of that, complete criminal record checks would be carried out on the employees of accredited companies, and those licensed to operate in support of the police would need to wear some form of badge or ‘kitemark’. With the passing of the Private Security Industry Act last May, a licensed private security workforce is not too far away.
Of course, officers from the larger contractors already undertake roles that were once the domain of the police (ie escorting prisoners to court and monitoring police custodial suites). Once licensed under the Act, security guards may then be given additional responsibilities and police accreditation as part of the White Paper proposals. Clearly, a higher level of training would need to be in place if additional powers are to be granted.
The proposals for a visible policing presence on the streets are perhaps the most controversial. Chief constables would have the powers to "appoint support staff to provide a visible presence in the community, with powers sufficient to deal with minor issues". Members of this new tier of ‘policing figures’ would be known as community support officers.
In reality, these officers would be police employees, and deal primarily with anti-social behaviour – including the monitoring of court orders and environmental problems such as graffiti and abandoned vehicles.
To this end, new offences relating to the assault of community support officers and obstructing them in their duties would first need to be enshrined in law.
The Government is also committed to increasing the numbers of special constables (who are usually unpaid, but have the full powers of a constable). Greater powers to tackle under-performing forces are also envisaged.
