Paperwork and prisoners keep officers off the beat
Friday 12th February 2010, 2:59PM GMT.
POLICE officers are so busy with prisoners and paperwork that sometimes there are not any on the beat.
Handling custody duties, taking statements and preparing files after busy nights sometimes absorbs so many officers that the force cannot spare anyone to go on foot patrol the next morning.
The police have emphasised that the pressure does not affect their ability to react to emergencies.
In a statement released this week a police spokesman said: ‘While every effort is taken to ensure that officers are appropriately deployed in the right place at the right time there are occasions when demand outstrips availability, particularly when officers are engaged with prisoners, taking witnesses statements or preparing files for court or parish hall inquiries.
‘In these instances it is important that deployment is prioritised. It should be emphasised that although there are times when police deployment remains problematic this does not impact on our ability to provide an emergency response.’
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preposterous…..things clearly need streamlining…or we are paying for one thing and getting another…this service costs a fortune so where is it and who allowed paper mountain building to take place….the rest of the world manages to field a proper squad.
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I know its not easy because of the financial climate, but I’d really like to see more police officers employed. We ned more officers on the beat. In my opinion, even when they are just wandering through town keeping an eye on things, they are doing a much needed job
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A typical example of how daft our sociaty has become. We have so much legislation to protect peoples “rights” and therefore so much paperwork to cover our backs that public servants are prevented from doing the real job. Next thing we know the armed forces will need to do a risk assesment before going into battle!!!
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Why not let them work until a ‘real’ retirement age, rather than allowing early retirment on a nice pension. The older employees could do the paperwork and leave the running around after criminals to the young’uns.
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Truthseeker # 1. Many police forces in the U.K. have civilains to take witness statements and complete narratives for the prosecution files. This releases police officers to go on patrol.
Before 1990 in Jersey, all an officer had to do was write a synopsis of an offence together with his witness statement, that of other witnesses and perhaps the defendant’s statement, or a contemporaneous written record of interview. Nowadays they will have tape recorded or even video recorded interviews.
In 1990 they introduced a new crime reocrding system, which meant officers had to complete countless forms for the benefit of data input staff, the statisticians and beancounters.
Writing reports and statements can be completed by the more able and skillful in a short space of time. It’s the filling in the endless other forms that causes the problems. As I said at the start of my submission, this sort of task could be done by civilian personnel so officers could be out on patrol.
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The Jersey force has more officers per thousand people than Devon and Cornwall and other comparable places. London does not count in this as they have extra officers for Scotland Yard, the SFO, etc.
Plus we have the honorary police that deal with other stuff and quite a few civilian workers as well.
Maybe it is time that outside officers were bought in to look at how the Jersey police actually function.
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What a joke! I saw a very young police officer (i must be getting old) on foot patrol the other day – rare sight indeed- he was on the town periphery booking cars ???
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Dead easy,don’t arrest anyone.Then you can also have some nice long holidays,you may even meet some states members sunbathing on some far off beach,we do not want you working all those long hours.all for such a small wage.?????
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Jon,no we don’t need any more Police Officers,we have more than enough already.We are paying these officers a large salary to shift paper when they should be out on the street.There are many unemployed people out there who would be happy to shift paper for the minimum wage so that the Officers can do the job and justify their cost to the public.
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oohhhhhh….so THAT’s what they look like!
Thanks JEP for the photo….I’ve never seen an officer on the beat before and you bless us with a photo of 2 !!
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do we not still have a high public:police ratio?
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Pip Clement @6
“Maybe it is time that outside officers were bought in to look at how the Jersey police actually function”
Pip, it seems to me that representitives of the U.K.police are employed almost full time doing just that.
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joleb #4
IMO has the best suggestion so far.
It would approach the manpower as well as the economic problems.
Blue Knight, Born warrior, care to become turkeys voting for Christmas ?
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Blue Knight #5
Jersey police also employ a number of civilian investigators to take statements and to conduct interviews etc.
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To cut down paperwork, why not do on the spot fines for minor offences, such as using mobile phones when driving, not wearing seat belts, urinating in the street, If your caught more than once double the fine. if your drunk and incapable and you have to spend the night in a cell charge board and lodging + a fine this will also relieve the courts to concentrate on bigger crimes.
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Don Move # 14. Thanks for telling us that; it’s obviously something that occurred since I retired. But if that’s the case, it begs the question, why aren’t more officers now available for foot and mobile patrols?
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It’s about time to train up the prisoners to help out in the community. The amount of cash required to keep a person in prison is a scandal.
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17 Toastedteacakes
That’s because gourmet meals, sky packages and broadband doesn’t come cheap these days !!
Get the benefit scroungers and prisoners doing more of the “frowned upon” work like cleaning sewers, streets and beaches……maybe then we will see less of each!
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Ah, good old extreme right wing views. Who can beat that? How refreshing for all concerned. We can’t have unfortunate oiks littering the place, can we?
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I saw a woman officer on the beat in St Helier yesterday afternoon. I wondered if this was in response to recent criticisms regarding the general absence of any police presence and the apparent unwillingness to act against anything other than motoring offenders.
The lady was all of five feet three and of very slight build. I know that they say that you know that you are getting old when policemen look younger, but are you getting bigger when they look smaller?
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@ jon #2
“…We ned more officers on the beat…”
I agree; now take a look at the photo for this story. Maybe they’ve been called to an incident, but I’ve seen them down at the Waterfront before seemingly on ‘the beat’, but the area is private land, so shouldn’t they be elsewhere patrolling Public land, as they’re paid for by the Public? If the Waterfront wants patrols on their land, let them pay for private security.
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Pip Clement (#6) mused “Maybe it is time that outside officers were bought in to look at how the Jersey police actually function”.
Outside officer /have/ been brought in (and bought in: it has cost Jersey taxpayers a seven figure amount) twice in the last year alone to investigate the workings of the States of Jersey Police.
The Wiltsahire Police Force ought to consider asking for J-class quallies, as they seem to be here almost permanently.
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