24. Letter from Mr Keith Rotheram
to the Chairman of the Committee
I enclose herewith a copy of a letter sent to
the Home Secretary on the question of Police Officers taking sabbaticals.
I understand from the media that you and the
other members of the Home Affairs Select Committee propose to
look at the absence of officers on such sabbaticals. As a tax
payer at both local and national level I would be extremely interested
to see a historical review of officers who have completed their
period of absence. Just how many actually returned to the Police
Force and how many stayed on permanently.
When I was the Deputy Head of Force Training
for the Merseyside Police, the portfolio for officers attending
university both full time and part time was passed to me by the
Personnel Department. Up to that time it had been administered
by low grade civilian personnel who simply rubber stamped the
part time applications whilst full time applications were dealt
with at a higher level. Fortuitously at the same time I received
this portfolio a student from the John Moores University was seconded
to the Training School and required a project. I asked her to
examine and report on the whole scheme.
Briefly it had commenced in the 1960s when the
Police Force had been unable to attract graduates. By the late
1980s/90s that situation had changed and many new recruits had
degrees so the need was no longer there. However, nobody had bothered
to review the scheme.
Her research also showed there had been very
poor career management of the officers who had achieved degrees
at Police expense. True to say that one had reached Chief Officer
rank but most others had made little progress. The scheme had
cost millions of pounds in salaries and fees and, if continued,
was projected to cost some Six Million Pounds over the next 10
years.
Her research together with my report was passed
to the then Assistant Chief Constable (Personnel). It was clearly
a matter of embarrassment to him as, so far as I am aware, the
report went no further. The Police Committee certainly never had
sight of it.
I know not whether this scheme continued after
my retirement but it bears a striking resemblance to the sabbatical
scheme.
I wish you and your committee good fortune with
your enquiry and hopefully we might see an improvement in Police
availability. However I am not holding my breath.
6 September 2004
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