How many would £500m buy?

I don't believe it; it's not April 1, so it must be a sick joke. I saw an advertisement in the Sunday national press looking for "two or three dynamic high achievers to join the board of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA)".Salary quoted was £20,000 for two or three days per month - yes two or three days each month. Nice work if you can get it.

It gets better: "NPIA will deliver changes in the provision of services to support operational policing - particularly in front-line delivery to the public." At this stage I became increasingly excited reading the advert, particularly when I saw that the first proven skill required for one of the lucky board members was "persuasion".

Ideal, I thought, perhaps the NPIA squad will persuade chief constables and the public that we really don't need police officers on overt patrol but merely cardboard cut-outs placed strategically on every street corner.

Or indeed persuade us that those who beat us up and rob us on the street, should after all be hugged and understood.

The next required skill was "communication", followed by "political awareness".

The latter skill requirement really substantiates my suspicion that those in the Home Office have now returned from their period of rehab into the murky depths of political correctness and finally accepted that you don't need to be politically correct regarding policing, just politically aware.

The final nail in the coffin of the real world comes with the proud statement that NPIA, "a new organisation", will have an annual budget of "around £500 million".

An annual budget of £500 million each year "to reduce crime and help us to make a real difference to the communities in which we live and serve".

I know my question is very basic and not at least persuasive nor does it show any evidence of political awareness, but how many constables on front line duties could be provided from a budget of £500 million each year? Could it even purchase a few Apache helicopters and send them to Afghanistan?

Barry A Mason, Bullmeadow Lane, Wombourne.