Beat bobbies will patrol on their own
Uniformed police officers will patrol on their own instead of with another Pc under new plans in the West Midlands, it was revealed today.
Federation representatives say they have concerns about the move, which comes amid worries about police safety following the murder of two policewomen in Manchester two days ago.
Under the new plans, all uniformed staff will patrol on their own unless bosses believe there s a need for an extra officer.Critics fear it will put officers at risk and believe it is a cost-saving measure. The force needs to save £126million by 2015 as part of Government cuts.
Senior officers insisted today that every patrol would be risk-assessed.
But Steve Grange, deputy secretary of West Midlands Police Federation, said his organisation had concerns about the changes, which will be rolled out across all local policing units from the beginning of next month.
"Our fear is it will lead to a lack of proactivity in terms of stopping vehicles, detaining people, stop and search, those sort of things. There is less likelihood of a single officer stopping a car full of potential offenders than there would be if they were paired up with another officer," he explained.
"The other concern is if officers are being sent to jobs single crew, what will happen if they request another officer but controllers haven't got anyone to send? It is human nature for a police officer to go and help someone anyway."
West Midlands Deputy Chief Constable Dave Thompson said the move to single-crewed patrols would make officers more accessible and efficient. "We know the public find officers more approachable on their own. This move is not about reducing officers. There are clearly situations that need more than one officer to attend and if that is the case that will happen."
