Pay restraint

I've just come across this story about plans to cut police pay.

It seems to me that the Government needs to think about what is important to the people and therefore what is important to it.

If I am in dire fiscal straits then I must consider whether I pay off my bills in any particular order.  I could pay all my credit cards and over draft off first while ignoring my mortgage.  The end result might be that I end up with no debt quickly because my personal debts are covered and the bank takes my house away to pay off the mortgage I owe them.  But, the problem is that I am now homeless.  A better solution seems to be to decide what is important to me.  Maybe it is better that I pay my debts slowly but have somewhere to live at the end of it.

This is the same problem as the Government faces.  Does it slash all public spending to the bone, pay all the debts but risk leaving the country in an appalling state at the end of it?  Or does it have a realistic look at what is important to the country, ensure that those important services are looked after and then pay off the debts over a longer period of time?

If the Government wants to cut police pay (either in real terms or literally) then they may find it is harder to recruit.  London and BTP officers are quite well paid, but outside of London and the pay is pretty piss poor from what I am told.

For what it's worth, I happen to think that the police, like the fire brigade and some people in the NHS (sorry but I cannot accept that all the managers and non-medical staff are necessary) are important to this country and that the Government should not destroy those services now to save a few pennies.

This is what they call a penny wise, pound foolish.

Comments

  1. For what it is worth I agree. However this government is not that much different from the last and certainly no more competent so we are both probably asking for a miracle.

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  2. Defense Brief , yet again you show yourself to be something special in the volatile polarized world of blogging.

    I consider you ( legal aid folk) to be public servants too and i see your cuts to be equally as harmful as those made upon the police. I do remember the days of brief remaining at the police station for 8 hours which i'm glad to say are gone. But I'm SICK of under qualified legal reps giving poor advice such as blanket no comment for offences that are suitable for a caution ( with overwhelming evidence). The offender losses. The taxpayer looses but the legal rep is too stupid to get it.

    The truth is ALL police officers will be desperate for a defense brief when an allegation is made allegation them. And I will dig into the savings to ensure that I'm advised by a real solicitor rather than a legal rep. I think it's unfair that those without savings cannot access this.

    Keep calm and carry on. You have my support.

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  3. I may be wrong, and I'm sure I'll be told if I am, but isn't it their bonuses that are beng scrapped? Why are police paid a bonus for doing their job? There is a wailing and gnashing of teeth over the payment of bonuses to bankers, so why are public sector bonuses accepted so readily? Their bonus is my council tax bill. And I don't accept the myth of poor pay, I am a public sector worker.

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  4. Old Codger, I voted for the Liberal half of this lot and am now refusing to speak to my MP (Vince Cable) for fear I'll be arrested when I smack him in the chops for. Have now decided not to bother voting next time around.

    LondonPC, strange as it may sound things have moved on a little with qualifications. When I started out you didn't have to have any qualifications whatsoever and once in custody PACE said you had to be treated as if you were a solicitor!! At least now you have to pass an exam in law and giving advice (even if they are basic levels). You'll be glad to hear that if you ever are arrested your Fed Rep will usually insist that a solicitor rather than a rep attends.

    Anon, I think the plan is to freeze wages causing a reduction in pay in real terms as inflation continues to rise. The bonuses are paid to senior officers for meeting various targets as I understand it.

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  5. I voted for the real conservatives. Dave's election as leader worried me. I did hope they might do as he said and I certainly believed they could not be worse than the last lot. I wouldn't take bets on that now.

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  6. Defence Brief, I think you'll find the rank and file got between £3000 and £5000 per year purely for turning up for work. It was a bonus introduced by NuLabour to try and cut down on sickies.

    ReplyDelete

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