Metropolitan Police slam force for ‘wasting’ £10m on training amid crime crisis in capital
Officers who completed the course are said to have confronted bosses to question them on why the money wasn’t used to recruit more PCs or provide police cars.
METROPOLITAN Police officers have accused the force of ‘wasting’ £10million on leadership training - despite the soaring crime rate in the capital.
Over 10,000 officers and staff will attend five days’ worth of training before the end of the year - as well as taking tests to tell them what ‘colour’ their personality is.
Officers who completed a two-day course recently are understood to have confronted bosses at the end to question them on why the money wasn’t used to recruit more PCs or provide police cars.
Staff will be taken off duty for a total of more than 50,000 days for the course, a move which comes as the number of murders in the capital topped 70 this year.
Officers were ‘angry’ after the training days, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
“Everyone was angry as they felt it was a waste of money and it took us out of borough for two days at a time when we have so much work to do,” a source told the newspaper.
At the end of the two day course officers were asked to come up with personal ‘pledges’ such as ‘do more exercise’.
The £10million budget, which is split over two years, would be enough to fund about 1000 police cars or the yearly salary of more than 400 PC’s.
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A Met spokesman said: “As London’s single biggest employer we absolutely must support our leaders by giving them the skills they need to do their jobs.
“Well-led and well-trained people deliver better, and ultimately that means Londoners get a great service.
“Like any development programme we do not expect everyone to enjoy it, but I have spoken to many leaders who have told me what fantastic skills they have learnt.”
Ken Marsh, the Metropolitan Police Federation chairman, said: “We are on our knees. Crime is going up, and that is serious crime going up as well, the public are concerned and we haven’t got the resources that we need.”
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