Has anyone wondered whether the writer of the "Winsor Review into Police Pay & Conditions" ( now publicly available ) has an alterior motive ?
In his submissions, the role of Police Air Observer is not a qualifying "Specialist Role", and the current maximum pay point for Police Officers would not be available to Air Support Officers, effectively meaning that the maximum pay for that role would be £5487.00 LESS than it is now ( not to mention the additional £1122 CRTP payment made to those that have been at the top of the pay scale for 12 months and have demonstrated competency in their role ).
It's not clear what would happen to those in post now as to whether they would suffer a hefty pay cut ( one would hope not ), but how does Mr. Winsor envisage recruiting Police Officers into that "Non Specialist" role, when the prospects for pay progression are so poor, compared with some of the other roles that do qualify as "Specialist", such as Traffic Officers, Complaints & Discipline Officers, Custody Officers, Community Safety Officers etc etc ......
I'm sure there are a LOT of highly skilled Police Observers ( who have had to pass rigorous selection procedures, received intial training to natioal and local standards, and are required to maintain and demonstrate their competencies in the role annually by way of "Line Checks") who will feel insulted that they are not considered to have Specialist Skills, and will no doubt be raising the issue as a matter of urgency with their Police Federation representatives, to canvass for their role to be included as a Specialist skill, and be appropriately rewarded for the work they do.
Or are they all going to be booted out under NPAS and be replaced by Civilian Staff
?
