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Controversial plans to set up a civilian police force have been attacked by the police officers' representative body.
The Metropolitan Police Federation branded the Scotland Yard proposals for using auxiliary officers a "dangerous strategy".
They are concerned about the competence and safety of the civilian officers, who would be armed with truncheons. Plans for a pilot scheme would see auxiliaries given a wide range of powers to detain suspects and stop vehicles.
In what could prove a blueprint for a radical shake-up of policing in England and Wales, the Metropolitan Police has signalled it wants to recruit 800 auxiliaries to take on community patrol work. It wants them to have the power to issue fixed penalty notices for disorder, including drunkenness, anti-social behaviour, aggressive begging and traffic offences.
Under the proposals, drawn up by the Met's deputy commissioner Ian Blair, the auxiliaries, who will have their own distinctive uniform, will also have powers to stop vehicles and "detain a person suspected of committing an offence pending the arrival of a police officer". This will require changes to current legislation.
The auxiliaries, he said, will be "employed, directed, deployed and controlled by the Met". They will be separate from local authority wardens, and will work part or full time, earning up to £17,000pa. They will have two weeks' training at the Met's college in Hendon, north London.
Met Police Federation chairman Glen Smyth said the force should concentrate on recruiting the 2,500 officers it needs to reach its target strength rather than pursue schemes for policing on the cheap, reports The Guardian.
