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Best Value will result in an HR recruitment boom in the police force, practitioners in the service have predicted.
Police HR specialists delivered the upbeat message at the inaugural conference of the IPD Police Forum, predicting that Best Value will boost the already growing job market for personnel managers in the police because of the key role of people management in controlling staff costs.
Under the new government regime, police forces will be subjected to rigorous internal inspection at every level to ensure Best Value is achieved. There will be a particular focus on costs and quality of service delivery.
Forum publicity officer and HR manager for Kent County Constabulary Mike Brown said, "We invest 80 per cent of our money in our staff and if the HR process is not working, there is a huge potential for wastage.
"Police forces will be under constant review to show they are delivering Best Value at all levels and that the reforms are taking place - people will be under pressure to justify their jobs."
"Our Best Value programme will be running in 2005 and we will need the support to make this possible. It is important to have the staff in place to allow the reforms to take place."
Brown was one of the first HR people to be recruited to the police force 10 years ago and since then forces nationwide have recruited 1,200 HR staff.
Paul Whitehouse, Sussex chief constable and chair of the Association of Chief Police Officers' personnel management committee said, "However good the technology and systems, ensuring we have the right people, properly trained in the right jobs is vital."
