Working Time and Wellbeing in the Police Service: Practical Steps to Monitor, Manage and Balance the Working Hours/Working Lives of Police Inspectors

许多警察督察目前工作时间过长，损害了他们的个人健康和福祉、家庭和社会关系以及英国警察服务的效率。虽然这是一个长期存在的问题，但综合支出审查最近将督察的数量削减了8%以上（2009-11年间），而且由于缺乏弹性和高级警察的“时间饥荒”（如伦敦骚乱期间所表现的那样），警察服务越来越紧张。我们与英格兰和威尔士警察联合会（PFEW）和苏格兰警察联合会（SPF）的研究已经绘制出问题的性质和程度-检查员的工作时间没有系统或准确地记录，超过四分之一的人每周工作超过48小时（可在：http://policeinspectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Time-for-Justice-report-low-res.pdf）。更重要的是，警察督察面临着特别高的“职业倦怠”风险，因为“超出职责范围”的工作既不是完全自愿的（警务人员可以根据“职责的紧急情况”被命令工作），也不是公平的奖励(他们在1994年的合同中“买断”了加时费，“买断”不再被认为是对他们必须履行的时间/职责的适当报酬，而且大多数督察觉得很难，如果不是不可能的话。通过在随后的轮班中缩短工作时间来“弥补”超时工作时间)。巡视员对工作时间的关注因警察和工作人员薪酬和条件独立审查（温莎审查）而加剧。为了督察、警察部门及其服务的社区的利益而改善这种情况并非易事。职业自豪感和“大男子主义”的工作文化——“不惜一切代价完成工作”，包括超长的工作时间——使警官们不愿抱怨（或接受投诉）。尽管如此，PFEW的督察中央委员会（ICC）及其苏格兰同等机构致力于与他们自己的代表（通过区域督察分支委员会）和高级警察管理人员合作，更有效地管理工作时间，促进其成员的健康和福祉。为了利用这一承诺，知识交流（KE）项目将涉及11个区域讲习班，由卡迪夫商学院和国际刑事法院（PFEW和SPF）联合组织，并得到调查员、国际刑事法院、法律专家和职业健康专家的投入。目标受众是IBB代表、警司协会（SA）、首席警官协会（ACPO）、高级警察人力资源经理、内政部以及新的警察和犯罪专员。这些工作坊将提供一个交流意见、传播良好做法的论坛，并探讨更有效的方法，以监察、管理和平衡督察的工作时间和工作生活，使警队的人员分配和工作时间安排，既能满足社会对有效警务服务的需要，又能配合警务人员休息、休养和社交的需要。这项教育活动的目的，不仅是要推动这个认识、教育和培训的过程，而且要建立一个持续的对话论坛，并最终制定具体的政策，供警队采用（例如督察的合理工作时间指引、更有效的当值管理制度和灵活的工作安排）。预计政策变化的影响将超出巡察职级及其家属的健康和福祉，尤其是在警察服务的复原力和质量方面。

Many Police Inspectors currently work excessively long hours to the detriment of their personal health and wellbeing, their family and social relationships, and the effectiveness of the British Police Service. While this is a long-standing problem at this Rank, the Comprehensive Spending Review recently cut the number of Inspectors by over 8% (between 2009-11) and the Police Service is increasingly stretched by a lack of resilience and a 'time famine' at higher ranks (as demonstrated during the London riots).Our research with the Police Federation of England & Wales (PFEW) and the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has already mapped out the nature and extent of the problem - Inspectors' hours are not systematically or accurately recorded and more than 1-in-4 work in excess of 48 hours per week (available at: http://policeinspectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Time-for-Justice-report-low-res.pdf). More importantly, Police Inspectors face an especially high risk of 'occupational burnout' because working 'beyond the call of duty' is neither entirely voluntary (officers can be commanded to work in accordance with the 'exigencies of duty') nor fairly rewarded (overtime was 'bought-out' of their contract in 1994, the 'buy-out' is no longer regarded as adequate recompense for the hours/duties they must perform, and most Inspectors find it difficult, if not impossible, to 'recover' excessive hours by working shorter hours during subsequent shifts). Inspectors' concerns over working time have been exacerbated by the Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff Remuneration and Conditions (the Winsor review).Improving this situation for the benefit of Inspectors, the Police Service, and the communities it serves is no easy task. Professional pride and a 'macho' work culture - 'doing whatever it takes to get the job done', including working excessively long hours - makes officers reluctant to complain (or to entertain complaints). Nonetheless, the Inspectors' Central Committee (ICC) of the PFEW, and their Scottish equivalent, are committed to working with both their own representatives (via the regional Inspectors' Branch Boards, IBBs) and senior police management to manage hours more effectively and to promote the health and wellbeing of their members. To capitalise on this commitment, the Knowledge Exchange (KE) project will involve 11 regional workshops, jointly organised by Cardiff Business School and the ICC (PFEW and SPF), with input from the Investigators, the ICC, legal experts, and occupational health specialists. The target audience is IBB reps, the Superintendents' Association (SA), the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), senior police HR managers, the Home Office, and the new Police and Crime Commissioners. The workshops will provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, the dissemination of good practice, and the identification of more effective methods to monitor, manage and balance the working hours and working lives of Inspectors so that Police Forces can allocate personnel and schedule hours in a way that meets the needs of the community for effective police services and with the needs of officers for rest, recuperation and social interaction. The KE activity is designed not only to kick-start this process of awareness, education and training, but to develop an on-going forum for dialogue and ultimately concrete polices for the Police Service to adopt (e.g. guidelines on reasonable working hours for Inspectors, more effective Duty Management Systems, and flexible working arrangements). Policy changes are anticipated to have an impact beyond the health and wellbeing of the Inspecting Ranks and their families, most notably in relation to the resilience and quality of police services.