£50k spent on top police officers' phones (From The Argus)
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£50k spent on top police officers' phones
8:00am Saturday 13th March 2010 in
Top police officers’ phones are costing more than £26,000 a year.
Sussex Police currently use about 270 BlackBerrys and have spent more than £50,000 on the gadgets over the last two years.
The force says the phones are an important way of keeping senior officers and staff in touch.
Critics said the spending - which has been taking place even as officers prepare for job losses and swingeing cutbacks - may be better used helping avoid job cuts.
According to details released under the Freedom of Information Act, Sussex Police spent £53,885.54 on BlackBerrys over the last two years.
The phones include a miniature “qwerty” keyboard similar to those used on computers.
They are designed for people to send and receive emails on the move as well as phonecalls.
The phones have become commonplace among senior public sector staff.
A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said: "Their use has improved communication between staff and in turn should provide an even better level of service to the public."
Comments(63)
Whitedot
says...
8:09am Sat 13 Mar 10
Tye
says...
8:17am Sat 13 Mar 10
Tell us Ben - what are you going to do when you grow up?
another village idiot
says...
8:25am Sat 13 Mar 10
PeteBrighton
says...
8:30am Sat 13 Mar 10
shrek's uglier brother
says...
8:36am Sat 13 Mar 10
Solution: whack in another FoI Act request, anything will do just so long as it can be twisted a bit and gives the sub-editors a fighting chance of a lurid headline. Send it to Sussex Police or one of those other public bodies that at least try to respond to stupid requests for meaningless information (as opposed to those who actively try to block FoI requests).
Problem solved: Argus reporter can now get back to Facebook or something equally crucial.
Pat cham
says...
9:31am Sat 13 Mar 10
andrewhancox
says...
9:33am Sat 13 Mar 10
Pat cham
says...
9:33am Sat 13 Mar 10
patchamgirl wrote:What a well thought out response to this story. I suspect you are an incredibly well educated person ? How witty of you....
WHAT A LOAD OF B*LL*CKS! bton police dont know thier heads from thier a**es, have they been on a course to learn how to use the blackberry's?
Pat cham
says...
9:39am Sat 13 Mar 10
kkj
says...
9:49am Sat 13 Mar 10
Hardly newsworthy either way.
Pat cham
says...
9:54am Sat 13 Mar 10
andrewhancox wrote:Nearly. Headline says £50k however thats over two years ! Try £8 !...
To clarify that's £16 per month to supply someone with a phone, how is that in anyway unreasonable?
£8 per Officer x 270 Officers = £2160
£2160 x 12 months = £25920
Next Story Ben, must try harder next time
HF 05
says...
10:12am Sat 13 Mar 10
Pull your socks up Ben
Number Six
says...
10:45am Sat 13 Mar 10
Metro Reader
says...
11:09am Sat 13 Mar 10
seagully
says...
11:11am Sat 13 Mar 10
another village idiot wrote:Seeing as these blackberry are only going to senior supervisors and officers above the rank of Sgt dont get paid overtime paid then there is nothing to explore!!
Putting this with another story where the police get a minimum of 4 hours overtime if they take a work call whilst not on duty this is certainly something I'd like to see explored, and accounted for.
peebee9
says...
11:47am Sat 13 Mar 10
icansee
says...
12:20pm Sat 13 Mar 10
money is wasted all over the public sector and the police service is no exception
the police will have to make cutbacks and maybe money can be saved with cheaper phones?
does anyone have any good ideas about how our police service can make savings with our money and be more efficient?
because this has to happen!
emma barnes
says...
2:08pm Sat 13 Mar 10
ce.uk/en/10500.htm
Granny
says...
3:17pm Sat 13 Mar 10
Number Six
says...
3:53pm Sat 13 Mar 10
Granny wrote:Nah. Doesn't it say that Bibble visits Brighton regularly? You couldn't think that of Parsons now, could you?
Are the Argus now in league with bibble????? Nearly everyday there is a story slating the police in Sussex. Or, it has just occurred to me that Ben Parsons may be bibble!
yorkie44
says...
4:28pm Sat 13 Mar 10
Pat cham
says...
6:24pm Sat 13 Mar 10
yorkie44 wrote:Obviously you are right. Police Officers only speak to each other in the same Police Station so why do they need Phones. Again, well informed comment from someone who knows exactly what is going on !
What a pity they don't put as much effort into keeping in touch with the public! Why do they need phones anyway when the main sit in their offices and can just walk down the corridor to keep in touch with each other?
PeteBrighton
says...
6:43pm Sat 13 Mar 10
ambassador
says...
6:54pm Sat 13 Mar 10
another village idiot wrote:Well, that won't happen at the Argus.
Putting this with another story where the police get a minimum of 4 hours overtime if they take a work call whilst not on duty this is certainly something I'd like to see explored, and accounted for.
They, like many other media tools, rarely publish any meaningful stories and certainly never do any investigative journalism.
They simply rely on the Freedom of Information Act, which takes up police time and money.
If they then went on to investigate the facts, all well and good but they don't.
Shameful reporting.
bibble
says...
8:10pm Sat 13 Mar 10
bibble
says...
8:12pm Sat 13 Mar 10
PeteBrighton wrote:Completely different. You have a choice to buy The Argus. There is no such choice with the utterly incompetent and frequently corrupt police.
a) If Police weren't able to effectively communicatge with each other the Argus would post a headline about Police incompetence and b) Can we be told how many Argus reporters have Blackberries paid by for the paper-buying public?
bibble
says...
8:14pm Sat 13 Mar 10
Granny wrote:Ah boo hoo. In a time not so long ago, before Blackberries even existed, the plod were more affective at solving crime. Nowadays they waste umpteen millions on tosh, solve less crime, and people like you stand up for them.
Are the Argus now in league with bibble????? Nearly everyday there is a story slating the police in Sussex. Or, it has just occurred to me that Ben Parsons may be bibble!
bibble
says...
8:17pm Sat 13 Mar 10
Granny wrote:If there really is a story every day "slating" the police, you should ask why is that possible. What are the police doing every day such that it is possible to slate them? But, no, you blame the reporter.
Are the Argus now in league with bibble????? Nearly everyday there is a story slating the police in Sussex. Or, it has just occurred to me that Ben Parsons may be bibble!
bibble
says...
8:20pm Sat 13 Mar 10
yorkie44 wrote:Probably because the police are not talking to themselves on the very expensive Airwave radio system. A system designed for the emergency services.
What a pity they don't put as much effort into keeping in touch with the public! Why do they need phones anyway when the main sit in their offices and can just walk down the corridor to keep in touch with each other?
.
Instead they are probably ringing their bookies, or councillors complaining about parking tickets and so on. Anything other than the purpose of policing.
bibble
says...
8:22pm Sat 13 Mar 10
yorkie44 wrote:The plod are not interested in keeping in touch with the public. It is "none of our business", you see. Unless they actually need us to solve a crime, in which case they urge the public to assist.
What a pity they don't put as much effort into keeping in touch with the public! Why do they need phones anyway when the main sit in their offices and can just walk down the corridor to keep in touch with each other?
.
It is time to get rid of the police and start again. They are mostly useless, they solve very little crime and at great expense. Other people could do better. That is the truth.
ambassador
says...
8:47pm Sat 13 Mar 10
He clearly has no real knowledge of the subject he writes on.
The Argus choose to slate the police on a regular basis as it is easy to get FoI data about them and they have the most difficult and controversial public role.
It would be just as easy to write critical stuff about the fire or ambulance service but not as 'popular'.
Bibble - talk sense, for once.
rs
says...
9:00pm Sat 13 Mar 10
andrewhancox wrote:i think the story is refering to buying 270 blackberrys over the last 2 years at the cost of £185 each. this is the call charges and line rental they're refering to but the costy of the phones themselves.
To clarify that's £16 per month to supply someone with a phone, how is that in anyway unreasonable?
bibble
says...
9:18pm Sat 13 Mar 10
ambassador wrote:The plod do not have a difficult or controversial job. They may make it into that, in which case it is their fault and nobody else's. Their job is no more difficult than mine, and indeed I would I say nowhere near as hard. And I don't have the safety net of near-unsackability (my word). As a tax payer, I directly put money into their pockets. I want to know that it is being spent wisely, and not on the latest toys.
Even when bibble has a valid point he fails to make it in a credible way. He clearly has no real knowledge of the subject he writes on. The Argus choose to slate the police on a regular basis as it is easy to get FoI data about them and they have the most difficult and controversial public role. It would be just as easy to write critical stuff about the fire or ambulance service but not as 'popular'. Bibble - talk sense, for once.
.
You also use this word "slate". I am not sure of the etymology of the word, but (to me) it implies that something is wrong with the thing being slated. In which case you need to point your finger not at the messenger but instead at the thing that is being slated.
ambassador
says...
12:07am Sun 14 Mar 10
Bibble ignores what is said and makes no sense in his reply.
He talks about 'his job' - a professional 'irritating tit' perhaps?
shrek's uglier brother
says...
8:54am Sun 14 Mar 10
But why the paranoia about the police? Has anyone bothered to work out what "toys" are provided for fire brigade personnel (including those who wear the uniforms now, but wouldn't be seen within a million miles of a fire), NHS management, senior ambulance staff, council officers, etc , etc.
Come on, Argus. This is your chance to demonstrate some objectivity. Why not try asking them all about their "toys"? And then you could show how even-handed you were by citing the costs your own kit costs....
bibble
says...
9:58am Sun 14 Mar 10
ambassador wrote:Your "case" is very weak. What is difficult about their job? It doesn't matter whether or not they solve crime, they still get paid. Indeed they can solve less crime than the year before and still get paid.
I rest my case. If bibble does not think the police have a difficult job then clearly, he has no knowledge of that job - or a limited intellect. Bibble ignores what is said and makes no sense in his reply. He talks about 'his job' - a professional 'irritating tit' perhaps?
.
It is almost impossible to sack lazy/inefficient/cor
rupt policemen..
.
They whine like babies when the public, who pay them, want more control of how they operate.
icansee
says...
10:45am Sun 14 Mar 10
there is a huge waste of money in the police service
the cost of the police service is unsustainable
two examples ..there is a massive pension deficit
one in three police officers receive still recieve £4000 a year towards housing costs
there has to be massive cuts because the cost of this service has spiralled out of control
who has got anything constructive to say about how we can save the huge amount of money that wasted by this organisation
it is a fact that there is huge waste!
seagully
says...
3:02pm Sun 14 Mar 10
I accept we should know where are money is going but to buy tech that will potentially save money has my vote. I agree though that officers have lost the art of communication but that comes down to being in cars rather than on foot.
ambassador
says...
4:22pm Sun 14 Mar 10
bibble
says...
5:45pm Sun 14 Mar 10
ambassador wrote:You have no argument, so you resort to using nasty slovos.
bibble, you are ill-informed, bigoted cretin.
.
I urge you to go and look up Airwave and Tetra. It was championed by the nasty National Policing Improvement Agency, and at a cost of £2.9 billion. So why do the high up plods need to spend yet more money on communication devices? The answer, of course, is that they don't NEED to. But they spend it because they like to play with the latest toys.
ambassador
says...
6:03pm Sun 14 Mar 10
You state: "It was championed by the nasty National Policing Improvement Agency, and at a cost of £2.9 billion. So why do the high up plods need to spend yet more money on communication devices? The answer, of course, is that they don't NEED to."
Partly correct and a reasonable question to ask.
Where you crash and burn completely is in making CONSTANT, ILL-CONSIDERED and ILL-INFORMED criticisms of 'the police' at every opportunity.
Who are 'the police'? PCs and sergeants on the street working long hours in a difficult job, yes, a difficult job? Or senior officers whose main motivation is often promotion? Or chief officers? Or the Police authorities? Or the Home Office? Or the government? Or NPIA who are government driven?
You may not think it is difficult but have you done it? If not you cannot comment.
And I for one am not interested in how difficult or hard your job is, we are not talking about you.
I was not name calling I was merely stating what I and many, many others on these pages think.
You ARE ill-informed, you ARE bigoted and the definition of a cretin is "a person considered to be extremely stupid".
In my opinion, because of your lack of ability to debate in a mature and thoughtful way and the outrageously inaccurate and sweeping statement you make, I believe you are stupid.
You never accept that someone else's argument could have some validity and someone else may just have more knowledge of the truth.
Try it sometime, you'll be amazed at the reaction you get.
ambassador
says...
6:07pm Sun 14 Mar 10
You state: "It was championed by the nasty National Policing Improvement Agency, and at a cost of £2.9 billion. So why do the high up plods need to spend yet more money on communication devices? The answer, of course, is that they don't NEED to."
Partly correct and a reasonable question to ask.
Where you crash and burn completely is in making CONSTANT, ILL-CONSIDERED and ILL-INFORMED criticisms of 'the police' at every opportunity.
Who are 'the police'? PCs and sergeants on the street working long hours in a difficult job, yes, a difficult job? Or senior officers whose main motivation is often promotion? Or chief officers? Or the Police authorities? Or the Home Office? Or the government? Or NPIA who are government driven?
You may not think it is difficult but have you done it? If not you cannot comment.
And I for one am not interested in how difficult or hard your job is, we are not talking about you.
I was not name calling I was merely stating what I and many, many others on these pages think.
You ARE ill-informed, you ARE bigoted and the definition of a cretin is "a person considered to be extremely stupid".
In my opinion, because of your lack of ability to debate in a mature and thoughtful way and the outrageously inaccurate and sweeping statement you make, I believe you are stupid.
You never accept that someone else's argument could have some validity and someone else may just have more knowledge of the truth.
Try it sometime, you'll be amazed at the reaction you get.
bibble
says...
6:35pm Sun 14 Mar 10
ambassador wrote:Ah, boo hoo. The police are definitely not "PCs and sergeants on the streets". They are either sitting in police stations doing some paperwork, or driving around dangerously. The place where we are least likely to see the police is on the streets.
I do not need to 'look up' Airwave and Tetra, I have first hand knowledge of it. You state: "It was championed by the nasty National Policing Improvement Agency, and at a cost of £2.9 billion. So why do the high up plods need to spend yet more money on communication devices? The answer, of course, is that they don't NEED to." Partly correct and a reasonable question to ask. Where you crash and burn completely is in making CONSTANT, ILL-CONSIDERED and ILL-INFORMED criticisms of 'the police' at every opportunity. Who are 'the police'? PCs and sergeants on the street working long hours in a difficult job, yes, a difficult job? Or senior officers whose main motivation is often promotion? Or chief officers? Or the Police authorities? Or the Home Office? Or the government? Or NPIA who are government driven? You may not think it is difficult but have you done it? If not you cannot comment. And I for one am not interested in how difficult or hard your job is, we are not talking about you. I was not name calling I was merely stating what I and many, many others on these pages think. You ARE ill-informed, you ARE bigoted and the definition of a cretin is "a person considered to be extremely stupid". In my opinion, because of your lack of ability to debate in a mature and thoughtful way and the outrageously inaccurate and sweeping statement you make, I believe you are stupid. You never accept that someone else's argument could have some validity and someone else may just have more knowledge of the truth. Try it sometime, you'll be amazed at the reaction you get.
.
The police do not have particularly long hours, unless they do overtime (which they are generously paid for). They do not have a difficult job.
.
I do not need to do something to judge whether or not it is difficult. I know that sweeping the streets is not difficult, and I haven't done that. I know that brain surgery is difficult, and I haven't done that either.
.
Who elected you spokesman for the "many others" on this site? When was your election?
.
I am not ill informed, indeed I am very well informed about bad policing.
.
If for once you removed your blinkers and admitted that the police frequently do a very bad job, which we pay them for, your comments might have some validity. But you are biased.
ambassador
says...
7:49pm Sun 14 Mar 10
bibble
says...
9:15pm Sun 14 Mar 10
ambassador wrote:Again you resort to insults.
I hope you never need a police officer - cretin.
.
With Sussex police like these:
http://www.telegraph
.co.uk/news/uknews/c
rime/7428269/Restaur
ant-boss-put-in-pris
on-for-stopping-yobs
.html
.
We are all better off without them.
ambassador
says...
9:21pm Sun 14 Mar 10
ambassador
says...
9:31pm Sun 14 Mar 10
I am in regular communication with two or three of the contributors on these pages and they all think you are 'barking' and based on the comments of many other contributors - which you must have read - they feel the same.
So, no one elected me, I am merely reflecting the views of others.
You insult Sussex Police. You do not specify exactly who within the police and infer they are all corrupt and lazy.
If you don't like insults stop insulting others.
seagully
says...
1:13am Mon 15 Mar 10
I can only assume you have had a very bad experience but you shouldn't tar all with the same brush.
ambassador
says...
11:44am Mon 15 Mar 10
Police often get it very wrong but to always approach the issue in the banal way that bibble does is crass.
I would love to know what he does for a living and discover how effective he and his industry are.
icansee
says...
7:57pm Mon 15 Mar 10
i guess the argus does not champion good work because this is standard
that any employee should meet
increasingly people are finding the police service a complete joke, after any experience!
i would say that most police people these days are arrogant and self-serving
observe them, they seem to be living in a world of their own
ambassador
says...
9:14pm Mon 15 Mar 10
Ignore speed limits, park where you want, drive how you want, punch, slap or rape your wife or girl-friend - and then winge and belly-ache when you get arrested.
That's living in a world of your own.
There is much to criticise the police on but in the name of Hades, do you people have no other target or is it just that you have nothing else in your lives?
icansee
says...
11:12pm Mon 15 Mar 10
ambassador wrote:your right, lawbreakers are not to be repected!
In a world of their own? What? Like the law breakers you mean? Ignore speed limits, park where you want, drive how you want, punch, slap or rape your wife or girl-friend - and then winge and belly-ache when you get arrested. That's living in a world of your own. There is much to criticise the police on but in the name of Hades, do you people have no other target or is it just that you have nothing else in your lives?
ambassador
says...
11:32pm Mon 15 Mar 10
There are arrogant police, just as there are arrogant people from every walk of life. There are also some officers that 'love the power' they think they have.
But believe me, the majority of police officers are good and honest people. They would not do the job if they were not motivated by public service.
And the 'bad' ones get 'slapped down', not only by their colleagues but by the system, which for the most part does not allow mavericks.
I am a genuine critic of aspects of the police service and some police practices but I cannot abide ill-informed and sweeping attacks by bigots.
They are often made by the same people that make false allegations and complaints against police.
Such allegations waste untold police time and money and often result in police officers being wrongly 'punished', not least because finding are based on the balance of probability whereas a court can only prosecute if the evidence is beyond reasonable doubt.
Senior investigating officers appear to want to be seen to be impartial by the public so therefore find in favour of the member of public.
Don't believe all you read in newspapers.
icansee
says...
11:37pm Mon 15 Mar 10
ambassador wrote:i totally agree with you
icansee, There are arrogant police, just as there are arrogant people from every walk of life. There are also some officers that 'love the power' they think they have. But believe me, the majority of police officers are good and honest people. They would not do the job if they were not motivated by public service. And the 'bad' ones get 'slapped down', not only by their colleagues but by the system, which for the most part does not allow mavericks. I am a genuine critic of aspects of the police service and some police practices but I cannot abide ill-informed and sweeping attacks by bigots. They are often made by the same people that make false allegations and complaints against police. Such allegations waste untold police time and money and often result in police officers being wrongly 'punished', not least because finding are based on the balance of probability whereas a court can only prosecute if the evidence is beyond reasonable doubt. Senior investigating officers appear to want to be seen to be impartial by the public so therefore find in favour of the member of public. Don't believe all you read in newspapers.
icansee
says...
1:34pm Tue 16 Mar 10
for example the case at gatwick recently
a female police officer proved in court that she sexually harrassed by her male colleagues
this case will cost the taxpayer around a £million in total
did any of the offenders lose their job?
we understand how the police feel when when convicts get released early after there hard work!!
Darling2
says...
1:22am Wed 17 Mar 10
w4nkers.
ambassador
says...
1:28am Wed 17 Mar 10
jackp
says...
1:04pm Wed 17 Mar 10
emma barnes
says...
4:08pm Fri 19 Mar 10
ambassador
says...
6:52pm Fri 19 Mar 10
It would be even more difficult if they had a mental health patient working for them.
icansee
says...
7:44pm Fri 19 Mar 10
savings have to be made
people are losing their jobs
there are roughly six hundred thousand blackberrys in use in the public sector
icansee
says...
7:54pm Fri 19 Mar 10
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patchamgirl says...
8:09am Sat 13 Mar 10