A letter has been written and sent to Sadiq Khan following the news that the Metropolitan Police are to offer a £5,000 cash incentive to police officers transferring from other forces.
The letter, which was signed by eight Police and Crime Commissioners in total, stated that the Commissioners are 'simply unwilling to allow this'.
The Police and Crime Commissioners, who's roles are to make the police answerable to the communities they serve and hold the Chief Constables to account, said that they had all met their forces uplift target last year. Despite this, the Metropolitan Police failed to hit their recruitment targets and yet still received full funding from the Home Office.
'This was a financial option not made available to any other force. Given the imbalance of funding that already exists between the Met and other forces, the use of this additional income to encourage transferees from neighbouring forces is therefore particularly offensive and short-sighted.', the letter states.
Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley said: "Following the announcement by the Metropolitan Police that they are to offer a £5,000 cash incentive to police officers transferring from other forces, I have joined with Police & Crime Commissioners from across the South East to condemn the move.
"This action will do nothing to help recruit even a single extra person into policing, but will instead risk the operational effectiveness of forces surrounding London, potentially compromising public safety. The proposal is also contrary to the agreement that was in place between Chief Constable to avoid incentives for transferees during the major national recruitment programme."
You can read the full letter sent to Sadiq Khan here.
