Tuesday, 12 November 2013

A retirement scheme that was put in place in West Midlands Police which forced Police Officers to retire after 30 years in service could be scrapped because sufficient savings have now been made. The police regulation A19 has been used to make 559 officers retire since March 2011.

Chris Sims, Chief Constable, is reviewing the scheme and will make a decision on the future of regulation A19 by December 3^rd. The forced retirement regulation was to help West Midlands Police save £126 million by 2015 in the recent budget cuts. Mr Sims said it has now made enough savings to consider getting rid of the scheme.

He stated: "The opportunities set out in the budget consultation come as a result of the considerable work the force has carried out over the last three years which have resulted in the achievement of challenging savings targets."

The force said a full staff consultation about A19 would now take place.

The force also announced positive news last month as they are making plans to recruit for an extra 450 officers.

Tom Cuddeford, from the West Midlands Police Federation, said stopping forced retirements would be a "win-win for everyone."

He said: "Obviously it will mean the retention of very experienced officers, which can only be of benefit to the public, and with West Midlands Police recruiting over the next couple of years we'll also have younger officers joining."

Officers who are facing imminent retirement under the legislation have been written to informing them of the review.