An official report exposed what some officers said were declining standards in the police – including untidy and lackadaisical constables who "get away with blue murder".

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) also disclosed that 45 per cent of a frontline sergeant's time was spent on paperwork, despite a Home Office pledge to cut police red tape.

The HMIC team uncovered a series of incidents which failed to match the picture of British policing painted by chief constables and the Home Office.

One chief superintendent told the inspection team: "There is no enforcement of the dress code.

"The sergeants do not have the necessary fibre to challenge the constables. This is due to the culture of counter-bullying, where constables who are challenged take a grievance out against the sergeant who challenged them, stating they have been bullied in the workplace."

A sergeant complained: "I am fed up with the amount of times I have to justify myself to PCs when I've given them a lawful order."

One female sergeant commented: "I saw a sergeant say to a PC on his team, 'You need a haircut'.

"He said, 'You can talk. You look like a bag of (expletive).' But the sergeant didn't do anything."

Inspectors witnessed a number of incidents which led them to express concern about the "conduct and professionalism" of police officers, including:

One trainee constable spent 15 minutes assessing whether he needed to wear a fluorescent jacket at a car crash;

A newly qualified constable initially refused to go to the scene of a dangerous dog loose in a garden because he was "not going to put himself in danger";

A sergeant admitted after a shift briefing that an electronic intelligence system had not been used because they "didn't like using the computer";

A shift briefing attended by inspectors lacked clarity, details of people and addresses were missing and material from the previous shift did not appear to have been passed on;

A sergeant failed to brief his staff on fireworks legislation on Bonfire Night, saying: "I am not going to read all that (expletive)."

As part of HMIC's survey and interview of 4,800 officers, one sergeant said: "PCs now get away with blue murder as people are afraid to challenge them due to human rights legislation and are not supported by managers."

Another commented: "There is no adherence to simple dress codes such as ties and not wearing hats."

A chief superintendent added: "We pondered whether we should challenge staff about poor standards but had to admit that we (superintendents) often had poor dress, such as no tie or epaulettes."

The report found that 45 per cent of a sergeant's time was spent on paperwork - 31 per cent on general administration and 14 per cent on management and human resources red tape.

One officer said he spent the first hour of his shift clearing e-mails and felt "swamped" by bureaucracy.

The 190-page report, which focused on the role of the sergeant in frontline policing, said there was a "widespread fundamental skills gap".

"There is an urgent need to re-examine processes for preparing frontline sergeants for the role, and for the significant responsibility it carries," it said.

"Leadership skills are not specifically tested or identified in current promotion processes, and this should be reviewed."

It recommended that the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) and the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) should develop a set of national standards for the role of frontline sergeant.

One officer reported to the HMIC that they had received "no formal training for my position" and another said that after promotion to constable there was a two-year wait for courses.

Police Minister Tony McNulty said of the report: "It raises important issues. We will look hard at the recommendations and I welcome their broad thrust.

"The hard work and commitment shown every day by the police service's sergeants is key to the delivery of frontline police services to the public."

He added: "Much work to reinforce the support already given to sergeants is under way."