Police chief slams coalition over respect for officers

Humberside Chief Constable Tim Hollis said the Home Office did not trust senior officers and had failed to make clear its vision for policing in the UK.

His comments, which have been dismissed by the policing minister, were made at a meeting attended by more than 400 rank-and-file officers and national Police Federation chairman Paul McKeever.

Mr Hollis, a vice-president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said: "One of the things that really p***es me off about this Government is that they are more critical and less appreciative of the British police service than any of our colleagues overseas."

He added: "None of us really understands what the vision is from the Home Office for British policing.They want radical reform but when it comes to policing they are not sure what to radically reform.

"They do not trust us. And I say 'us' meaning all of us – that is Acpo, the Superintendents' Association and the Federation."

Mr Hollis, a former Army officer who has 33 years' policing experience, referred to David Cameron's first speech as leader of the Conservative Party, in which the politician called the police the "last unreformed" public service.

"My experience up until today," the chief constable said, "is that is the ideology that underpins the way they view us. Some of our frustration at a national level is trying to work steadfastly to break that perception down and challenge that thinking."

Yorkshire police forces are under pressure to balance the books after the Government announced that the policing budget would be cut by a fifth in real terms under its plans to solve the UK's debt crisis.

Mr Hollis fears cuts to prisons, probation and courts budgets will put extra strain on his resources at a time when ministers want to reduce the jail population.

Humberside Police Federation chairman Steve Garmston said: "It's refreshing that a chief constable will actually say what he really feels. If the Home Office aren't mature enough to take on board what the fears of chief constables are, then they're doing exactly the opposite of what they should be doing."