Talk on cutting policing red tape must be urgently replaced by firm action that delivers clear and appropriate results, according to an independent review published today.

In her final report on Reducing Bureaucracy in Policing, former Chair of the Police Federation Jan Berry detailed how to tackle fixing the Police Service’s cumbersome administration systems.

After two years of consulting chief officers, senior managers and front line staff, Ms Berry estimates one-third of police effort is over-engineered, duplicated or simply wasted.

Problems cited include fragmented and dysfunctional processes that feed a target-oriented culture and result in no one person being held to account over decision-making.

Referring to RIPA, the report highlighted the anomaly of a superintendent using just one sheet of paper to authorise an officer to carry a firearm, yet needing four sheets to permit them to look through someone’s window.

Police officers are called upon to “stop attending meetings which have no purpose or outcome”, while being encouraged to use their professional judgement in doing what is right and fair for victims and the community.

The report draws attention to the two main obstacles that must be overcome: clearly identifying responsibility for policing and who is in charge of the Criminal Justice system; and defining successful policing.

But Ms Berry warned that government, inspectorates and police chiefs “must stop talking about reducing bureaucracy and move to delivering the solutions”.

She argues that Forces across the UK need to rationalise and reform internally to achieve any savings but suggests that these processes offer the police an opportunity to slash burdensome and unnecessary red tape.

At a glance – Proposed solutions to cutting policing red tape:

• Remove unnecessary gate-keeping roles, cut out process steps that add no value and trust officers to make common sense decisions

• Rationalise force audits and inspections, radically reduce and simplify guidance and the requirement to demonstrate compliance

• Clearly show where responsibility lies and what success looks like

• Recognise inspired leaders who set clear, simple ethical standards which are consistently reinforced

• Adopt a common purpose for the whole criminal justice system (reduce crime, prevent reoffending and reduce the prison population) with complimentary performance framework

• Identify optimum working arrangements for integrated prosecution teams across criminal justice partners with a view to sharing costs and exploiting benefits

• Make joined-up technology and the ability to share case files electronically across the criminal justice system a reality

• Proportionately record and investigate all crimes and incidents, identifying repeat victims, offenders and locations