HR in the police must be “transformational” or it will not survive in this economic climate, according to Martin Tiplady, director of HR at the Metropolitan Police.

Tiplady told HR delegates at the CIPD Police Forum in Chesham to examine whether they were adding value to the work of the police. “We have got to take a good, long, hard look at what we do and how we do it and ask whether we’ve got it entirely right. We need to reposition ourselves as a cheaper and more effective strategic offering. In too many areas of policing, some offerings of staffing and administration are unsustainable and irrelevant and lag behind the rest of the world,” he said.