Around 70 off-duty police officers from across Essex were today attending a mass protest in London over the Home Secretary's plans to reform the service.
The officers were to join more than 5,000 of their colleagues from across the UK outside the Houses of Parliament to lobby MPs about proposals to shake up their pay structure and introduce new civilian wardens with police-style powers.
The protest comes on the same day David Blunkett revealed the number of police officers in England and Wales had reached a record high.
Recruitment of an extra 4,578 officers in just under two years has brought the total to 128,748 the highest since records began.
But Terry Spelman, joint branch board secretary of Essex Police Federation, said members felt unhappy about Mr Blunkett's proposals.
Published Wednesday, March 13, 2002
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