West Midlands police chief's pension-saving move raises transparency questions
West Midlands top cop uses retire-and-rejoin scheme to dodge pension reduction after 30-years service. Local officials back the move but face questions about the quiet handling of this change
Craig Guildford‚ West Midlands Police chief constable left his post mid-November using a special retire-and-rejoin plan (a common practice for long-serving officers who want to protect their pensions)
The move comes with support from Simon Foster‚ the regions police-and-crime commissioner; however the quiet handling of this change has raised some eyebrows. The plan involves Guildfords return by 12/16/24 — a detail that wasnt meant to be public until after a local panel meeting on 12/9
During his two-year leadership the force made good progress: West Midlands Police got out of special measures and fixed its crime-tracking issues. Right now Scott Green — still listed as deputy — runs things while Guildford is away
The pension system has a weird rule: after 30 years of non-stop service officers pensions start shrinking year-by-year. The retire-and-rejoin fix lets chiefs get their money and keep working without losing cash. While its legal some say the process should be more open
Whilst I would prefer that the national police pension system did not create a need for this national retire and rejoin scheme‚ it is a national problem and not of anyones making in the West Midlands
A source inside the force pointed out two main issues:
- No job posting for others to apply
- Lack of clear communication about the change
The College-of-policing rules say these top jobs should be posted publicly but Fosters office confirmed they dont plan to do this
