Police chiefs are planning to save money by having Officers work for free before joining the force

LONDON- Chief constables are planning to introduce legislature in the United Kingdom that would have police officers work for free before they can join the force, saving £50 million ($76 million) a year, the Guardian reported on Monday.

The move is largely part of huge budget cuts in the country that are being made in part of the attempt to cut public spending. The Association of Chief Police Officers has asked the National Policing Improvement Agency for advice on the concept to be introduced across all 43 police forces, a senior source confirmed to the Guardian.

Critics argue that it means putting public safety in jeopardy by not funding it well enough and that it could turn away police recruits from poorer backgrounds. However, police chiefs are trying to build support for the changes by selling it as a move toward greater professionalism. They argue that it would put aspiring police officers on the same footing as other public sector professions such as nurses, who are expected to fund their training themselves until they can be awarded a bursary.

Scotland Yard is proposing to introduce the concept that was passed by its overseer last week. It would make potential recruits work for up to a year as special constables before being allowed to merge with Britain's largest force.

The policing minister, Nick Herbert, spent three days - which is an unusually long period of time for a government official - at the Apco conference. The conference is an annual conference held in Manchester, where police chiefs discussed how to maintain their ability to fight crime while coping with budget cuts.

He noted that the days of 43 separate police forces operating independently in England and Wales is over. Saying "money is much tighter and we cannot be relaxed about inefficiency."

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