You’re the new managing director of a big organisation which by all accounts is performing well.  Recruitment to all its varied roles is not a problem & it’s achieving its targets like never before.

But you’re the new broom and you’re keen to make your mark so you tell those whose job it is to deliver, that no matter how well they are doing at present, for the first 100 days of your tenure you want to see even better results. That way everyone will be comforted by the knowledge that they have made the right choice for MD.

Would you then expect those managers to fulfil your demands by taking staff out of the jobs they know well and are achieving in, to redeploy them in roles to which they are alien and where they are at best less than fully proficient.

Understandably, you might upon learning of their methods be more than a little concerned that the managers themselves are not up to their job.

Well that’s just what’s happening in the Met at present and Boris, as our new MD you need to be asking a few questions.

First we had Operation Sphere which laudably seeks to ensure that officers employed in strategy, policy, training or support functions maintain their front line skills and in so doing actively support identified priority boroughs in reducing crime.

Regular readers of these pages will know that we have long been calling for increased resilience in the Inspecting ranks. So what a fantastic opportunity Operation Sphere presents to allow our overworked and overstretched members working at the ‘Sharp end’ to be temporarily relived by colleagues from the support departments.

Now I guess some of my members within those support roles might not be best pleased at that comment but it is important to remember that the Federation is about the efficiency of the Service and welfare of all its members. So it is difficult to argue that the MPS is wrong in trying to ensure that all police officers maintain their front line skills.

Sadly though in reality Operation Sphere is balls. Inspectors and Chief inspectors are being flushed out of offices not to relieve their inspecting rank colleagues on division and add much needed resilience to those roles. They are being sent out on uniformed foot patrol to provide reassurance to communities in priority boroughs. Members of the public reading this might think and so they should be. What's wrong with that?  Well is it really an effective use of those officers knowledge, experience, ability and skills or indeed the public purse. Are we achieving best value?

This is about round pegs in round holes. Once officers take promotion they cease by necessity to utilise and hence practice many of the skills that in their previous rank were essential to that role. It is inevitable that Inspectors, even those employed at the ‘sharp end’ will be less proficient for example on the computerised crime reporting systems than the PC’s they lead. So how does it best serve the community to have an officer patrolling who no longer knows how to report a crime?

As a result we now have the ludicrous situation of Inspectors deployed under Operation Sphere effectively being ‘supervised’ by local patrol Constables or how about a ‘Sphere’ Inspector being sent on foot to arrest a shoplifter and then discovering that a local Special Constable driving a marked police car has being despatched to pick him and his prisoner up.

But Sphere is not the only example of cock-eyed thinking currently running within the Met. The same fevered mind that thinks Inspectors are better off learning to be PC’s again rather than refreshing their essential inspecting rank skills has now produced Operation Tyrol, which one of my members described to me as conclusive proof that the lunatics have finally taken over the asylum. Again it is very aptly named because it’s all downhill from here!

In order to prepare for future challenges the MPS has understandably sought to grow the number of Special Constables at its disposal. But in order to achieve its targets they have had to ‘encourage’ members of our existing civil staff into joining the MSC. Part of the encouragement is that unlike most Special Constables recruited from outside the MPS, who have to do a full day’s work in whatever their occupation before donning the uniform as a volunteer, MPS staff can play at being a PC for 2 days a month instead of doing the job they were originally employed for and which they do for the other 20 or so days of the month. So they are most definitely not volunteers as they are being paid.

But that is not really my gripe and let me say here and now this is not an attack on Special Constables. I readily acknowledge that they perform a valuable service to our communities whether paid or unpaid.

My problem is that whilst those police civil staff members who are employed in essential roles such as Station reception staff, Communications or Detention Officers are dressing up as policemen or women for 2 days a month guess who has to backfill their jobs? You've got it- fully warranted – fully trained – experienced police officers. How on earth will this improve delivery or performance to the communities of London and is it the best use of our scant resources.

For the record Operation Slippery Slope - sorry I mean Tyrol is now seeking to formalise & co-ordinate the days upon which the amateurs take over from the professionals. So if you’re planning on being a victim of crime or dare I say it actually planning a crime it might be worth taking a quick look at the Tyrol diary.

As a Chelsea supporter I would invite Sir Alex Ferguson to adopt the same management ethos next Wednesday night and send out the Manchester United office, shop, boot and back room staff to play the mighty Blues whilst telling Ronaldo & Co to man the turnstiles!

(post script:- Unfortunately though obviously he decided on the right people for the right job, much to  my dissappoinment)

Now I accept that flexibility within the workforce is important in order to cope with exceptional circumstances and that employees working within ancillary roles which are important but not critical, should ideally be trained and capable of performing competently in core function roles.

But if you’re going to redeploy them a'la Sphere, then at least do so in a manner that takes cognizance of the individuals skills and experience and allows them to develop and function in a job which benefits them, the organisation and the most importantly the people we exist to serve.

As for allowing essential support staff, whose jobs, let us not forget were actually invented in order to free up police officers from behind desks, to go out on patrol as enthusiastic amateurs and by so doing taking real police officers off the streets to cover them, well that really is the kind of thinking that gets you locked up.