Radical overhaul means the police will not come quietly

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Blunkett orders police: go and do your job

Leading article: Mr Blunkett is brave to take on the police. He is also right

David Blunkett's White Paper on police reform, Policing a New Century, is a blueprint for one of the most radical overhauls of the police service in modern times.

The 149-page document is designed to cut crime by putting more officers into front-line policing and to increase public confidence by adding to the numbers of uniformed patrols. The Home Secretary also aims to do away with what are seen as outdated work practices, cutting overtime bills and reducing inefficiencies, including unnecessary paperwork and unjustified sick leave.

But rank and file police officers fear the reforms are a cost-cutting exercise that will mean they work harder for less and their reputation in the eyes of the public will be diminished.

Pay: The Police Federation claims that changes proposed in the White Paper will leave officers worse off financially. In particular, there are concerns that overtime rates will not begin until an officer has worked 42 hours, rather than the current arrangement of 40 hours.

The Government claims it is moving towards a more flexible and modern system that gives officers extra rewards for beat work, community policing or dangerous operations.

Two Tory home secretaries, Kenneth Baker and Kenneth Clarke, were forced to back down from proposed reforms of police pay and conditions following rank-and-file hostility to the suggested changes.

Sickness: The Home Office is unhappy about what it regards as unacceptably high rates of sick leave in police ranks, with 1.5 million days a year being lost.

Regular health screenings are designed to reduce a problem that has become known as "bad back syndrome" but is related to poor stress management and prevention strategies.

The Federation complains that plans to introduce a new "one rule for all" on the number of sick days permitted per year will have an unfair impact on officers working in high-crime areas. There is unhappiness over the Government's handling of the sickness issue in the media, with the Federation claiming that officers have been branded an, "inefficient band of malingerers".

Civilian patrols: The Home Secretary claims that putting uniformed civilian workers on the streets and giving them powers of arrest will create an "extended police family" and reduce the demands on regular officers.

The civilian patrollers, who would generally be welcomed by high and middle-ranking officers, would carry out crowd control duties and would be able to issue fixed-penalty notices for minor crimes. But rank-and-file officers claim the plan will lower standards.

Efficiency: David Blunkett hopes the changes will reduce paper work for regular officers and will increase police visibility. But previous home secretaries, Jack Straw and Michael Howard, have made similar promises to reduce red tape.

The Police Federation also claims it has been patronised and not properly consulted on the changes, to which it has until 27 December to respond.

The Federation represents 125,000 officers and there has been talk of a mass protest. Officers cannot strike but a work to rule would be highly damaging to the Home Secretary.