WILTSHIRE Police is to phase out the rank of Chief Inspector in a drive to cut bureaucracy.

The force is reviewing its rank structure and has announced other senior ranks may also disappear.

Chief Constable Patrick Geenty said the measure was about closing the gap between what was happening on the frontline and what was being said at leadership level.

The review’s primary goals were to protect frontline policing numbers and give frontline officers more power to make decisions in the best interests of the public.

“Clearly the removal of any rank structures, whether they are police officer or police staff, requires careful and considered management,” said Mr Geenty.

“This is not something that we can achieve overnight nor would we want to. It will start with the removal of the Chief Inspector rank but we will be reviewing other senior police officer and staff ranks and roles too.”

He explained: “The force has no immediate plans to use forced exit procedures for the officers involved and we will instead be relying on natural turnover over a longer period of time.

“We’ll be working closely with the individuals concerned throughout this process, as we will their staff associations, to ensure that the new structure is robust, resilient and utilises the expertise and knowledge of the current incumbents.”