Volunteers plug police shortages

AdelaideNow... Volunteers plug police shortages: "'Police officers have been placed between a rock and a hard place - sacrifice time in the filed to complete necessary paperwork, or allocate your workload to a volunteer who isn't authorised or shouldn't be doing those tasks,' he said."

So many people jobs these days have become paperwork jobs. Those who wanted to be police, doctors, dentists, teachers, kindergarten workers, psychologists, optometrists find find themselves filling out forms, documenting this, documenting that, typing this up. People workers end up being clerks and clerical assistants and the rising swathe of paperwork from "administration" is drowning us. It's taking time away form the people interactions. Using volunteers to plug the gap would probably interest people...but if the work is there it should be paid work. We need reliable clerks and clerical assistants and Miss Marple aside, a lot of oldies could be gainfully employed sifting through thigns and would probably be very handy because they'd absorb the details and could connect the lose ends while people are out on the job. So, let's rethink our work place strategies. Highly trianed expertise is wasted on paper shuffling. There is a lot to do because we are all doing at least a job and a half and the industry bosses are laughing because they are paying 2 people to do the job of 3 or 4 people and cutting out the clerks. Put them back and we'll function better and our aging population will come into its own. Some work could be done at home and we'd get a variety of jobs back so that different people could work the hours they wanted to work. It would be more efficient and it would create some much needed flexibility. It would also mean you could take young people on and get them used to more difficult and demanding working environments gradually.