Frontline police sergeants spend almost half their time on paperwork and just 10 per cent attending the scenes of crime and incidents, according to a report published today.

In it sergeants complained that they were swamped by paperwork related to targets and work performance.

One officer said: “Click, click, tap, tap best describes my job; mainly recording performance figures.”

The finding that frontline sergeants were spending 45 per cent of their time on paperwork is highly embarrassing for the Police Service and the Home Office, which have often pledged to cut red tape to get officers out on the beat.

Times Archive, 1973: Policemen talking

'More time is spent conforming to the pressures of bureaucrats than catching thieves'

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• Times Archive, 1973: Policemen talking

Sergeants also reported that they were afraid to challenge scruffy constables in case they were accused of bullying and that they were not adequately trained or supported to supervise constables.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Police carried out the review because of a growing recognition that the role of frontline sergeant had been “underplayed and undervalued”. There are 21,700 sergeants in England and Wales, out of 139,000 police officers.

Jane Stichbury, one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary and the review leader, said she was surprised at the figures but added: “We all know the amount of time taken up by e-mails. There has to be some bureaucracy. The challenge is to say ‘What are people actually doing sitting plugged into a computer when they need to be outside?’ ”

The report said that the inspectorate was surprised to find many sergeants concerned about an erosion of basic professional standards. One chief superintendent said in the report: “There is no enforcement of the dress code. The sergeants do not have the necessary fibre to challenge the constables. This is due to the culture of counter-bullying, where constables who are challenged take a grievance out against the sergeant who challenged them, stating they have been bullied in the workplace.”

Inspectors expressed concern about the “conduct and professionalism” of the police after witnessing a number of incidents during their reviews.

They saw one trainee constable spend 15 minutes assessing whether he needed to wear a fluorescent jacket at a car crash; a newly qualified constable initially refusing to go to the scene of a dangerous dog loose in a garden because he was “not going to put himself in danger”; and a sergeant admitting after a shift briefing that an electronic intelligence system had not been used because they “didn’t like using the computer”.

The team also heard a sergeant failing to brief his staff on fireworks legislation on Bonfire Night, saying: “I am not going to read all that [expletive].”

Ms Stichbury also found many sergeants had little or no experience in areas such as preparing a case file or appearing in court. She was critical of the failure of the police service to test or identify leadership skills. She recommended that the police adopt the approach of the Army and identify an individual’s ability to lead in crises, maintain discipline and deliver objectives.

The report concluded: “There is an urgent need to re-examine processes for preparing frontline sergeants for the role, and for the significant responsibility it carries.”

Tony McNulty, the Police Minister, said: “Much work to reinforce the support already given to sergeants is under way.”

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