Chief constable Alec Wood has come under fire for judging a children’s drawing competition – days after saying that a Fenland officer posing for Halloween photos was a poor use of police time.

%image(15888271, type="article-full", alt="Fen Cops posted these photos on 'PC Frankenstein' on November 1 - but the force's chief constable, Alec Wood, said they were "not a good use of police time". Photo: Fen Cops")

The Cambridgeshire police chief criticised the officer for photos of himself dressed as ‘PC Frankenstein’ on Twitter after a night shift on Halloween.

“It’s good to talk – interview time with PC Frankenstein at the police station,” the officer tweeted.

And he followed it with PC Frankenstein in a cell with the words “strange things happen on the night shift. Welcome to your room for the night – police stations are not scary places or are they?”

%image(15888272, type="article-full", alt="This photo was captioned: "Welcome to your room for the night. Police stations are not scary places - or are they?" Photo: Fen Cops")

The photos were generally well received by the public with one Twitter user saying they were “perfect community engagement” - but Mr Wood was less than happy.

He told the BBC that while the intentions behind the spooky photos “may have been good,” he “expects everyone to play their role in supporting the pressures of the frontline”.

He said: “While we encourage the use of social media to keep the public informed of policing matters, I do not think this was a good use of officers’ time.”

%image(15888273, type="article-full", alt="Fenland police also tagged the 'UK Cop humour' account in the photos. Photo: Fen Cops")

But the public has turned the argument on Mr Wood after he uploaded a video on the force Facebook announcing the winners of the force’s ‘Big Draw’ competition.

Robin Gardner said: “Can’t believe he publicly criticised his officers for engaging with the public with their Halloween tweets, yet goes and does this.

“While I think it’s important for the police to engage the community, this chief constable has demonstrated he has zero ability to lead a team.”

Col Roo said: “Is this a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’?! You criticise the men and women at the coal face for having some fun and state they wasted time.

Michael Docherty said: “The hypocrisy here is flabbergasting.”

“For clarity, I don’t believe the chief constable is wasting his time by doing that – its good public engagement, especially for the kids.

“However, the fact he criticised his officers for doing likewise a few days ago is incredible. It is such poor leadership.”