Senior police officers are turning their backs on the chance to become chief constables, prompting concern about a leadership crisis in British policing.

Officials in charge of recruiting police chiefs told The Times that it was becoming increasingly difficult to fill the top jobs. Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, is known to be alarmed at the situation.

A Green Paper on policing, expected within weeks, will be dominated by the problem of how to find commanders of the future, with speculation that Whitehall will take control of the appointment process and seek candidates from outside the Police Service.

Investigations by The Times have found a dwindling number of officers putting themselves forward for the job that was once one of the most prestigious in the country.

The vacancy for Chief Constable of Lincolnshire attracted just one candidate, despite being advertised twice. In Dyfed-Powys, where the police chief resigned during a misconduct inquiry, only two people applied for the job and there was just one applicant for the deputy chief's position.

One key post, leading the Greater Manchester force, has drawn four applicants despite every chief constable, or equivalent rank, being canvassed. The Times understands that the police authority had hoped to have a shortlist of six when applications closed last week.

When the chief's job became vacant in Wiltshire last year there were only three applicants, while in Thames Valley the acting chief was unopposed when she applied to succeed to the post permanently.

Bob Jones, chairman of the Association of Police Authorities, which represents senior officers' employers, said that police training needed an urgent rethink to produce chief officers for the 21st century.

Tim Brain, spokesman for the police chiefs' staff association, argued that the root of the problem was that pay for senior police had fallen behind comparable public sector positions.

Mr Brain, Chief Constable of Gloucestershire, said: “The remuneration packages for these jobs are now woefully inadequate, especially when you consider these are positions which carry the responsibility of life-and-death decision-making.”

Police authorities facing low numbers of applicants insist that they appoint only well-qualified candidates after a rigorous interview process. All candidates for chief constable are vetted by a senior appointments panel headed by Sir Ronnie Flanagan, HM Inspector of Constabulary. The factors surrounding some vacancies are said to deter applicants. Several possible candidates for the Manchester position did not apply because they are interested in the commissioner's job at Scotland Yard next year.

Sir Hugh Orde, Chief Constable of Northern Ireland and a member of the appointments panel, dismissed talk of a leadership crisis.

“All those who have applied in Manchester are very high-calibre. I'm not worried about the numbers. More than 100 people will go on the senior command course this year and they are the people who want to lead the service in the near future.”

Sir Hugh described proposals to appoint police chiefs from outside the service as “barking mad”. He added: “Given the sort of decisions police have to take, this is one of the most dangerous notions I've ever heard.”

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