Police cuts put penny-pinching before protecting the public

The police service does not only deal with crime; for many, we are the last port of call when they don’t know who else to turn to. That’s because we are a can-do service.

Yet, during the past four years, we have experienced a central budget cut in excess of 20%. The result has been the loss of approximately 16,000 police officers – that’s 11% of all officers gone in just a few years.

This is despite 2010’s comprehensive spending review stipulating that the savings should be made through efficiencies in IT, procurement and back office functions. Yet forces have been compelled to make difficult decisions about numbers of officers to achieve the level of savings expected.

Now we have the threat of more budget cuts in the next spending review. The government should be using robust evidence when deciding about any budget cuts that could have a detrimental impact on public safety and police officer welfare.

However, government appears to be ploughing ahead blindly, putting penny-pinching before the protection of the public. This failure to understand increases in policing demands and a lack of comprehensive analysis is not just a view expressed by the Police Federation, but by the National Audit Office, too, which in June published a report saying the Home Office was making deep cuts in policing without understanding how they would affect the public.

The home secretary says the police service should fight crime, yet the reality is we do a lot more. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary noted in June that 84% of all command and control calls relate to non-crime incidents, such as searching for missing persons or dealing with road traffic incidents. For those calling, they are still emergencies.

So what do the cuts mean for the public and for policing?

This year we conducted research with police officers across England and Wales, focusing on the impact of cuts on public welfare, police officer welfare and performance.

Police officers are telling us that fewer numbers means a less visible presence on the streets, which not only damages public confidence in the police, but creates greater opportunities for crime.

Officers are run ragged rushing from one job to another, which often results in them being able to spend less time with victims or arriving later to the call than is desirable. This makes the public feel they are getting a poor service, while officers feel frustrated that they cannot deliver the level of service they want to.

Police patrols are becoming a thing of the past, with units only responding to incidents once they have occurred rather than preventing them. And on the rare occasion when officers can patrol, they do so alone, bringing further risk to the officer and public.

We know this is all having an impact on police officers on the front line. Between 2014 and 2015 the number of officers reporting that their workload had been too high in the past 12 months increased from 57.2% to 62.2%, while those reporting low personal morale increased from 59.1% to 70.2% in 2015.

Despite this, we all stand ready to be part of the solution. We need an open and honest conversation with the public about what they want and expect from their police service.

We need to look at our own structure and question whether the 43-force model in England and Wales is still fit for purpose. After all, do those we serve really worry about the cap badge? They rightly just want to know they will get a police response when they need it. They want a response that provides so much more than just crime fighting – a service that cares and wants to do the right thing, morally, socially and without fear or favour or political will.

Police officers join the service to protect the public and to put them first. While making decisions about future budgets, all we ask of government is that it does the same.

Steve White is chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales

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