Staffordshire Police Federation secretary Glyn Pattinson has urged the Government to take urgent action to prevent a worsening crisis in policing after the Force was placed in special measures.
The move was announced by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) which said it stepped in when a police force is “not responding to a cause of concern, or if it is not succeeding in managing, mitigating or eradicating the cause of concern”.
Speaking after the HMICFRS decision was confirmed, Glyn said: “It is obviously hugely disappointing but we have been warning about something like this for a long time now.
“We have been saying that cuts to the police service would prove unsustainable for as long as I can remember and it appears that the crisis we predicted has now arrived.
“The Government has refused to listen to us over the years and has often dismissed our concerns as scaremongering but I think it has to take notice now and take urgent action to ensure this crisis does not get any worse.
“Our members are stretched to their limits at the moment and it is simply not fair to expect them to carry on like this. Something has to change.
“They want to be treated with respect, they want a fair pair deal and they want to see more officers recruited and retained.
“They are dedicated, professional and hardworking men and women who are rightly proud of the work they do and they want to represent a modern, efficient and proactive police force that provides a first-rate service to the people of Staffordshire.”
The Force joins the Metropolitan Police Service, Cleveland, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester and Wiltshire in special measures.
Chief Constable Chris Noble said: “We have already developed plans to address the most significant areas of concern and will continue to subject them to the scrutiny of our Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
“We will actively and positively engage with this process and we are confident that our new policing model, launched on Monday, will be critical in helping us deliver a police service of which Staffordshire residents can be proud of.”
Police Federation national chair Steve Hartshorn said years of underfunding had created a perfect storm that had left the police service on its knees.
He said: “If this is not a sign that the Government needs to act then I don’t know what is. The responsibility of any Government is the safety and security of the public but how can it fulfil its obligations on that front when almost one in seven of the forces of England and Wales has been judged by the police inspectorate as requiring help to improve performance?
“It seemed inevitable that we were going to reach a situation where forces were going to be put into special measures, they have been facing huge challenges set against a decade of austerity during which we saw officer numbers plummet at a time when demand was soaring.
“Policing is the service of first and last resort, the service that cannot say no, but forces have been stretched to breaking point and that has had a detrimental impact not just on the service we have been able to provide but also on the officers themselves.
“Morale is at an all-time low with a police pay freeze, at a time when other sectors received a pay rise, this was particularly hard for officers to stomach. Officers have seen a 20 per cent real terms pay cut and the cost of living crisis has created a situation where some officers are being issued with food vouchers and others are struggling to afford to put fuel in their cars.
“All officers want is fair pay; pay that recognises their unique place in society holding the front line and the dangers they face as they go about their duties fighting and preventing crime, keeping order and protecting the vulnerable.
“So many workers in other sectors seem to be looking at taking industrial action over pay and conditions this summer and we will have to ‘police’ any strikes that are organised when our members cannot strike and have no redress to industrial rights.”
Officer numbers are now increasing as a result of the Government’s Police Uplift Programme which aims to recruit 20,000 officers over three years.
However, Steve fears retention and attrition rates are producing a revolving door effect with some new recruits leaving within months of starting their policing careers and the pay squeeze and low morale also causing longer serving officers to quit.
“The Government needs to act now as policing is in crisis,” he said.
