Government cuts have broken policing in South Yorkshire

GOVERNMENT cuts to policing have “broken” South Yorkshire Police, the Chair of the local Federation has said.

Officers are unable to book time off work or take their rest day entitlements due to under-resourcing at the force.

The South Yorkshire Police Federation office is “constantly” receiving reports of officers unable to book annual leave.

Officers are also having their rest days cancelled because of the force’s inability to properly resource even basic policing duties.

Chair Zuleika Payne (pictured) said: “It doesn’t seem five minutes ago I was looking at the documentation which illustrated that South Yorkshire as a force had to make a further £1.3 million saving, and that was at the beginning of the year. Here we are again, having been told that on top of the savings we’ve got to find, there’s a further £1.4 million. And that comes as a cost.

“The Government has told forces to find the cash for the 1% bonus. So it feels as though Government is saying, ‘Well which do you want? Do you want more in your payslip, or do you want more police officer colleagues alongside you?’.

“They’re forcing us between a rock and a hard place. How do we maintain the standard of working that the public deserve, when all the powers that be are doing is cutting and cutting and taking more from us?

“There comes a breaking point, and we’re there.”

Police officers are suffering as a result and 97% of federated ranks at the force reported poor morale in the most recent survey.

Zuleika added: “We are broken. I’m constantly receiving emails from officers who can’t secure annual leave because of officer numbers. They’re having their rest days cancelled to work and perform duties. Not necessarily every time for specialist operations such as football matches or demonstrations, but just to maintain operational policing. Rather than attract monetary recompense, these cancelled rest days attract a day in lieu which is then difficult to secure because we simply don’t have enough staff.”

“Working in this way is not sustainable, how do you then find the capacity to use that accrued day when you actually are acquiring it and accumulating them because you’re backfilling due to a staff shortage? It becomes a vicious cycle.”