South Yorkshire Police Still Suffering Effects Of Austerity

South Yorkshire Police is still suffering from the effects of austerity, and the Government ‘uplift’ in numbers is not truly an uplift, the Federation Chair has said.

Meanwhile the Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council recently told The Guardian that, nationally, 6,000 officers were filling gaps caused by police staff jobs cut during the austerity years.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: “As a force, we are still not at the numbers we were at in 2010 – we’re are still 10-15% down. So what’s being called an ‘uplift’ is not really an uplift.

“What we’re doing as a force at the moment is trying to get cops to where they are desperately needed first. We’ve got to prioritise protecting vulnerable people and protecting the frontline in terms of response.

“But that means that we’re in a bad position, where our officers are struggling to progress or develop within their careers. There are officers who want to go into different departments. Our traffic department, for example, is suffering in terms of numbers. I can understand, holistically, why this is happening. But it’s hugely frustrating for officers.”