Officers Are ‘Snowed Under’ With Competing Demands

Police officers are “being pulled from pillar to post”, South Yorkshire Police Federation said, after media reports of officers taking hours to respond to anti-social behaviour.

A report in The Sun, based on a Freedom of Information request, showed that police reaction times to anti-social behaviour had gone up 37% since 2021. In some parts of the country, it was taking officers 17 hours to respond to reports.

Officers were snowed under with competing priorities and demand from other agencies, South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said.

He said: “Police officers are snowed under and dealing with a multitude of things, and there are so many perceived priorities. The Government says domestic violence is a priority, which it is, but then you have the Government saying that retail crime is a priority. Then you have the Government saying burglary is a priority.

“Anti-social behaviour may be a priority for some parts of the country more than others. But ultimately, the police are being pulled from pillar to post dealing with so many priorities, and also dealing with other agencies’ work when they are stretched. Officers are too busy filling the gaps for everyone else.

“So it’s realistic that they can’t actually get to the stuff that people want them to. Let’s resource our police properly, put some more numbers into neighbourhood policing so you have bobbies on the beat, and that’s the only way you’re going to deal with it.”