‘Perfect Storm’ Leading To Officer Resignations

Unforgiving workloads, poor pay and vulnerability to assaults have created the perfect storm for police officers leaving the profession, South Yorkshire Police Federation has warned.

Chair Steve Kent said it was “absolute common sense” that challenging conditions were having a real impact on people’s careers.

It followed statistics revealing that 80% of serious assaults on officers happen within their first five years of service, which were revealed by Andy Rhodes, Service Director of Oscar Kilo, at the Superintendents’ Association Conference in September.

More than five assaults were carried out on cops in England and Wales every hour of the day, the data showed.

Steve said South Yorkshire Police Federation had various reports of people being punched, spat at and suffering nasty injuries every day.

He said: “When you add it all together, including the stresses of the job, the pressures that they’re under… then people probably do think ‘What’s the point of this?’.

“Coupled with the fact the pay isn’t exactly amazing, they’ll triple it up and think, ‘Why do I bother?’.

Steve said he believed the high pressure of the job was still the primary cause for officers leaving their roles.

However, he said being assaulted ran a close second as a reason for resignation.

“It’s absolute common sense that this is going to have an impact, and it does,” he added.