South Yorkshire Officers Are “Working Absolutely At The Red Line”

Police funding needs a shake-up to better support the hardworking cops who keep South Yorkshire safe and the residents who pay for policing, the force’s Federation has said.

South Yorkshire Police is one of the worst funded forces in the country, yet one of the best performing thanks to officers’ hard work, Federation Chair Steve Kent said.

‘We have the least budget and resources, and if you look at our performance, to me that means our cops are working absolutely at the red line. That’s going to continue unless there is a fundamental review of how police forces are funded. It cannot be right that force areas that have less funding from council tax, and therefore usually more crime, get less money than the more affluent areas that have got loads of money to spend.

‘‘It is absolutely bizarre and it’s not fair on the people of South Yorkshire and it’s not fair on our cops who are doing so much more with so little, than some. This is not a reflection on other forces, who are struggling too, but we are struggling that little bit more, and something needs to change to make the system fairer’, he added.

A number of forces have called for a review of the funding formula, including Kent, Lincolnshire and Thames Valley Police.