EIGHT in 10\u00a0officers dealing with serious crime at South Yorkshire Police have reported low levels of morale, a new staff survey has shown.<\/p>\n
According to the poll, 81% of officers and staff in the Specialist Crime Services department – which deals with homicide,\u00a0organised\u00a0crime, counter\u00a0terrorism, rape, sexual offences and domestic violence – reported that they were experiencing low morale at work.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Only 5% said they felt positive about their work, while 14% said they were neutral, and Specialist Services was the unhappiest unit in the force, according to the\u00a0online survey.<\/p>\n
The happiest staff were in the senior command team, where 50% of respondents said they felt positive about their roles.<\/p>\n
Around 1,500 police officers and members of police staff from across the force responded to the questionnaire last year.<\/p>\n
It showed that spirits had fallen at the force since 2012 – the last time staff were quizzed. In total, just 11% of people at the force reported feeling positive about their work, compared with 15% two years before.<\/p>\n
Barnsley\u00a0was the unhappiest division, where 79% of officers reported negative feelings. Low morale was experienced by 70% of Sheffield officers and 69% of those based in\u00a0Doncaster.<\/p>\n
And\u00a0the survey showed that the lower the rank, the more likely morale was to be low: 77% of PCs and sergeants felt negative about their work, 50% of inspectors and above were unhappy in their jobs, while just 32% of those with a staff\u00a0grade of E or above reported low morale.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n