\u201cNOT only are officers working their backsides off, but they feel like they\u2019ve been criticised constantly for doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent was commenting on the pressure police officers are feeling at the moment.<\/p>\n
He was reacting to an article by PFEW Chair John Apter, who said that \u201cno matter what happens within society, the finger of blame always leads itself towards policing, before the facts are known\u201d.<\/p>\n
The police have been attacked by the media in connection with several recent high-profile events, including the Plymouth shootings.<\/p>\n
Steve said: \u201cThe drip effect of this is enormous. It\u2019s constant. The media jumps to quick conclusions, that policing has done this, policing has done that. The horrendous situation in Plymouth and the first questions are not the actions of the man, it\u2019s the actions of the policing authorities and criticising the process in terms of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s constant and it becomes tedious. It\u2019s always so easy to kick and attack the police without being cognisant of all the hard work that our officers do day in and day out, and it has a massive negative effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cCops read the papers, cops read social media. They look at all this and they\u2019re just fed up of it, because not only are they working their backsides off but they feel like they\u2019ve been criticised constantly for doing so. It\u2019s just not right. It\u2019s about time everybody gave us a bit of a break.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his article \u2013 which you can read here https:\/\/www.polfed.org\/news\/latest-news\/2021\/policing-under-the-pressure-of-current-events\/<\/a> – John Apter also calls on the Government to increase police numbers to make sure that officers can be fully proactive to protect the public and are not constantly \u201cchasing their tails\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n