THE new Prime Minister needs to understand that policing is \u201con the cusp of a dangerous precipice\u201d and needs urgent investment, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cIf I had a meeting with Rishi Sunak, I\u2019d tell him that policing is broken, our officers are absolutely broken. I\u2019d say that we\u2019re only just getting back to where we were 12 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d also tell him that we have to reduce the target culture within policing and that the bureaucracy has to stop. We have to be measured as a police service on one thing and one thing alone, and that is victim care. That is all that matters. Not how many arrests, because they don\u2019t always paint a full picture. Somebody may not end up going to court, they may be released because of insufficient evidence; it doesn\u2019t mean anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we need to do is to change the red-line attitude of policing. We need to calm it down and focus on letting cops go out, do quality work, take their time, and get it right first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo achieve that, Rishi Sunak has got to massively grow investment in policing. It\u2019s all very well having these extra police officers, but they need to have the tools, the kit, the software, to go out and do their job.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had 10 years of austerity which has absolutely broken policing. If we go back into austerity, I don\u2019t think it will be repairable. We will start seeing a mass exodus of police officers who can\u2019t cope, and we are really on the cusp of a dangerous precipice. He needs to really grow funding in policing, and certainly not cut it.\u201d<\/p>\n