\u201cPOLICING has changed drastically and it has not always changed for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zuleika Payne, Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said she finds it \u201cheart-breaking but understandable\u201d that so many police officers are trying to leave the job \u2013 either through resigning or voluntary redundancy.<\/p>\n
According to research from the Times newspaper, a number of forces in England and Wales have seen resignations more than double since 2011, raising further concerns about a brain drain and their ability to deal with a growing workload.<\/p>\n
In the recent Police Federation Pay and Morale survey 10% of officers from South Yorkshire say they plan on leaving within the next 2 years. And 72.2% of officers say they would not recommend joining the police to others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat this is telling us is that our suspicions about a very subtle dismantling of the police organisation over recent years, were true\u201d said Zuleika.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat policing has changed drastically and it\u2019s not always changed for the better. It\u2019s certainly not the occupation or career path I trained in, and you do sense this Government\u2019s push on ultimately privatising certain facets of policing, and putting out to private companies. And so this is why we\u2019ve see the changes and reform, the implement of the recommendations in the Winsor Review, as a very subtle dismantling of the organisation over a period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cFor me, personally, I find it absolutely heart-breaking. It\u2019s very difficult to police in the way that we used to, using discretion. If a victim says it\u2019s a crime then we crime it. We police very differently and sadly officers experience more and more frustration. Officers commence a tour of duty with the intention of doing a good job by delivering a first class service , but because of dwindling officer numbers, because of bureaucracy, because of politics, it becomes an impossibility, and that\u2019s not why people joined the force.\u201d<\/p>\n