There is \u201cmassive imbalance of experience\u201d in many policing shifts, the Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Steve Kent was speaking as a new HMICFRS report found that there were increasing attrition rates in the police and that, despite the Police Uplift Programme, forces were still operating with inadequate levels of officers.<\/p>\n
Steve said: \u201cThis is a massive concern. All the new officers are very welcome, but it\u2019s obviously been rushed, which causes logistical problems in terms of training and experience. I aim to go out to a briefing a week, and it\u2019s increasingly rare that I recognise people.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it is a concern and I think this goes back to the attractiveness of the job and the finances. We\u2019re not seeing people leaving in their droves, but we are seeing a steady trickle of people who are possibly retiring as early as they can rather than staying on.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also an issue where you\u2019ve got a massive imbalance of experience now on certain shifts. That\u2019s a national problem, not just ours. But there\u2019s got to be continued investment so we don\u2019t have this cliff-edge of experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve said response policing was a particular issue and that officers with just a few years\u2019 experience were leading student officers, whereas there used to be people in charge who had decades of experience.<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cThe proportion of officers in the student period can sometimes be equal, if not outweigh officers who are not in their student period. Don\u2019t get me wrong, there are enthusiastic officers out there, doing their best. But there\u2019s got to be a recognition that this is a really difficult period until those officers bed in and become experienced.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need continued investment and a constant stream of recruits and uplift into policing going forwards.\u201d<\/p>\n