Policing needs to be \u201cfront and centre\u201d of politicians\u2019 manifestos, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said in the run-up to the General Election.<\/p>\n
Federation Chair Steve Kent said policing had been neglected for years, and police pay and resourcing were key issues.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cPolicing has to be at the front and centre of politicians\u2019 plans. Policing has been neglected now for over a decade. Despite the uplift in officers, in South Yorkshire we\u2019re still 300 officers down on our peak, which has a massive effect on the workloads and how busy our officers are.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also know, from my own and others\u2019 research, that we\u2019re some of the poorest-paid police officers on average in the Western world, so we need to remunerate our officers properly and we need to put investment back into policing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve added that pressure on officers was leading to a rise in mental health problems, which must be addressed.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cPolice forces are getting flack for mistakes made and targets missed, and that\u2019s because we simply don\u2019t have anywhere near enough officers to do the job that the public would expect.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we need to look at officers\u2019 mental health, because we are seeing more and more people coming to our counsellors and the Group Insurance Scheme counsellors. That is a growing problem. We need to prioritise the physical and mental health of police officers.\u201d<\/p>\n
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