Without centralised investment in \u201cboots on the ground\u201d, new training for neighbourhood policing won\u2019t make a difference, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
The College of Policing is piloting new training that it says \u201cwill transform neighbourhood policing, providing the public with local policing that listens to and understands their needs\u201d.<\/p>\n
But South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said he was \u201cwary\u201d about the training while the force was still so under-resourced.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cOur force has been recognised as outstanding in aspects of neighbourhood policing. A lot of that was down to common sense, getting resources back into it, and getting structures in place.
\n\u201cBut our neighbourhood establishment is bigger than it used to be and it needs to be protected. Plus neighbourhood cops are getting dragged in to do response work all the time because there\u2019s not enough officers in response.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they\u2019re using neighbourhood cops far more now for football matches, so they\u2019re deviating them off their patches on a weekend. I get that the force has got no place to go. But without that centralised investment and boots on the ground, this new training isn\u2019t going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve added that South Yorkshire Police had some of the lowest numbers of officers compared to the crime levels in the region.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cEveryone says the uplift has got us back to where we were on police numbers, but it hasn\u2019t. Here in South Yorkshire we had 3,400 officers in 2009 and now we\u2019re only at 3,100. And that doesn\u2019t take into account population growth, cybercrime and all the different dynamics in policing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also need to deal with the age-old issue of the precept. How can it be that the forces with the most poverty within their areas get the least amount of money to deal with it? It\u2019s absolutely crazy and it needs to be looked at as a matter of absolute urgency. It should be the other way round.<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficers in other forces are also working extremely hard, but may not have anything like the deprivation you\u2019ll find in South Yorkshire. But because their council tax pays through the roof, then they\u2019ve got twice our budgets. It’s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n