Police forces are facing a \u201cmassive vacuum of skills\u201d due to experienced officers leaving the job, South Yorkshire Police Federation has warned.<\/p>\n
Federation Chair Steve Kent said forces were \u201chaemorrhaging officers\u201d due to the increasing challenges they were facing being met with poor pay.<\/p>\n
It followed a Home Affairs Select Committee finding the service was being propped up by inexperienced new recruits.<\/p>\n
The committee called for a long-term but urgent strategy to retain experienced officers, warning that relying on recruitment alone was not enough.<\/p>\n
Steve said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to disillusion our young officers, because the majority of them are really hardworking, really keen and very, very welcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when you are haemorrhaging officers and you are replacing them with officers with six to 12 months\u2019 service, you\u2019re going to have a massive vacuum of skills – and it is felt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s felt and seen, sadly, in our discipline world, where we feel like officers are sometimes falling foul because they are sometimes cutting corners through lack of experience rather than intent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve said losing experienced heads meant more rash decisions were being made and less role models were available for new recruits.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cPeople are under significant pressure and it\u2019s an inevitability on our production and quality of our service that we provide.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not to say these new officers won\u2019t make great police officers, because the majority of them will and I want to make sure I emphasise that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s not fair to them to chuck them in at the deep end without many people to support them either.\u201d<\/p>\n