\u201cTHE frontline of the police service is getting eroded away. And we can\u2019t provide the service that we did five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the warning from Sgt David Baines, chairman of the Sergeants\u2019 Branch Board of South Yorkshire Police Federation, to local MPs. Sgt Baines, pictured right with Sgt Dean Hague, joined Fed colleagues at the meeting in Westminster on September 11.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cOne of the concerns we did raise was in relation to the fact these cuts \u2013 not only do they affect the police, morale and pay and conditions \u2013 they are also affecting the vulnerable in society.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have serious concerns in relation to privatisation of the service police deliver. For me it is fundamentally wrong that companies can get profits out of the misery of others \u2013 because that is what we do deal with.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people that are going to suffer from these cuts are the vulnerable in society. These are the people we spend 90% of our time with.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the people that are going to be affected. These are the people that rely on the police as the service of last resort. If we are not there for them who else is?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sgt Baines said although the meeting \u201cwent well\u201d, next time they would look to come back with more statistical rather than anecdotal evidence on the affect of police cuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to give the MPs evidence on how the cuts are impacting society,\u201d said Sgt Baines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to bring some reality about how the cuts are actually affecting South Yorkshire and forces across the country. And what is happening in South Yorkshire is replicated across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe frontline is getting eroded away. And we can\u2019t provide the service that we did five years ago. At the end of the day, if you haven\u2019t got an officer to attend the job, you haven\u2019t got an officer to attend the job.\u201d<\/p>\n
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