THE public has not been getting the service they deserve from policing, due to a cut in officer numbers, South Yorkshire Police Federation believes.<\/p>\n
Across England and Wales nearly 21,000 officers have been lost over the past 10 years due to draconian cuts in public spending.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire is set to recruit around 300 officers in the next few years to get more officers on the frontline, a step towards getting the force back to pre-austerity levels said South Yorkshire Police Federation Steve Kent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re back to around 2,500 and the Chief has done some sterling work in getting an extra 2-300 officers in the next couple of years to push that establishment up, which is absolutely what\u2019s necessary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we need the uplift nationally to bring us up some way to where we used to be. If you imagine, South Yorkshire used to be 3,400. We need to get back somewhere towards that to even remotely try and police to the same standards and level of quality that we used to give the public back then.\u201d<\/p>\n
The drop in officer number is felt mostly keenly on the frontline, Steve says, but he\u2019s hopeful a change of Government administration will lead to a brighter future for policing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public aren\u2019t getting the service they deserve. It\u2019s quite simple. [Police officer] numbers, on the frontline, looks like a big percentage drop in frontline police officers. So that\u2019s frontline police officers unable to attend the 999 calls, and the subsequent aspect is that there\u2019s a reduction then because it\u2019s CID which must pick and choose on the severity of investigation and the evidence available.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just don\u2019t have the same resources to offer the public the same level of service as to what we did before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m obviously cynical [about the Government] because I\u2019ve seen a reign of obviously cuts and harsh treatment in terms of funding and whatnot.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the new PM certainly seems to be saying the right things and I\u2019m just hoping he follows it up with what he\u2019s said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been impressed with some of the things the [former] Home Secretary said at the Bravery Awards too, that we\u2019ve reached the bottom and hopefully, while slowly, we\u2019re on our way back up.\u201d<\/p>\n
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