Chief has ‘genuine fears’ for the future of police force

THE public is being “defrauded” as policing stands on the brink of crisis, the leader of the Police Superintendents’ Association will warn today.

Ch Supt Gavin Thomas will say a reduced workforce has led to “genuine fears for the future of the police service and the hard-working people who make up that service”.

The president of the body, which represents senior operational police officers, will set out his message to Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, at the association’s annual conference in Leicestershire.

He will say today: “Policing is now utterly reliant on fewer people working longer and harder. I cannot emphasise enough that the delivery of routine policing functions should not be dependent on officers effectively giving their time for free by staying past their shift times or working on leave days.

“That exploits police officers and defrauds the public. Last year, I said policing was in the middle of a perfect storm. I now suggest this great service is on the verge of crisis in many areas.”

Total officer numbers across the 43 forces in England and Wales were at 122,404 as of March, the lowest number since records began in 1996.

It comes as a senior Police Federation officer in Dorset warned that police were close to “losing the streets” and a federation spokesman in the West Midlands said attacks on his officers had reached “crisis” levels amid fears that staff cuts had increased the chance of police officers being killed.