FRONTLINE

THE situation in the courts is incredibly frustrating for police officers.

It is part of our duties to give evidence in court. But the impact which delays in court have on officers’ lives and the effective operation of the force cannot be underestimated.

For many officers, given the wider picture with budget pressures and growing frontline demand for police services, what’s happening in the courts has been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

We’ve had people going on holiday waiting for calls to see if they have to cut it short to go and give evidence.

It is not unheard of for an entire shift of officers to be cited for one case.

There are procedures in place and nobody wants to waste the force’s time or money.

But at the moment, the system is not working as well as it should. GIVING evidence in court is a core part of my job,

But it’s tremendously disruptive to my family and off duty time.

“In my seven years’ service I have been cited to court more than 100 times – I’ve only actually given evidence six times.

On the other occasions I have been stood down because the accused person has either changed their plea to guilty (often to greatly reduced charges), failed to turn up, or it’s been decided my evidence is not required.

A good number of these court dates have fallen on my days off.

If I get enough warning of the court date, I get no extra payment – I get another day off instead.

If I do get an overtime payment it hardly covers the extra child care costs, never mind compensates for the disruption to my precious time off.

I know the courts and the police try to organise court appearances but frankly I think they could do much better.