Police force on ‘edge of a cliff ’

Funding warning from rank-and-file

Devon and Cornwall Police is on a “cliff edge” because of fewer officers, rising crime and increasing bureaucracy, MPs have been warned.

In addition, the force is now facing the “devastating” impact of a financial hit from a pension commitment, the Police Federation says in a letter to all the region’s MPs.

Andrew Berry, the union’s chair in the region, says the force has lost £15m funding and 510 officers since 2010/ 11.

“There is not enough money to properly fund policing in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly,” he writes.

Plymouth Tory MP Johnny Mercer said the Government must act.

Devon and Cornwall Police is on a “cliff edge” because of fewer officers, a rise in crime and an increase in bureaucracy, MPs have been warned.

The force is now facing the “devastating” impact of a financial hit from a pension commitment, the Police Federation says in the letter to all the region’s MPs.

The union’s chairman in the force area, Andrew Berry, calls on the Parliamentarians to urge the Government to take action.

“There is not enough money to properly fund policing in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly,” he writes.

“The policing budget for our force has reduced by £15m in cash terms since 2010/11 and, during that time, we have lost 975 personnel, including 510 police officers – that is 15% less police officers.”

Mr Berry says an occupational health worker has reported an “epidemic of stress related mental ill-health” within the force.

“The work undertaken by my members has not just increased due to the amount of recorded crime growing (31% in last two years), but also due to the complexity of the crime and the administrative burdens placed on officers by the criminal justice system,” he says in the letter.

“However, crime only takes up 20% of an officer’s day, with my members having to pick up the work that other agencies cannot cope with.”

These include 9,655 missing person reports in Devon and Cornwall in the last year, with “a vast amount” being children absent from social care or mentally ill patients absconding from care, he says.

Officers spent more than over 6,700 hours last year waiting in A&E with a person suffering from poor mental health and regularly have to drive people to hospital because there are no ambulances available, Mr Berry says in the letter to MPs. He adds that he was moved to write because of the lack of help announced in this week’s Budget and the impact of a recent pension evaluation. This will cost the force £3.5million during the next financial year and £10 million the year after, a spending shortfall that will have “unpalatable” consequences, he says.

Plymouth Moor View Conservative MP Johnny Mercer said he had not seen the letter but added: “The pension evaluation must be met by the Government. I am acutely aware of the stress and strain on our police force.

“If my party wants to be known as the law and order party it has serious work ahead of it.” Police had to have better support in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review, said Mr Mercer.

Earlier this week, Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, told a conference of chief officers and police and crime commissioners that he understood forces were “feeling stretched”. He said they would have the resources they need in 2019/20.

Senior police officers are at risk of getting themselves in a bit of a tangle as they try to balance rising demand with tightening budgets and decide on their priorities. Many front-line officers will, we suspect, have given three hearty cheers to National Police Chiefs’ Council chairwoman Sara Thornton who said it was time for police to get back to dealing with real crimes, not investigating issues like genderbased hate.

But while Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez today backs Ms Thornton’s call for refocusing on core policing she said she wants all victims of crime to be “taken seriously” and did not want to categorise some crimes as “less serious” than others.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer goes even further, describing Ms Thornton’s decision to link what she called “incidents that are not crimes” with misogyny as unhelpful. Mr Sawyer said: “Hate crime is a serious matter and one that continues to be a priority for Devon and Cornwall Police.”

It is clear, however, that so long as behaviour once classed as unpleasant but not criminal starts to be added to the list of crimes that should be investigated by the police, then pressures on a service already coping with rising demand and re- strictions on resources can only increase. That is one of the reasons the Police Federation in Devon and Cornwall is telling the region’s MPs the Devon and Cornwall force is on a cliff edge.

Ms Thornton’s view, that police officers are spending too much of their time dealing with issues better dealt with by the NHS or local authorities is one any police officer would agree with. But, sadly, as demand has soared and resources become stretched across a number of public service areas, the police have often become the last line of defence.

It would not be right for officers to dismiss complaints of hate crimes. However, when the review into what constitutes such an offence is complete commonsense suggests the list ought not be extended to the point that it becomes unmanageable. And there is definitely a case to say that organisations other than the police should be responsible for some of the many problems they are currently forced to try and tackle. Ms Hernandez is right to welcome initiatives announced in the Budget including a 24hour hotline for people who are mentally unwell and the establishment of mental health ambulances. That might relieve some of the pressure. But the only real answer comes down to more resources.