Vitally important officers take time to complete the Demand, Capacity and Welfare Survey

14 October 2020

It is “vitally important” that Cumbria officers fill in the Police Federation of England and Wales’s annual Demand, Capacity & Welfare survey, Cumbria Police Federation has said.

Officers should have received a link to fill in the survey, which gives them the opportunity to express their views on the demands they face and their experiences of policing the pandemic. The survey is designed to provide a clearer picture of the main challenges facing policing.

Cumbria Police Federation Chair Paul Williams said: “It’s very important that officers hop on board and fill this in. We’re getting quite a low percentage rate of cops completing these forms; because they’re so busy on the front line they can see this as just another bureaucratic exercise.

“It’s hard for them to take 15 minutes out to fill it in, but it’s vitally important, because when the results come out they are certainly scrutinised both locally and nationally, and then we have that data and something has to be done about it.”

PFEW Chair John Apter said in a video message to officers: “It’s important for people like me and your local Fed reps to have that information on how you felt you’ve been treated during the pandemic, not only by policing but by Government and others, so we can take that to the leaders in policing and also to Government.

“It’s really important that we hear your voice. It allows me to go straight to the Government, straight to the Home Secretary, the Prime Minister, with credible answers from these surveys, to say: ‘This is the impact on our members, these are the issues that are facing our members every single day’.”