A damning new report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) confirms what the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has been warning for years: chronic underfunding, excessive workloads and a retention crisis are crippling frontline policing and undermining public safety.

James Dimmack, Chair of Dorset Police Federation, said: "Policing is broken according the HMICFRS... This is sadly not news but is a recognition of the steady decay apparent in Policing over several years. 

"We have been told of “uplift” and how this will benefit policing. When this benefit did not manifest itself, we were told to be patient and it would take time.

"Despite the numbers being at a numerical high these numbers are not seen on the frontline. Officers are being asked to do more with less resource. This is resulting in officers suffering with mental health issues due to workload and the impact of repeated exposure to trauma.

"This exacerbates the situation with officers reporting sick or increasingly leaving Policing. This is fast become a crisis of recruitment and increasingly now one of retention. Policing needs to be appropriately funded.

"This includes police pay in order to properly renumerate officers for the unique job they do and help to encourage them to stay."

The Inspection into How Effectively the Police Investigate Crime report reveals that officer workloads have skyrocketed, increasing by more than 32% per constable since 2015, with some officers carrying unmanageable caseloads.

The inspection also finds that over the past decade, police-recorded crime rates per 1,000 population have increased by 44%, whereas since 2010, after accounting for changes in the population, the number of police officers in England and Wales has decreased by 6%.

Under these conditions, investigations are being delayed, evidence is being missed, and victims are being let down. Positive outcomes from police investigations have plummeted from 25% a decade ago to just 11% in 2024. More than 9,000 officers quit in the year ending March 2023 — the highest number on record.

James added: "More important is rebuilding Police numbers. Not numbers on spreadsheets but people on the streets visible and effective to uphold the law protect the public and provide reassurance to all of society. It saddens me to hear a public body declare Policing as broken. It is not rhetoric it is fact. What will sadden me further is if nothing is done about this.

"This can only be influenced at Government level to allow Dorset Police to focus on core Policing values and the scales of justice rather than balancing the books."