VIDEO: Desperate Fed chair makes urgent call for major changes amid policing crisis

29 June 2023

“I’m angry now. We need to take urgent action and I feel like I’m not being listened to. The future of policing is on a knife edge."

The chair of Hertfordshire Police Federation has made a desperate plea for ‘quick’ and ‘drastic changes’ to be made nationally, amid what he has called a ‘policing crisis’.

Luke Mitchell has told how he, and fellow Federation representatives, have been out engaging with colleagues on the front line as part of Response Policing ‘Week of Action’ (Monday 26-30 June).

In doing so, he explains how he has seen exhausted officers first-hand being ‘pulled from pillar to post’, leading to them feeling and looking ‘burnt out, frustrated and disillusioned’.

“It’s no surprise that frontline policing is cracking,” said Luke.

“This week, the Federation has been out, speaking to our members. They are really struggling. And the phrase we have continued to hear all week is ‘we have simply had enough’.

“As an organisation, we have been so consumed with hitting our uplift targets, it’s now having a negative impact on the Force. We’ve become so tunnel-visioned when it comes to recruiting officers, we’ve now seen a five per cent reduction in police staff numbers. This means, officers are not only feeling the pressures in their own role, but they’re backfilling the work of police staff - not to mention picking up work from our fellow emergency service colleagues, who are also struggling. But the police service can’t do it all.

“Historically, New Year's Eve tends to be our busiest night, but every day at the moment, we’re seeing more calls than we’d receive on New Year's Eve. There is no doubt about it, demand on officers is at an all-time high, and things are only going to get worse if action isn’t taken.

“Everyone is feeling the burn. Everyone from all departments, across all of policing, is really struggling right now.”

In a desperate attempt to receive support, Luke has organised a meeting with David Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, which will be taking place on Monday (3 July).

“I, myself, am mentally and physically exhausted,” continued Luke.

“I’m angry now. I feel like I’m the Federation isn’t being listened to. But this is not about me, it’s about our members and I hope that by our representative being out and about this week, they can see that their Federation is doing everything they can to support them.

Luke has outlined three major changes he believes need to be made, in order for the police force to recover:

Pay: ensuring officers are paid correctly and fairly
Transparency: confirmation of what the government and members of the public realistically expect and want from officers
Funding: once expectations have been confirmed, forces need to be funded accordingly

“The icing on the cake will be if it’s decided by the Government that we don’t get the pay award we’ve asked for, which is 17 per cent. Our pay must go up,” added Luke, who has written to all local MPs in Hertfordshire and met with at least half to discuss his growing concerns.

“Officers need to be able to go to work, without worrying that they can’t heat their home, or they might have to visit a food bank, they won’t be able to feed their families that night, or at worse given the interest rates afford to pay their mortgages.”

“However, it’s gone beyond better and fair pay now. Even if our pay increases, we can’t keep up with demand anymore. The system needs to change.

“The police service has been sleepwalking into this crisis for the past 10 years.

“We are at a real crossroads in policing as to where we go next and that’s not just in Hertfordshire, this is a national issue. What’s being expected from policing is far too much - too far-ranging and steps far too widely into the roles other public services are meant to do.

“There has become a growing attitude from others to ‘just phone the police, they’ll sort it’, and we’ve been far too nice and haven’t pushed back, we’ve done this as we want to help, but ultimately we’re not funded to do the work of others, we’re also not trained.

“I’m so proud of everyone who has already spoken up and voiced their concerns. Thank you, not only to our response officers but all of our members who continue to work incredibly hard, day in, day out. While I speak in this article about response officers, what is being described is reflected across all teams and departments across policing.

“As a Federation, I want to reassure all of our members that we will keep shouting for our members until our voices are heard. It is now time MP’s and those with supposed oversight of policing start listening and taking action.”