Federation: “The idea that now suddenly the capacity exists to investigate everything is quite simply ridiculous.”

29 August 2023

Police must investigate every theft and follow all reasonable leads to catch offenders, the Home Secretary has said.But Kent Police

Federation has highlighted how colleagues are already overrun and overstretched.

And this headline grabbing announcement is simply ridiculous. 

Neil Mennie, Chair of Kent Police Federation, said: "I don’t know of any colleagues who joined the police in order to not catch offenders - but the simple fact remains there is far more reported crime than there are officers.

“Policing ends up as a political football and priorities tend to shift fairly frequently based on those political directions. The recent round of intense recruiting is welcome but the idea that this has suddenly generated ‘extra’ officers is quite simply nonsense. The reality is that policing has to prioritise what it does in a very challenging modern digital environment that by itself has generated some new and very serious crime types.”

Neil added: “Kent has gone through a recent restructure that has invested in its neighbourhood policing. History coupled with the huge cuts saw this area depleted and a ‘withdrawal’ of this style of policing. This is an important area that hopefully will return toward prevention rather than detection the latter having been too much of a focus.

“The idea that every theft must be investigated is a soundbite that detracts from some real practical and evidential difficulties along with setting unrealistic expectations. There are so many other crime types with victims on the end of them that require attention from a swathe of skilled officers and investigators who are also very stretched and with high workloads. The idea that now suddenly the capacity exists to investigate everything is quite simply ridiculous.”

Steve Hartshorn, national chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said officers were "stretched beyond human limits" and he was not sure how much additional pressure forces could withstand.

He said: "Undoubtedly each and every police officer in the country wants to provide par excellence service to the members of the communities they diligently serve and protect.

"But, unfortunately, headline grabbing announcements by the government will not help officers provide that service. It can only be done if the government provides adequate resources to officers and makes sustained investment in the police service."

The National Police Chiefs’ Council reminded the Home Secretary in an Open Letter that Chief Officers “have operational independence and are responsible for making difficult decisions around how best to respond to the breadth of priorities of local communities.”

It added that the recruitment of 20,000 police officers “has been welcomed by every force across England and Wales.”

Although it added: “The reality is that since 2010, the number of officers has increased by just 2.6%, while recorded crime has increased by 25%.”