“Officers are desperate to provide an exceptional service to the public, but they are exhausted and stretched beyond capacity.”

11 January 2024

Andy Symonds, Chair of Norfolk Police Federation, was commenting on recent research that found England and Wales need an extra 18,000 police officers just to keep up with population growth since 2010.

The independent criminal justice think tank Crest Advisory says police recruitment has fallen behind the 9.1% increase in population since 2010, saying that there are now just 3.88 officers for every 1,000 people – down from 4.42 in 2010.

Andy said: “This report shows the stark reality of what my colleagues are having to deal with in order to attempt to provide the community with the service they deserve.

“They continue to put in hard graft, but are doing it with one hand behind their backs. Officers are desperate to provide an exceptional service to the public, but they are exhausted and stretched beyond capacity.

“It is only because of their commitment, professionalism and bloody-mindedness that our communities are getting the service they are.”

Andy blamed the Government for the “devastating cuts to our numbers that we’ve never properly recovered from”, adding that Norfolk officers were “being broken physically and mentally”.

He continued: “We need to see the Government invest in policing, and give us the resources to allow us to properly protect our communities by being proactive. That means preventing some crimes being committed in the first place, but also promptly investigating crimes with the technology and resources that we need to bring offenders to justice.

“It’s good that police leaders are sounding the warning to the Government about forces’ capacity and ability to maintain the service at its current level.

“Now we need to see the Government and police leaders having honest and open conversations with the public, because with the current funding the public sadly must accept that the police cannot continue to provide the service our communities expect.”