‘Demands on policing have soared’

6 October 2022

A retired senior officer who called for police officers to be given more time and better resources to concentrate on fighting crime has been backed by Nottinghamshire Police Federation.

Sir Peter Fahy, former chief constable of Greater Manchester, is urging the Government to reduce the demands on police forces who are struggling to deliver basic services because of their ever-increasing workloads.

Sir Peter spoke out after the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) pledged to send officers to investigate all home burglaries as part of a new set of standards it hopes will result in more crimes being solved and more offenders prosecuted.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “The Government needs to remove from policing all these additional tasks that have been taken on.

“It is not just about the number of police officers, it’s what they do and whether they are given the freedom and the tools to concentrate on crime.

“At the moment most frontline operational officers are very frustrated that they can’t concentrate on crime and criminals because they are picking up lots of other jobs as well, covering for social services and mental health services.

“These are vital jobs but police officers are not actually trained to do them and they want to concentrate on crime and, while numbers are going up, a lot of those officers are inexperienced and need time to learn the craft and get to know local criminals and local patterns of crime.”

Nottinghamshire Police Federation chair Simon Riley said he was in full agreement with Sir Peter.

He said: “Demands on policing have soared in recent years and our members often find themselves with a huge workload.

“We welcome the NPCC pledge to send an officer to every domestic burglary because the public would not expect anything less and indeed, this has been the policy and working practice in Nottinghamshire for as long as I can remember.

“But it is important to acknowledge that our members are already working flat out so policing will need the help and support of other agencies if we want to make this work.

“Removing some of the extra demands placed on police officers will give them more time to concentrate on solving crime and catching criminals and that is really what the people of Nottingham would want them to do.”

The NPCC said police forces will prioritise attendance where people’s homes have been burgled, rather than outbuildings and garden sheds.