Ben spoke out after Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) put the Metropolitan Police Service, Greater Manchester Police, Staffordshire, Cleveland, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire under special measures.

He said the Government had to act now to stop the crisis deepening and warned failure to do so could see more forces added to the list.

“Surely we have now reached the stage where something has to be done,” Ben explained.

“The Police Federation warned we were heading for disaster when Theresa May was Home Secretary and she accused us of scaremongering but successive governments have just brushed aside our concerns and told us to get on with the job.

“This latest news about these six forces would suggest that the crisis we predicted has arrived and it is now time for the Government to step up to the plate and come up with a proper plan to get policing back on the right track.

“We have been let down, disrespected and betrayed for too long and something has to change.

“Our members are proud to be police officers and proud of the work they do but they can only deliver the efficient, proactive service we all want to see if they have the full support of the Government and unfortunately that has been lacking.

“Now is the time to put things right. The Government needs to act now because policing is in crisis.

Police Federation national chair Steve Hartshorn echoed Ben’s comments.

National Federation chair Steve Hartshorn.

He said: “If this is not a sign that the Government needs to act then I don’t know what is. The responsibility of any Government is the safety and security of the public but how can it fulfil its obligations on that front when almost one in seven of the forces of England and Wales has been judged by the police inspectorate as requiring help to improve performance?

“It seemed inevitable that we were going to reach a situation where forces were going to be put into special measures, they have been facing huge challenges set against a decade of austerity during which we saw officer numbers plummet at a time when demand was soaring.

“Policing is the service of first and last resort, the service that cannot say no, but forces have been stretched to breaking point and that has had a detrimental impact not just on the service we have been able to provide but also on the officers themselves.

“Morale is at an all-time low with a police pay freeze, at a time when other sectors received a pay rise, this was particularly hard for officers to stomach. Officers have seen a 20 per cent real terms pay cut and the cost of living crisis has created a situation where some officers are being issued with food vouchers and others are struggling to afford to put fuel in their cars.

“All officers want is fair pay; pay that recognises their unique place in society holding the front line and the dangers they face as they go about their duties fighting and preventing crime, keeping order and protecting the vulnerable.

“So many workers in other sectors seem to be looking at taking industrial action over pay and conditions this summer and we will have to ‘police’ any strikes that are organised when our members cannot strike and have no redress to industrial rights.”

Officer numbers are now increasing as a result of the Government’s Police Uplift Programme which aims to recruit 20,000 officers over three years. However, the national chair fears retention and attrition rates are producing a revolving door effect with some new recruits leaving within months of starting their policing careers and the pay squeeze and low morale also causing longer serving officers to quit.

“We have raised this issue time and time again but the Government, despite the Home Secretary’s claims to have our backs, is doing nothing to help us. Policing is being ignored and we are not being listened to,” he said.

Steve continued: “At the start of the budget cuts, we told the Government that cuts would have consequences. We were told we were crying wolf. With six forces now in special measures, I would say we have been completely vindicated on this point.

“No matter how many times it is said by Government that it is putting money into policing, we are not seeing the longer-term funding settlements that would allow Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to plan properly and we are certainly not seeing extra cash making it into the payslips of police officers who are the only ones protecting the public against crime.”