Federation calls on new Government to fulfil election promises

5 July 2024

The new Government must fulfil its pre-election promises on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour with a re-investment in policing.

That is the view of Suffolk Police Federation secretary Ben Hudson after Labour’s landslide victory in the yesterday’s General Election.

“As a Federation, we have long called for more funding for policing and for sustained investment so that police leaders can put in place longer-term plans for policing their communities,” says Ben who is also leading the national Police Federation’s #SimplifyDG6 campaign for a change to data protection legislation which would cut thousands of hours from officers’ workloads.

“During the years of austerity, cuts to police budgets put officers under incredible strain as they tried to meet increased demand for their help with reduced resources. There is no doubt the public suffered in terms of the policing service we were able to provide.

Revolving door

“The Police Uplift Programme helped in that in the last three years we have recruited 20,000 more officers nationwide but officer morale is low and that is affecting retention so we are getting a revolving door effect which means we are losing officers out of one door as officers come in through another. We have to see a commitment to long-term investment.”

Labour, while campaigning in the run-up to the election, announced plans to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour and said its mission was to ‘take back our streets’, reducing serious violence and rebuilding public confidence in policing by getting officers back on the streets.

The party said it would introduce a new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, restoring patrols to town centres by recruiting thousands of new police officers, police and community support officers (PCSOs) and Special Constables and putting 13,000 extra neighbourhood police and PCSOs on the beat.

It pledged to introduce new penalties for offenders, get knives off the streets, set up a specialist rape unit in every police force and launch a new network of Young Futures hubs.

Ben Hudson, secretary of Suffolk Police Federation.

Funding for its manifesto pledges would come from ending private schools’ tax breaks and a Police Efficiency and Collaboration Programme.

“We need to see the new Government put its plans in place and fulfil the promises it made during the General Election campaigning. But it’s not just about rebuilding public confidence, the new Government also has to rebuild the relationship between our political leaders and police officers,” Ben explained.

Knock-on effect

“Officers felt they were not respected or valued by the last Government and that damaged their morale which then has a knock-on effect on the service provided to our communities.

“Our members have seen their pay fall by 20 per cent in real terms and they have no faith in the current pay review process which they believe is far from independent resulting in the Federation no longer engaging with the body responsible.”

Ben believes if Labour is to meet its pre-election pledges it needs to work with the Police Federation to address the crisis within policing, starting with a new pay review mechanism which would help boost morale and help with officer retention.

“It’s time for a re-set,” says Ben, “The police service has a unique role in society with police officers putting their lives on the line to serve and protect the public. We need to see tangible signs that the Government recognises this.”

Read the Labour manifesto.

Government must amend data protection law.