Campaigns like Response Policing Week pointless without funding and support

28 June 2023

Campaigns like the NPCC Response Policing Week are pointless without the requisite funding and support for hardworking officers, Surrey Police Federation has warned.

Chief officers celebrated response officers this week (26 June - 30 June) with a number of events, but Surrey Chair Darren Pemble said it was an “empty gesture”. The Federation meanwhile spent the week promoting wellbeing, with representatives visiting different local stations, speaking to officers and offering them support.

Darren said: “This doesn’t help them with response policing as what they really need is more resources and support. It is all very well celebrating response policing whilst it struggles.

“We are acutely aware that officers are working hard to protect the public and confront criminals but policing needs urgent reform.”

Darren said officers are rushing from pillar to post, trying to be all things to everyone, without enough resources to back them up. It’s leaving officers tired, stressed and burnt out, he said.

Darren adds: “The question is; what do we actually want from our police? The Government keeps kicking this question into the long grass as they don’t want to recognise that policing is broken and that a reform or Royal Commission will likely show up the fact that policing does too much and officers are paid too little.”