Federation to continue to work with Police and Crime Commissioner

9 May 2024

The Chair of Surrey Police Federation says he will work with the re-elected Police and Crime Commissioner to get ‘back to policing basics’, but warns that decreasing budgets are a barrier.

Surrey Police Federation Chair Darren Pemble said that the Federation had a good working relationship with PCC Lisa Townsend, who has just been re-elected for another term.

Darren said: “We congratulate Lisa and her team on their re-election. We look forward to working with them again, having enjoyed a good working relationship over recent years. Together, we hope we can help Lisa and the force deliver a better service to the Surrey public.

“I know that Lisa and members of the public want Surrey Police to get back to basics – an approach we share. But how we enable Surrey officers to deliver this is key, as policing is currently in a difficult and challenging time, with many officers and staff considering leaving policing.”

In the recent Police Federation of England and Wales Pay & Morale Survey, 69% of Surrey Police respondents said that their workload had been ‘too high’ or ‘much too high’ over the past 12 months. One in five said they intended to resign from the police service either within the next two years or as soon as they can.

Darren said this painted a “troubling policing picture” and asked the PCC to look at how officers can continue to police with ever-decreasing budgets.

He said: “We must find a solution to how we provide a police service to the Surrey public and how we can best look after our workforce. We need to protect our officers for the challenges they face, supporting their physical and mental health, as we can’t keep breaking our officers.”