The Government must listen to police officers about the pressures they’re under and step up funding and resources, the Chair of Sussex Police Federation has said.

Raffaele Cioffi was speaking as a new report into police productivity was published by the National Audit Office (NAO); it found that the pressures facing policing risked damaging frontline services.

The spending watchdog found that the Home Office had “not fully understood the implications” of the financial pressure on the police service, and that forces will need to make “significant savings” if they are to meet the Government’s commitments on crime.

In the past financial year, police forces reduced their reserves by £276 million and funded 60% of capital programmes (police buildings, vehicles and equipment) by borrowing £632 million.

Raffaele said: “Here in Sussex and across the country, officers are feeling the pressure. The volume of work keeps rising, yet the support and resources to meet it simply aren’t growing at the same pace. When the workload becomes unsustainable, it’s the people on the ground – and the communities they serve – who pay the price.

“If staffing and funding don’t keep up with demand, neighbourhood teams become less visible, investigations take longer, and vulnerable people don’t always get the attention they urgently need. We can’t rely indefinitely on officers stretching themselves to cover the gaps. Give officers the tools and time to focus on core policing, and they will deliver for the public.”