Nine in ten officers cite staffing shortages as new film reveals policing in crisis
21 April 2026
Nine out of ten officers say they are working in unsafe and understaffed teams, a new Police Federation survey of nearly 2,000 emergency response officers has revealed.
The survey also found that more than half (52 per cent) of officers believe response policing is not working well, with just six per cent saying it is working “very well”.
The survey includes responses from officers in all 43 police forces in England and Wales, with the majority of them being constables and sergeants working on the frontline.
Crisis
Jess Davies, chair of West Midlands Police Federation, said she was not surprised at the results and said the survey’s findings were further evidence of the crisis in the police service.
“We know that officers working on response are under huge pressure,” said Jess, “I think response policing is one the most important and crucial areas of policing, but it never receives the investment it deserves.
“This needs to change. The welfare of officers on response is massively overlooked and many suffer from burn-out due to the pressures they are under. It should come as no surprise to anyone that burnt out officers have been found to make poor decisions and are at increased risk of facing conduct investigations.”
Pressure
The Police Federation survey also revealed that more than a third of officers who took part believed travel distances and the size of the areas understaffed teams cover were affecting their ability to respond, while almost one in five cited equipment failures.
Officers described “constant pressure to move onto the next incident”, “being singly crewed”, and “full shifts wiped out by the first job of the day”, painting a picture of response teams stretched not just by volume, but by distance, weak systems and too little support.
Alongside the survey, the Federation has launched a new film, “My Last Set”, which uses actors to portray the unedited words of police officers who were asked one very simple question: tell us what your last week of shifts were like.
Campaign
The film is part of the Federation’s “Copped Enough” campaign, which highlights the crisis facing policing across the country.
The film reveals a consistent picture of everyday frontline policing:
- Teams operating well below safe staffing levels
- Officers working extended hours, often exceeding 60 hours a week
- Repeated exposure to traumatic incidents including suicides, stabbings and mental health crises
- Officers unable to take rest days due to the demands of the job and
- Officers starting work feeling exhausted and traumatised.
