Police cuts leave force failing the public

The new head of the Police Federation has issued a warning that the public are being ‘failed’ because of huge demands and stretched resources.

Speaking to The Independent, John Apter said that policing in some areas was ‘broken’ and that continued government cuts constitute a ‘crisis’, where ‘some crimes will not be investigated’.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has urged police forces to use the ‘Thrive’ model which prioritises emergency calls according to ‘threat, harm, risk, investigation possibilities, vulnerability and engagement’. Alongside cuts in funding, the number of police officers in England and Wales has fallen to a record low after plummeting by around 22,000 since 2010.

Apter said: “We can’t do everything – there are going to be situations where we simply can’t deliver the policing we want to deliver. In those cases we are failing the public but that’s not the fault of police officers on the ground, and in some cases it’s not the chief constable’s fault. You can only slice the financial cake so many ways and you have to prioritise ... the public are already suffering and they are going to suffer more and more.”