Crime plan expects 'yet more with still less' from police, says South Yorkshire federation

The Prime Minister unveiled yesterday (July 27) what he calls an “unstinting” set of measures to tackle drug dealing, burglary and anti-social behaviour.

It includes pledges to electronically monitor thieves 24 hours a day upon release from prison, making offenders carrying out unpaid work more visible by cleaning open spaces, and publishing league tables of how quickly forces respond to 999 and 101 calls.

But other pledges have been labelled “gimmicks” by rank-and-file police nationally and opposition parties.

Among them is a claim that every victim of crime will have “a named officer to call – someone who is immediately on your side”.

Today, the chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation Steve Kent said the Government was asking “the undeliverable” from police.

"It just shows how detached the Government is from modern policing,” said Mr Kent, who said forces needed funding first.

"In 18 years of service I’ve never known officers to be so angry and demoralized as they are right now. My inbox is full every day with officers saying they can’t keep working or are unhappy or just crying.

"And these Government pledges are saying they will be doing yet more with still less.”

It comes in the same week the Police Federation – a union for rank-and-file officers – passed a notion of no confidence in Home Secretary Priti Patel after officers earning over £24,000 were denied a pay rise.

Although the PM promised a named officer to “every victim of crime” in a Sunday Express column – where he first unveiled the plans – the formal announcement on gov.uk instead promised a named officer “to every neighbourhood”.

Mr Kent said: “What gets me is that Boris Johnson is suggesting they will have somebody on their door and on the phone at all times. It’s idealistic and undeliverable.

“Let’s say someone scratched a vehicle. That’s criminal damage – but there is no way it will get the same level of treatment as someone who was violently assaulted.

"Boris Johnson is coming out with a populist message to maybe push back at the negativity the Federation caused by declaring no confidence in Priti Patel. And we are still not up to the number of officers we had before 2010 when the Tories took over.”

The Government has pledged to recruit 20,000 officers by 2023, and claims to have reached 8,700 of this target. It comes after Conservative predecessors let go more than 20,000 officers in cuts since 2010.

Meanwhile, South Yorkshire PCC Dr Alan Billings welcomed the pledges as “a serious attempt” to get on top of crime.

“We should not, however, forget that much of this programme is a belated attempt to restore the damage done to services by previous Conservative governments,” said the commissioner.

"They cut police officer numbers by 20,000, allowing criminal gangs to take root. They split the Probation service in two, privatising one half, and have only now joined the two parts together.

“But we will work with government, using our Violence Reduction Unit to steer young people away from crime and bringing partners together to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.”