South Yorkshire’s Police Federation has issued a warning to the Government that police officers ‘have never been under so much strain as they are now’.

Steve Kent spoke out ahead of the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review on October 27, in which policing budgets will be set.

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He said that although the Government is investing in 20,000 new police officers over the next few years, the new recruits will just replace those who have retired or left the police service over recent years.

South Yorkshire Police Federation chairman, Steve Kent, says police officers 'have never been under so much strain as they are now'

placeholder image — South Yorkshire Police Federation chairman, Steve Kent, says police officers 'have never been under so much strain as they are now'

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He is calling for policing budgets to be increased to allow forces to ‘grow’.

Mr Kent said: “We need to have continued investment in policing. It’s no good just relying on – which the Government frequently does – saying that they’re recruiting 20,000 police officers. This is welcome, of course, but all that is really doing is repairing the damage that has already been done. We need to grow.

“We hear all the time about budgets being cut in policing, not just in terms of pay but police budgets as well. We can’t keep doing that. Our officers have never been under so much strain as they are now.”

He added: “Yes, the numbers will help once they are bedded in, but they won’t repair it completely. With the dynamics of crime changing, in terms of technology and in terms of the hoops we need to jump through bureaucratically to deal with offenders, we need to have increased budgets in policing.”