Officers Need More Resources

POLICE officers must have the right resources and tools to do their job, Hampshire Police Federation said, after a new report identified “widespread systemic failings” in policing.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke, published his first annual assessment of policing in England and Wales, ‘The State of Policing’, on 9 June. In it he says that the police service is at a “historic turning point” and that major reform is needed, including new powers for Inspectors.

He also said that the police needed to prioritise issues that mattered most to the public; that forces needed to concentrate on effective neighbourhood policing; and that critical elements of the police service’s leadership and workforce arrangements needed substantial reform.

But these aims can’t be achieved without the Government and chief officers ensuring that officers have access to the right funds and resources, Hampshire Police Federation said.

Federation Chair Zoë Wakefield said: “If we’re given the right resources and the tools to do our job, it makes everything a lot easier. We have been struggling, budget-wise. We had an issue recently in our force with a lack of vehicles, because there’s a national delay with getting parts, related to what’s going on in Ukraine. So things like that also impact us.

“We’ve always been way, way behind in terms of technology. We’re always using technology that’s behind the curve. Body armour is a problem as well. Forces have been struggling for so long that we’re scrimping and scraping.”