“If we keep talking down the police force – as we are doing nationally – it will be much harder to recruit.”
This was the warning from Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne during a discussion about morale among officers and staff.
The subject was raised following a staff survey, the results of which were published in April by the Police Federation of England and Wales.
They showed that 90% of those who responded felt morale was low or very low with 17% saying they may decide to leave the force.
Only 12% said they felt valued within the police service itself.
One of the major reasons for discontent was the high work load and the demands placed on staff and officers – something the leadership team is looking into.
Mrs Bourne said:
“It’s good to recognise that it’s difficult to be a police officer at the moment, and a police member of staff.”
She recently thanked 50 new officers, who had just taken their oaths to the Crown, for joining the force.
She added:
“If you understand the workload that they have and the difficult job that they have to do day-in and day-out – and to keep positive despite all of that, when people are very quick to criticise and very slow to praise – I’m not sure I’d want to do it, if I’m honest.
“I take my hat off to each and every one of them.”
While there were a number of positives in the survey results – 88% said team mates were supportive of each other and 86% said they worked well together in teams – almost two-thirds would not recommend their job to another person.
As for the pressures faced, Mrs Bourne pointed out the unacceptable fact that two to three Sussex police officers were assaulted each week.
She said:
“It should never be accepted as part of the job – and this all plays into the morale.”
While recruitment is ongoing, she repeated her concerns that talking down the force would make it harder to encourage people to jump on board.
She added:
“At the end of the day, if we don’t have a police force, what do we have between us and those that want to commit harms?
“They are the only line that we have at the moment and I think it’s beholden on all of us to thank them for what they do.”
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