#CutsHaveConsequences: Who is protecting the protectors?

WHY do people join the police? When we decide to become police officers we swear an oath of allegiance to the Crown and by that the people of the UK.

Police officers are not employees we are Servants of the Crown. We join to protect and serve the public. We join the job because we want to make a difference. So what does this mean to those officers still trying to do the job?

When you hear police officers saying “we aren’t giving the public the service they deserve”, it is borne out of a deep frustration that we are not able to do our job.

Some £72.5 million of cuts are being faced by Essex Police. The vast majority of the police budget is spent on wages. For this reason we are set to lose 600 officers from front line policing.

We have already lost more than 400 front line officers.

Because of the front lines reductions you will see the difference. This is because #CutsHaveConsequences.

You do not get more or even the same for less, you just get less!

Fewer officers in your neighbourhood, fewer officers responding to your 999 calls, fewer officers investigating your crime.

Sadly, this all means more stress for officers. In 2013/14 more than 250 Essex Police officers were signed off with stress, depression, anxiety or post traumatic stress disorder.

More stress equals more sickness; this means even fewer front line officers, on top of the cuts. In turn this means greater workloads for those still at work, which leads to more stress. I think you can see where we are going with this.

So what has been the overall impact on sickness of Essex Police officers since the cuts commenced?

In 2009/10 Essex Police lost 27,654 officer days due to sickness. This is a year prior to the first cuts.

In 2013/14 Essex Police lost 41,251 officer days due to sickness. This is two years into 4 years of cuts. And we are told more cuts are to come in the future.

Our Mounted section has been scrapped; the Roads Policing and Dog units have been cut. The Marine Section and the number of Firearms officers have been cut. We are reducing numbers on our Serious Crime Directorate, which investigates the gravest of offences. Police Stations have been closed and sold – 21 now shut to the public.

The cuts and reductions are all happening while the Essex population is growing.

More cuts will mean fewer front line officers. Where will it all stop? What type of police service do you want? And what will be the impact on the police officers left behind?

#CutsHaveConsequences