Police officers cannot tackle crime because they are treated as social workers, claims leading officerPublished date: 18 September 2014
Published by: Free Press ReporterPOLICE officers cannot get on with the job of tackling crime because they are being treated as “uniformed social workers”, it is claimed by a leading North Wales officer.
Constable Simon Newport, chair of the North Wales Police Federation Joint Branch Board, says that front-line officers are becoming so frustrated that they are seeking jobs in other departments.
He says it is time for the police both locally and nationally to refuse to take on work which should be the responsibility of other organisations.
Writing in the latest edition of the Federation newsletter “Your Voice” PC Newport says that whereas in the past officers used to turn up for work ready to deal with incidents such as assaults and public order he and most of his colleagues now dreaded being faced with incidents that other agencies had passed on to the police “ to clear their boxes prior to the weekend”.
Dealing with vulnerable people, some from missing from home, concerns for safety and mental health incidents take up so much time that they are now struggling to provide a service when it comes to preventing and investigating crime.
“I am sure I am not the only one to think that when I arrive for work nowadays I feel more like a uniformed social worker than a police officer whose primary role is to prevent crime and disorder,” he says.
PC Newport says that while there are some excellent examples of multi-agency working and information sharing it isn’t working at uniformed response level.
“It seems that many outside agencies pass on their responsibilities to the police service to deal with , especially after normal working hours and weekends,” he writes. “To that end, I feel we are also creating our own problems as we appear to be unable to say no to any organisation or member of the public.
“Many incidents I hear being passed over the airways should never be police responsibility but once we accept the incident the buck truly stops with us should anything go wrong.”
PC Newport says the change is affecting the morale of colleagues and supervisors.
“Many feel that their role is being undermined by the constant drain on resources from non-policing matters, not to mention the seemingly endless amount of reports required to ensure that all aspects of culpability are covered,” he says.
“Police officers join the service to serve and protect their communities, not to wrap them up in cottonwool.”
It is little wonder, he comments, that many officers are seeking other jobs within the Force away from frontline policing.
With so little time left to deal with crime officers are becoming increasingly frustrated that criminals are getting away with their offences.
"Targeting criminals was once bread-and-butter for the response officer,” says PC Newport. “It is now a luxury as there are fewer officers available and their time is taken up with social or welfare incidents.
“I can only see things getting worse as further budget cuts are introduced in the next financial year.
“As an organisation, both locally and nationally, we need to have the courage to stand up to other organisations that have all too easily passed their dirty washing on to us mainly because we are a 24/7 organisation, and say ‘No’.”
http://northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/138354/police-officers-cannot-tackle-crime-because-they-are-treated-as-social-workers-claims-leading-officer.aspx