“Appreciate the stress and pressure officers are under”

THE Home Secretary has failed to acknowledge the work that frontline officers do, according to the Vice-Chairman of Lancashire Police Federation.

Steve Rothwell said Theresa May in her speech to the PFEW conference did not appreciate the stress and pressure that officers face in carrying out their duties in the light of budget cuts.

He said: “I don’t think our members will be comforted by it. There certainly seemed to be a lack of acknowledgment about the work that the frontline cops do every day, and also a lack of acknowledgment about how under pressure and under stress they are.”

He added: “The speech was slightly better than last year’s but it was pretty much the same message though. We got a warning that her interpretation of reviewing the police service actually means budget reviews and less money, which in turn will obviously lead to less police officers.

“There were some small concessions, and I think the biggest concession was that for the first time she indicated she would work with the Police Federation rather than against it. So that was fairly significant.”

Mr Rothwell said the Government should do its utmost to find the money to ensure there are no further cuts to police budgets.

He added: “I think the main message would be to try and find the money elsewhere, because policing of the country is very, very important.

“The neighbourhoods deserve it, and the communities deserve it, and indeed the police service deserves it.”