Responding to the State of Policing: The Annual Assessment
of Policing in England and Wales 2018 report,
the Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council Martin
Hewitt said:
“This is a broad report that raises many of the significant
issues facing the police service today. It recognises the hard
work and dedication of our officers but also the enormous strain
they are under and the gap between our resources and the mission
we’re asked to fulfil.
“The findings make clear that we can only deliver effective
justice if all of the criminal justice system works together. To
do that, all those with a part to play must be properly
resourced, and as the report points out, that isn’t currently the
case. Sir Tom makes a compelling case for long term sustainable
funding.
“The rise in violent crime has been well documented but we’re
also seeing an increase in the volume of other crimes and
non-crime incidents like mental ill health. That pressure,
coupled with the increase in complex, time and resource consuming
investigations, is having a tangible impact on the wellbeing of
our staff and we’re working hard to support them.
“I recognise the points made about making the police service
work better on cross force threats. We need to build our ability
to operate at a local, regional and national level whilst keeping
accountability with the public we seek to protect.”
