Staff Reductions

I hope you are all well.

I have read with great interest the latest Manchester Evening News outlining the amount of sickness being taken by Officers within GMP through Stress and Depression.

According to MEN figures this has seen an increase of 60% over the last 2 years, if true and accurate a figure I would hope you agree is very worrying.

Policing days lost through officers off for the condition have surged by almost 60 per cent in just two years – up from 1,536 in 2010-11 to 3,659 in 2012-13.

Now many of you reading this article will not be the least bit surprised at the increase, due to your own personal experiences on the Front Line.

However I hasten to add the condition is not unique to Officers working out on the streets, many Officers and Police Staff have seen a large increase in their individual workloads, as Units and Teams are decreasing Month on Month with reductions in staffing levels.

Sickness has risen by 25% as Police numbers have fallen by a fifth. We have seen a reduction of Officers from 5,862 in April 2009 to 4,550 in April 2013.

These reductions place massive pressures on the service we provide to the public, You are the officers who are on the Frontline who know first- hand, how a reduction in staff will have a detrimental effect on Crime and how it will affect People and the communities, the same communities we live and work in.

What will be the impact on other public services we supplement and support, i.e. Social Services, Mental Health Team’s, NHS etc.  

 

We currently have approx 260 officers per 100,000 of the population. If we lose 20,000 officers that will take us down to the figures for officer numbers we had in 1970s.

It all boils down to simple mathematics you can’t do more with less something has to give and unfortunately it would appear that the Officers and staff within GMP could well be the ones.

 Take Care Cheers Gary.