- UK police under severe strain, facing daily violence
- Lack of government support, declining trust cited
- Commissioner criticizes neglect of police resources
The Met Police Commissioner refers to an “unprecedented strain” on the UK’s police force and claims they are last in line for coordinated government action, even though approximately 18 officers are “punched, bitten, racially abused, and worse” every day.
The thin blue line of policing is being “dangerously stretched” due to a homeless and mental health crisis, racial and religious divisions, and criminals’ exploitation of modern technologies, according to Britain’s top cop.
Sir Mark Rowley, Scotland Yard commissioner, said that these cumulative demands, combined with eroding trust in institutions, had put an unprecedented strain on the police.
In a jab at politicians, he claimed that other public services received significantly more attention than those maintaining law and order.
In the last 15 years, there have been three strategic defense reviews and numerous strategic reviews of health and social care system aspects, but no government-led strategic review of policing or public safety.
Sir Mark, who has been in his position for two years, stated that throughout that time, the sole long-term strategy for policing had been to increase the number of officers despite diminishing budgets.
He stated, “There was no real investment in capacities or technology; in fact, capital appropriations to policing were reduced to nothing. Thus, investing in technology necessitated slashing operating budgets during a period of more significant reduction.
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There is no investment in integrating wildly divergent systems, and investment in training and leadership is declining.
In a speech to the Police Foundation, the commissioner stated that the neglect of policing was most acutely felt by officers on the front lines, who were injured every week.
He stated, “I can tell you that roughly 18 of our cops are punched, bitten, racially harassed daily, and two are critically hurt every week, including two officers who were attacked with a sword in Hainault in April.
“How does society thank them? With insults. I was browsing through comments under postings regarding the Palestinian protests the weekend before last. It happens every time we police large crowds: a riot of protests about unfairness or bigotry. Police are ‘useless,’ ‘prejudiced,’ ‘pathetic,’ and even shameful.’
“I’ll tell you what’s shameful: the mistreatment of our cops and the silence of people in charge. We should be clear: when anyone, whether politicians or the general public, make charges and slurs against the police, they endanger them by emboldening thugs.”
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