GMP Federation chair hits out at ‘decades of cuts’

Chair of Greater Manchester Police Federation Lee Broadbent has hit out at “decades of cuts” which have “removed the visible and physical deterrent of policing” and have left officers powerless to stamp out problems “at source”. Taking a broad look at law and order, Mr Broadbent believes the police have become a purely “reactive” force.

Tweeting today, he said: “We used to have a presence on estates and knew our problem kids. We used to have a presence on our town centres and knew our fighting drunks.

“We used to have a presence at football fixtures and knew our problem ‘fans’. We used to stamp it out at source.

“Decades of cuts have removed the visible and physical deterrent of policing from communities which has resulted in increased ASB (anti-social behaviour) and criminality. We’re now a reactive service and the first time some come face to face with the consequence of poor behaviour is when things go south.

“Because we have less numbers we generally have to go in harder to ensure our presence is felt, minimise assaults/injuries on us and quickly restore order. The offset of that is that it can look and feel ugly and will attract complaints of excessive force etc.

“Cops welcome fair/balanced scrutiny. It’s needed now more than at any time in our history.

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“There is no escaping the fact that a fraction of our own have and will continue to **** it up for the rest of us. Yet I feel the ‘balance’ pendulum has swung too far on this and we’re now over-scrutinised by a bias regulatory body which frequently sides itself with wrong doers seeking to undermine legitimate policing practice so as to create a vacuum some can exploit and work in.”

The chief added: “Our numbers have been cut. Our effectiveness has been removed, our authority has been eroded.

“We’re now bearing witness to what a decade of underfunding, undermining and delegitimising policing looks like. It will take an equal amount of time and reinvestment to build back (if that’s culturally possible or even what’s wanted).

“The longer society tries to figure out what it wants of its police officers, the longer society will suffer. Policing is not something you can put on the back burner or continually kick into the long grass.”

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