Morale among Nottinghamshire police officers is at rock bottom and could even be approaching ‘crisis point’, the Police Federation is warning.
Phil Matthews, chair of the group’s local branch, made the comments after a survey of officers in Scotland sparked a debate over job satisfaction in modern UK policing.
The study showed only around 15 per cent of officers north of the border feel valued and recognised for the work they do.
The federation represents rank and file officers and is the police equivalent of a union.
Mr Matthews said: “I’d say morale is pretty much at rock bottom, that I’ve ever known it, and people aren’t seeing it (policing) as a career any more.”
He added: “It’s escalating and we’ve got to do something to address that now or it really will reach a crisis point.
Nottinghamshire Police have cut more than 40 million from their budget in the last three years, with more reductions still to come.
So far, the force has closed police stations, merged some units, cut support staff, and announced it will slash the number of PCSOs.
Mr Matthews added: “Officers are having to work harder than ever before and under extreme pressure, thanks to those huge budget cuts.”
Video: People in St Ann’s give their views on how Notts Police are doing
Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Paddy Tipping told Notts TV News he is concerned how hard police officers are having to work because of the cuts.
He added he believed negative media coverage was partly to blame for morale, and feels officers should be thanked more often for the work they do.
More than 12,000 staff took part in the Scottish survey, which was done by the Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority.
Mr Matthews said: “I think if you ran a similar survey in England and Wales you would get a similar result, I can’t see the situation getting better any time soon.”
He added: “I’m not surprised, it goes fairly hand in hand with a satisfaction survey that the Police Federation of England and Wales did which basically said 60 per cent or 70 per cent were thinking of leaving the force in England and Wales.”
