- 11 months ago
Sergeant Kelly Palmer, of Lincolnshire Police, has said that she wouldn’t join the force today, and claimed “we barely do police work”.
The Police Federation of England and Wales released a video on her views in May, and it has recently begun circulating again on social media.
The Police Federation of England and Wales released a video on her views in May, and it has recently begun circulating again on social media.
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NewsTranscript
00:00I'm Sergeant Kelly Palmer. I'm in Lancashire Police.
00:05I'm the Lough neighbourhood policing team sergeant.
00:08I've been in the force since July 2006.
00:13I started my life in the police as a PCSO and then joined the police in November 2007.
00:22So I think that makes me nearly 18 years in the police.
00:26I'm from a policing family. So my dad was a police officer.
00:30In the Knox area from 1966 to 1986.
00:36Lived in a police house. So it's sort of within the family environment, basically.
00:42And yes, I joined on the basis of that.
00:44It's almost like watching. I describe it as Titanic.
00:48Like where we are now, it's like basically watching a ship go towards an iceberg and you can't do anything to stop it.
00:54And it's from when I first started to now, it's ridiculously different.
01:00When we first started, I felt that as an officer, we were allowed to make decisions.
01:05And now I feel like we're not allowed to make decisions anymore in that everything's made for us.
01:13Like so criming things, so CMB and things like that.
01:16If we don't crime things in a particular way that they want us to crime things, they will then decide, well, no, it's not that crime.
01:22It's this crime. Despite the fact that we go to that crime and we're the ones on the ground.
01:29I feel that paperwork wise, we're drowning in it and that we're ultimately becoming more of a force that are a desk force rather than being out and about.
01:44From a Lincolnshire point of view, we're really struggling with the monetary money stuff going on at the moment.
01:55We're the least funded force in the country. And it's supposed to be a lottery for me now that we can't give the victims the service that they need to be given.
02:08We're just struggling, really struggling. Morale is very low.
02:12In the past, it was always that you come in and things were difficult and you had loads of work.
02:16But morale was high and you felt supported and you felt like you were doing a good job.
02:23Whereas now, I think the landscape has changed in that I feel like we're hit from every side in that we get constant criticism from the public.
02:34I don't think the government supports us particularly well.
02:36The media continually are after us.
02:38And from within our own ranks, there's just constant bickering.
02:45Everyone's fighting for survival.
02:48Every department's strapped for people.
02:50So everyone's, I call it, has got their elbows out and is fighting for space.
02:57Yeah, I don't think anybody in the police force at the moment,
03:01I think it's been held together almost with like Blu-Tac at the moment.
03:05It's been held together with people's goodwill.
03:06And the people that are in at the moment, everyone wants to do their best, but are completely up against it.
03:15And it's really, really sad to see because it's, like I've had a colleague say to me,
03:20like literally they could cut me through the middle and I'd be yellow and blue all the way through me
03:25because I'm a policing family from a policing background.
03:27And yet it just makes me hang my head.
03:30Literally every single day I come into work, I feel like we're battling against the courts.
03:33I feel like we're battling against civil courts, criminal courts, internally.
03:41And I just don't see it getting any better, if I'm being honest.
03:44I just feel like it's not seen as a career job anymore.
03:47It's seen as a few years.
03:49People, I've never known it where people have gone during their two years and we're losing people during our two years now.
03:58And it's just, yeah, it's really, really difficult.
04:03It's really, really sad as well because it's ultimately like a place that I have loved and enjoyed being in.
04:10I remember my dad locking people up and coming to the police house and everyone in the village that we worked in knew my dad and knew who he was.
04:17And it just doesn't happen anymore.
04:18So, yeah, I think that's a bit of a ranty one.
04:22But, yeah, that's where I'm at.
04:25Demoralise, I think the word is.
04:28Demoralise, lacking morale, lacking motivation.
04:33And I can see that in every single colleague within the force at the moment.
04:37There's not many people who are happy.
04:39Because of how attacked I feel we are at times, because we used to be supported by the public.
04:44The public don't really support us anymore.
04:45Well, they do.
04:45But we don't, like, everything we do wrong is picked up on everything we do right is undervalued.
04:52Moralise has a huge impact on everyone who's fatigued, really fatigued.
04:58Like, when the government are putting stuff out about, oh, we've got this amount of extra cops to do X, Y and Z,
05:04and this amount of extra cops, you've got cops who are doing overtime until they're literally falling to pieces
05:09and exhausted and knackered, and people can't cope.
05:14People just can't cope, basically.
05:19I'm seeing good colleagues who, in the past, would have been really resilient,
05:24literally falling apart because of the pressure that is on them.
05:27And if you're, if you've got a workload of 50 plus and you're going from job to job to job to job to job,
05:37I mean, for example, there was a thing on our website the other night where somebody said they're putting out overtime
05:43and the overtime's being put out for five people and nobody's taking that overtime up
05:49because, basically, they're just sick of it.
05:51So, you're that one cop that's coming on duty who knows that you're that one cop there
05:56that's literally going to get hit with everything, including the kitchen sink.
05:59How do you feel before you walk through the door?
06:01You're demoralising even before you hit the ground.
06:03There was people the other day who were saying, I came in, I've done overtime,
06:09I was asked to do a four till four, and I did that four till four.
06:13They asked me to stay until seven and I just couldn't because I was too tired
06:15and I felt utterly, I felt awful because I had to leave.
06:21I couldn't physically do any more.
06:23You've got people saying they're scared, they feel sick coming to work
06:26because they're literally walking in to workload, like job, job, job, job, job.
06:33Not even time for a toilet break, not even time to shove a sandwich down your mouth.
06:38And it's just, it can't continue, people are breaking and it's like,
06:42it just can't continue basically. It's just, yeah, it's from, from my point of view,
06:49I have, I mean, I know obviously we have old sweats and you go,
06:53oh, it didn't used to be like this in my day and blah, blah, blah.
06:55But I have never known morale be so low.
06:58Like the force have done a cultural stop take recently
07:00and the figures that have come back are ridiculous.
07:05Like six, like sort of 650 people responded,
07:09which is only like a third of the workforce.
07:10But like people put in negatives for everything,
07:14put in negatives with regards to how you feel valued by the force,
07:17how you feel the public view you.
07:20So that should show really what's going to happen.
07:23And also, ultimately, if you come in and you're demoralised and knackered
07:26and you don't eat and you don't drink and you don't have a pee
07:29and you're going to try and be like,
07:32go and deal with really high levels, stressful,
07:35it's like fatal road traffic accidents, burglaries,
07:38people falling out of each other, domestics, Irish domestics,
07:42you need to be like, you need to be rested and refreshed
07:46in order to be able to attack that from an appropriate angle.
07:49And we're just not, basically.
07:51Like we're just people,
07:52I've never known it where people aren't interested in overtime
07:55and no one is interested in overtime at the moment.
07:57They're literally like, ah, I can't be bothered.
07:59Because if I'm going to be the only staff member who's going to be on duty,
08:01then why would I then want to take one of those positions?
08:06So there's still going to be two of us.
08:07There should be seven of us, but there's two of us.
08:08So you know you're going to walk into a situation which is just going to be,
08:12well, quite frankly, dangerous.
08:15And I feel like something major is going to happen
08:19before anybody takes note of basically what's happening within the force.
08:24So yeah, morale's key and management is key.
08:28And at the moment, it's rock bottom and no one seems to care, basically.
08:31So bottom level, there's absolutely no way I would join a force now
08:35for 27 grand and do what we're doing.
08:37Not a chance.
08:38If I could do my time, if I was starting now, I wouldn't join, basically.
08:42Because what they're being asked to do now,
08:44I mean, when you go to domestic,
08:46there's like six pieces of paperwork in a domestic.
08:48And if you get one tiny thing wrong in that,
08:51then you're holding in front of a serious case review.
08:54Like for a dash performer that you did three years ago
08:59and you're in front of a load of people having to justify it.
09:02I call it the nine o'clock shudder.
09:04So you should have done this and you should have done that.
09:06So a decision that you make at midnight
09:08when you've been on duty for 10 hours
09:11and you've not had a pee and a poo
09:13and you've not had a lot of eating or whatever
09:15and you've not had two minutes to spare
09:17is going to be looked at and pulled apart
09:19by everyone including the kitchen sink,
09:21including the people from within our own camp
09:23for years to come.
09:25And that's ridiculous.
09:26Like, I mean, for newbies,
09:29it's a massive issue in that they can't survive, basically.
09:34As I said earlier, people don't want overtime
09:37because they just don't,
09:39they'd rather bid, they'd rather have less money.
09:40And I can remember a time when I first started,
09:43people were like,
09:44oh yeah, I'll have some overtime,
09:45I'll have a bit more of that.
09:46Yeah, I'll come in.
09:47I mean, obviously the changes in the overtime structure,
09:49so from double time, time and a half,
09:51to like now time and a third,
09:53it's like, it's not worth getting out of bed for, basically.
09:56Yeah, I'm going to come in and pick another 10 on my workload up,
09:59have a load of shiz going on,
10:01and I'm going to get a load of abuse from people,
10:03possibly a few complaints and probably an injury.
10:06Yeah, you're not going to do it.
10:07So I think it's an aspect of it in the lower end of the chain.
10:11But for upper end of the chain,
10:13I think it's more the pension side of it
10:15and the working conditions.
10:19So I have got two children who are on the autism spectrum.
10:26I've got one who is nearly 14 in June,
10:30and I've got one who's five.
10:32My five-year-old is class of profound needs.
10:36So I've,
10:37so basically I'm a care and a part-time worker,
10:41so I work set shift pattern,
10:43which to be fair to the force has,
10:46they've done and helped me with that.
10:50The only negative I would say is,
10:51is that it doesn't take it taken into account
10:55that I work a part-time shift pattern.
10:57I basically have to fit my full-time job
11:00into 30 hours a week,
11:01which at times is virtually impossible.
11:04And I almost have to make it work.
11:06So for part-time workers,
11:09like the force really struggles with like,
11:12well,
11:13as a whole,
11:14police as a whole,
11:15you're seen almost as an irritant,
11:18you're seen as an issue.
11:19Whereas I would pretty much say that,
11:22but I would say 90% of part-time workers
11:24work their asses off.
11:27But it's seen as an issue within like,
11:31I would say the industry,
11:32not within the forces in general.
11:34But yeah,
11:35for me,
11:36it is really difficult at times
11:37because it means that like,
11:39I mean,
11:40I do meetings on my days off
11:41when I'm at home.
11:44So like if my team are,
11:46I do this on an ad hoc basis
11:47for the force to make it work,
11:48basically,
11:49because I've been told by management,
11:51basically,
11:51if it doesn't work,
11:52then we could take that off you at any time.
11:53Cause obviously flexible work
11:54looks at every year.
11:56So I almost feel under a bit of pressure
11:58to make it work.
11:59And if it doesn't work,
12:00then I feel like I'm letting the team down
12:02and letting the force down,
12:02et cetera.
12:03So,
12:04I mean,
12:05yeah,
12:06I mean,
12:06my force links has come a long way
12:08with regards to carers
12:09and with regards to
12:10diversity within the force and stuff,
12:14because we were archaic.
12:15And in the past two years,
12:17we've come around.
12:18But yeah,
12:18it is problematic
12:20how we fit in
12:23and how we make it work,
12:24basically.
12:26So we weren't represented at all.
12:27So basically myself
12:28and another,
12:29another sergeant
12:29who were,
12:31who's now retired,
12:34basically were put together
12:37by one of the,
12:38he was a superintendent then.
12:40And we basically
12:42created the carers network
12:44in force,
12:46which I now,
12:47to be honest,
12:48I now don't,
12:48I am involved in,
12:49but I don't run it.
12:50And the reason why I don't run it,
12:52which is ironic,
12:53is the fact that
12:54because I'm part-time
12:55and I'm not given the hours
12:57to be able,
12:58the hours in the day
12:58to be able to put time into that,
13:00I've had to basically
13:01withdraw to one side
13:02because my work
13:05as an MPT sergeant
13:06doesn't go anywhere
13:07and there's no one
13:07that fills that gap.
13:09So ultimately,
13:09if I spend all my time
13:10doing the carer stuff,
13:11I don't have enough time
13:12to do my core job.
13:13And then I'll be asked,
13:15well,
13:15why aren't you doing
13:15your core job?
13:16So the ironic thing is
13:17that I've set this up,
13:19this network up
13:20with another,
13:20with another sergeant
13:21for a while,
13:22for a good year and a bit,
13:23we ran it.
13:24He then left and said,
13:25Kelly, will you be chair?
13:26And I said,
13:26I can't.
13:27I said,
13:28I can't do it.
13:28I said,
13:29I can't make it work.
13:29I said,
13:30if I become chair,
13:31then I take on the duties
13:33of being a chair
13:33and ultimately that involves,
13:37to do it justice
13:38needs a lot of work.
13:39So I've had to go to one side
13:41and say,
13:41actually,
13:41I can't do it
13:42because my core work
13:43takes over
13:44because there is no,
13:45because of the lack of staff
13:46within the force,
13:47there is no,
13:48nobody
13:49that can basically
13:50fill the gaps
13:51that I leave.
13:52So yeah,
13:53I've had to,
13:53yeah,
13:53it was set up
13:55because we weren't represented.
13:57There was things
13:58happening within the force
14:00that basically
14:00weren't taken into account,
14:02obviously,
14:03the legislation around carers,
14:05the legislation
14:07around part-time working,
14:09like people being dealt
14:10with really poorly
14:10when they're asking
14:11for flexible workings.
14:12I just didn't like it
14:13what was happening,
14:14so I went,
14:14we need to do something
14:15about it.
14:15So yeah,
14:16I set it up,
14:17but I'm now only involved
14:18in that I attend the meeting
14:19and I don't share anything,
14:21which is,
14:21again,
14:22disappointing,
14:23to be honest.
14:24It consumes you.
14:25It literally consumes you.
14:26The amount of times
14:27my wife said to me,
14:28obviously don't discuss,
14:29like,
14:31per se work with him,
14:32but he's like,
14:32Kelly,
14:33you need to calm down,
14:34you need to stop worrying
14:35about it.
14:36You end up thinking,
14:38I end up thinking
14:39every single day
14:40I'm going to get sacked
14:41for something
14:41because I'm thinking,
14:43am I covering off enough?
14:44Have I risk assessed enough?
14:45Have I done this?
14:47Obviously,
14:47I deal with quite a few
14:48high-risk ASB incidents.
14:49I was previously
14:50a domestic abuse officer
14:51before I was a sergeant,
14:53so the amount of high-risk
14:54that I dealt with with that,
14:55and I did that
14:56as a part-time worker,
14:57but I was obviously
14:58issued high-risk jobs,
15:00which I had to complete
15:02in five hours,
15:02which is difficult.
15:05Every day,
15:05I come in
15:06and I'm like,
15:07I do think,
15:09when am I going to be?
15:11When am I going to be
15:12served papers?
15:13When am I?
15:13And I don't particularly
15:14do anything particularly wrong,
15:16but there's a fear there.
15:18Like,
15:19the process,
15:20the paperwork process now,
15:22I went out to a domestic
15:23a few weeks back
15:24because there was nobody else to go,
15:25and I honestly,
15:27the paperwork process
15:27absolutely blew my mind.
15:29The referrals that have to be put in,
15:31like you do in the crime report,
15:34then you do in a PPM for the,
15:36and obviously,
15:36if they've been searched
15:37because there was a lad involved
15:38and they thought
15:39they had a weapon on him,
15:40so then you have to put a PPM
15:41and then you have to
15:41refer to social services.
15:43Then you have to do
15:43all the process of referring them
15:44to all the domestic abuse charities
15:46and there's all these different,
15:48like Holly Garden,
15:49all these different things
15:50you have to refer to
15:50and you have to justify it all.
15:52Like,
15:53everything is bum covering now.
15:55We're not policing anymore.
15:56We're arse covering constantly.
15:58And
15:59it just means
16:00that we don't do police work.
16:01All we do
16:02is basically
16:02we go to a job,
16:05we spend an hour
16:05doing paperwork afterwards,
16:07and then we go to the next job
16:08and we spend another time.
16:09We don't police.
16:10We literally deal with everything else
16:11but policing.
16:12We're social workers.
16:14We're
16:14like counsellors.
16:16We're fire.
16:17We're
16:18like,
16:18we're everything.
16:19We're mental health workers.
16:21Like,
16:21we do right person,
16:23right care in our force
16:24whereby we push back onto
16:27like other agencies.
16:28However,
16:29we're still spending
16:30hours and hours
16:31and hours in A&E
16:32with people.
16:33So I spent,
16:34when I was
16:35the community beat manager
16:36at Horncastle,
16:38I spent,
16:39there was a day
16:40when I was in A&E
16:42with a lady
16:43who threw herself
16:44into a river
16:44and I spent 10 hours
16:46with her
16:46and on that day
16:47there was four sets
16:48of police officers
16:49all sat in A&E
16:51with,
16:52now that's just,
16:54it's just ridiculous.
16:56I think people
16:57are getting
16:58fatigued,
17:00like emotional fatigued
17:01with regards to stuff
17:02and they're getting
17:03basically
17:05because of the amount
17:06of stress
17:08we're under
17:09and the amount
17:09of,
17:11what's the word,
17:12the amount of,
17:13I mean,
17:14we deal with
17:15the most traumatic
17:15incidents constantly
17:16and having that
17:19constantly in your life,
17:20it blatantly
17:21has mental health
17:23connotations
17:23on everyone.
17:24I'm seeing officers
17:25now
17:26and sergeants
17:26now
17:27who I would never
17:27have thought
17:28would be really struggling
17:30and I'm starting
17:31to see them struggle.
17:33I just don't know
17:34what the answer,
17:35I mean,
17:36the numbers situation
17:37is one of the answers
17:38in that we need numbers.
17:40Ultimately,
17:41the 14 years
17:41that the government
17:42like wiped out
17:43half the officers
17:44has just
17:45been horrendous.
17:46So,
17:46we're living on our nerves
17:47constantly.
17:48Like,
17:49last year,
17:502023,
17:52I was,
17:52basically,
17:53I was told,
17:54right,
17:55we need to get rid of,
17:56we need to go from
17:5699 PCSOs
17:57to 50.
17:59You're in charge
18:00of making people
18:01redundant.
18:02And I'm like,
18:03what?
18:04Like,
18:05why is that not
18:05a HR process?
18:07So,
18:08we had to,
18:09as sergeants,
18:09at that point in time,
18:11do justifications
18:13on why we should
18:14keep certain officers
18:14and why we should
18:15get rid of,
18:15literally,
18:16all the MPT sergeants
18:18whom I spoke to
18:18in my own before,
18:19we all lost sleep.
18:21Because we're having
18:21to make people
18:22redundant,
18:23like people
18:24who've got mortgages,
18:25who've got families,
18:26and we're having to
18:26work out the wheat
18:27from the chaff
18:28as to who we want
18:29to make redundant.
18:29I made somebody
18:30redundant who
18:31would literally
18:31come into the force
18:32in October
18:35of 2022
18:37as a PCSO,
18:39and they were told
18:40in January
18:40they had to be made,
18:41they were going to be
18:42made redundant,
18:43so within four months.
18:44And I had to then
18:46deliver the message
18:46in May of that year,
18:47yeah,
18:48your job's gone.
18:50Police job,
18:51then you're gone,
18:51basically.
18:52And that literally,
18:54like,
18:55literally,
18:56had a massive impact
18:57on me because
18:57it's like,
18:58well,
18:58I never thought
18:58I'd have to come
18:59in and make
18:59people redundant.
19:00Then we're living
19:01in fear.
19:02Literally,
19:02we're living in fear
19:03of we'll do something
19:05a teeny tiny bit wrong.
19:07We can't be robust.
19:08I've seen so much
19:09body-worn footage
19:10with officers
19:11where when I first started,
19:12you could be robust
19:13with people,
19:14and I'm still robust
19:15because that's me,
19:15I'm not changing
19:16how I am,
19:16basically,
19:17where officers
19:19are literally
19:19frightened
19:20of putting hands-on,
19:23like,
19:24saying anything to them
19:25because they're scared
19:25of complaints
19:26and scared of getting
19:27to their papers.
19:27And we're living
19:28under that constantly.
19:29Officers are literally,
19:30I mean,
19:30part of the numbers
19:31situation where
19:32we've,
19:34like,
19:34the other day
19:35there was a thing
19:36on our Facebook page
19:38where basically
19:38people are like,
19:40I'm going to jobs
19:41and I know my backup's
19:4230 minutes away.
19:43So we're having to use
19:45different tactics
19:46that we would usually use
19:47because we know
19:48we can't get into a scrap
19:49with this person
19:50because if we're getting
19:50to scrap with this person
19:51then,
19:53so we're getting
19:53complete disrespect
19:54from public
19:55because they know
19:56full well they can cause
19:57whatever they want,
19:57basically,
19:58and we can't do
19:58a thing about it.
20:00Officers,
20:00literally,
20:01the body one
20:01that I've seen
20:02recently,
20:03because obviously
20:03I have to look
20:04at some incidents
20:04within my job role,
20:06I've never seen
20:07anything like it.
20:08Literally,
20:09officers are
20:09absolutely petrified
20:11of putting hands-on
20:12now,
20:13and they're petrified
20:14of what they say
20:14to people,
20:16and because of that,
20:17criminals are aware,
20:18nominals are aware
20:18of that,
20:19and they're taking
20:19the mick out of us
20:20basically,
20:21because people are
20:22absolutely petrified
20:23of what's going to
20:25happen and also
20:25getting injured
20:26because we feel
20:29completely not
20:30supported as well.
20:32Like,
20:32if we do get
20:33injured,
20:33it's like,
20:34like a lot of the
20:35police cases,
20:35a lot of the cases
20:36that go through the
20:36courts at the moment,
20:37and the media,
20:38we see them and
20:39it's like,
20:39oh,
20:39so-and-so and so-and-so
20:40has assaulted somebody,
20:42but I was talking
20:42to my officer today
20:43about one,
20:44oh,
20:44some lad went
20:45to court,
20:46he's severely
20:47injured two officers,
20:48but he got suspended.
20:49So we're like,
20:50so the judiciary
20:51system is completely,
20:52so there is an attitude
20:53of what's the point?
20:55Ultimately,
20:56why am,
20:56I mean,
20:56I'm going to be honest
20:57from my point of view,
20:58I used to carry a taser,
20:59I don't carry a taser
20:59anymore,
21:00because I'm like,
21:01I'm not carrying a taser,
21:03because ultimately,
21:04the amount of focus
21:05that's on it,
21:06and it's just not worth it,
21:09and also,
21:09I'm not blue light trained,
21:11because I went,
21:12nope,
21:12keep me as a standard driver,
21:13I'll be a standard driver,
21:15not interested in being
21:15blue light trained,
21:16because again,
21:17the scrutiny that's on officers
21:18with regards to blue lights,
21:20so yeah,
21:22people aren't doing,
21:22people are backing off,
21:24and not doing as much,
21:25because they're petrified
21:25of what's going to happen
21:26if they do put hands on,
21:27and they're petrified
21:28of getting injured,
21:29because ultimately,
21:29if they get injured
21:30and their career's over,
21:31that's on them,
21:32and the court system
21:32won't give them a,
21:33the court system
21:35won't give them
21:35a decent sentence anyway,
21:38so I'm good,
21:39I'm going to be honest,
21:39there's a huge amount
21:40of officers now
21:41that we have restricted
21:42within the force,
21:43due to injury on duty,
21:45I mean,
21:45why would you come
21:46and be a cop,
21:48like,
21:48when you can go
21:50and work in a,
21:51like,
21:52I mean,
21:52my husband works
21:53for the Welsh Government,
21:54and earns the same amount
21:55as me,
21:56and he's got far less
21:56risks than I have,
21:58and it's like,
21:58so why would you,
22:00why would you bother,
22:01far less scrutiny,
22:02better working environment,
22:04I mean,
22:04agile working is something
22:05that police really need
22:05to look into,
22:06why would you do it,
22:09like,
22:10if you're a bin man,
22:10like,
22:11why,
22:11why would you come in,
22:13like I said,
22:14if I was a new cop now,
22:14I wouldn't do it,
22:16I literally would be like,
22:17nope,
22:17not going to bother,
22:20I'm not going to live
22:20on the bread line,
22:21get seven balls kicked out of me,
22:23get no support from,
22:24within my ranks,
22:25outside my ranks,
22:26from the public,
22:27from,
22:28I mean,
22:29the IOPC,
22:30another matter,
22:31from the IOPC,
22:33from,
22:33like,
22:34PSD,
22:34I mean,
22:35PSD cases,
22:36months,
22:37months and months and months,
22:38people,
22:39cops are,
22:40like,
22:41two years,
22:41like,
22:42some cases taking two years
22:43to even get to,
22:45the,
22:45obviously,
22:48the case conference,
22:49you think,
22:49at the end,
22:50if I,
22:51there's no way I'd join,
22:52I would just be like,
22:53nah,
22:53I'll go and,
22:54I'll go and work for a council,
22:55or I'll go and work,
22:56I'll go and be a train driver,
22:57and then 60k,
22:58like,
22:58why would you put yourself on the street,
23:01like,
23:01work nights,
23:02work shifts,
23:03I can be a train driver,
23:04I can do shifts during the day,
23:05and then 60k,
23:06why would I bother,
23:07you come in,
23:08you do your job,
23:09you're knackered,
23:10you go home,
23:12you're worried,
23:13you come back in again,
23:14you work your ass off,
23:15you go home,
23:16you're knackered,
23:17and it's like,
23:17and it's a constant cycle of that,
23:19you can't get leave,
23:21so,
23:21not particularly me,
23:22but,
23:22I know for,
23:23you can't get leave,
23:25because there's no officers to cover it,
23:27so,
23:27you see,
23:27you can't get leave time,
23:28when you are on duty,
23:29the amount of times you're extended is unreal,
23:32and you're doing extra stuff,
23:33when you do come in,
23:34there's no officers,
23:35so,
23:35even like,
23:36from an MPT point of view,
23:37like,
23:37if I do a drugs warrant,
23:39I know there's no CID there,
23:41no CID there to pick the crap up,
23:43so,
23:44I've had like,
23:4516 hour days,
23:46doing drugs,
23:47when it's not my job,
23:47it's not,
23:48ultimately,
23:49I'm part of that system,
23:50but it's not ultimately my job,
23:51to completely do a drug warrant,
23:52from start to finish,
23:54um,
23:55yeah,
23:56it's just,
23:57people are just,
23:58I don't,
23:58I don't know why now,
24:01people would join,
24:02because,
24:04like,
24:05you,
24:05I mean,
24:06our system for response here,
24:07is four on,
24:07four off,
24:08and they do four 12 hour shifts,
24:10but it's never a 12 hour shift,
24:11you sit in with 14,
24:1215 hours,
24:13your first rest day,
24:14is completely written off,
24:15because you're coming off nights,
24:16and you're nacked,
24:17your next day,
24:18you feel like you've been,
24:18you feel like you've gone out,
24:19and had 10 pints,
24:20but you've not had 10 pints,
24:22um,
24:22and then the next,
24:23and then you sort of get back to normal,
24:24on the third day,
24:25and then your fourth day,
24:25and you're back,
24:26so it's like,
24:27there is no,
24:27and,
24:28we're not being given leave,
24:29but there's people who've carried over,
24:3050 hours worth of,
24:32annual leave,
24:32who are being told basically,
24:33yeah,
24:34I haven't got,
24:34and you can't take it,
24:35you come in,
24:36you don't have a,
24:37you've got no time for a wee,
24:39you've got no time to eat,
24:40you've got no time to,
24:41decompress from big jobs,
24:44you go home,
24:45you sit and think about those jobs,
24:46because anybody that says it doesn't,
24:47is lighting,
24:48and then,
24:49you're worrying about them,
24:49I go home and worry about jobs,
24:50and I think,
24:51God,
24:51why didn't I make sure that was,
24:53and the amount of times I've come home,
24:54I'm going,
24:54oh I just need to send an email,
24:55because,
24:56I've got a job,
24:57and I need to make sure that that's covered,
24:58and da da da,
24:59um,
25:00so you think about it all the time,
25:02so yeah,
25:02there isn't,
25:03there is no work life balance,
25:04it's just the job,
25:05the amount of cops,
25:06that just get completely consumed,
25:08is unreal,
25:09I mean,
25:10I'm going to be honest,
25:10when we got things like,
25:12so I'm,
25:12I'm in the area,
25:13they've got SPP,
25:14so when we got things like SPP,
25:16I'm going to be honest,
25:18sickness rates were way lower,
25:20than they are now,
25:21because it was a little bit of incentive,
25:23when you felt a bit poo,
25:24oh I'll come in,
25:25because I might get my SPP,
25:27at the end of the year,
25:27so things like SPP,
25:29the things like the rent allowance,
25:30and things like that,
25:31like the,
25:32all the stuff that came with,
25:33when I became a cop,
25:3518 years ago,
25:36needs to be brought,
25:37needs to be brought back in,
25:38because,
25:39there's no incentive there,
25:41there's nothing,
25:41I mean,
25:42like I spoke earlier,
25:43about the overtime rates,
25:44time and the third,
25:46like,
25:46no,
25:47a bit,
25:48there needs to be a rise,
25:48in the basic level of salary,
25:50for a start,
25:51the basic level needs to rise,
25:52because it's just ridiculous,
25:53we need,
25:56we just need,
25:57we need more of us,
25:58we need more,
25:59we need to go,
26:00we need to,
26:01I mean,
26:01it's all like them saying,
26:02oh we're back to levels in 2010,
26:04brilliant,
26:04we've lost loads and loads of people,
26:06who have had loads and loads of skill,
26:08so now we're basically rebuilding,
26:10because obviously,
26:11we're bringing people in who,
26:12yeah,
26:13decent people,
26:14but haven't got the skill set,
26:16as I said,
26:16the pension situation,
26:18absolutely diabolical,
26:20that has made,
26:21a lot of people go earlier,
26:23because basically,
26:25they've gone,
26:25oh I'm not going to say anything,
26:27people who would have stayed,
26:28have gone,
26:29I'm scared,
26:30that they're going to change the pension again,
26:31so I'm going to go at 55,
26:33I'm going to go at 60,
26:34people that would have stayed,
26:36longer,
26:37are going,
26:37no I'm out,
26:38I'm not interested anymore,
26:40so yeah,
26:42I mean the funding formula is changing,
26:44it's absolutely,
26:44for my thoughts particularly,
26:47the funding formula,
26:48doesn't make any sense,
26:49like we boarded with Grimsby,
26:51and Grimsby,
26:53so this is an example,
26:54so in Lincolnshire,
26:57there are 65 or 66,
27:01community beat managers,
27:02for the whole of Lincolnshire,
27:04there are 38 PCSOs,
27:06for the whole of Lincolnshire,
27:07and Lincolnshire is a big county,
27:09in Grimsby,
27:11there is 68 PCSOs,
27:13and 68 CBMs,
27:15for just the Grimsby areas,
27:17so it's split in two,
27:19so there's a Grimsby area,
27:19and the South Bank,
27:20and the North Bank,
27:21there's a Grimsby area,
27:22so they've got 130 odd officers,
27:25for one particular area,
27:27and we've got not even that,
27:28for the whole county,
27:29that's insane,
27:31basically,
27:32and it's like,
27:33I had an officer from Grimsby,
27:34come to a,
27:36thing that we,
27:38we did like a crime prevention thing,
27:40and they were like,
27:40well what are you going to do,
27:41I went,
27:42well I'm doing what I can,
27:43I've got,
27:43for my area,
27:45which is hundreds of square miles,
27:46I've got two,
27:47two community beat managers,
27:47and one PCSO,
27:49so,
27:50with that,
27:51I'm scratching the surface,
27:51of what I can do,
27:53so the funding formula,
27:54is drastically changing,
27:55it's absolutely ridiculous,
27:56I mean,
27:57how many years are we in,
27:58now I'm 18 years in,
28:00and we've been talking about,
28:00this funding formula,
28:01for 18 years,
28:02and still nothing changes,
28:04but it suits the government,
28:05because basically,
28:06it means,
28:07they don't have to look,
28:08they don't have to deal with it,
28:09and it probably means less money,
28:11so,
28:11they don't want to do,
28:12and they don't want to do that,
28:14basically,
28:15so yeah,
28:15don't join,
28:16really disheartens me,
28:18to say that,
28:18because ultimately,
28:19I'm from a policing family,
28:21but I would,
28:21if my son turned around to me,
28:23and said,
28:24well I don't mean they ever would,
28:25but if my child said to me,
28:26I want to join,
28:27I would do everything,
28:28in my power to dissuade them,
28:29because it's just not worth it,
28:31you can earn more,
28:32in the public sector,
28:33in the,
28:33sorry,
28:34in the private sector,
28:35you've got less stress,
28:36better work-life balance,
28:38you're not scrutinised as much,
28:40like,
28:41I mean,
28:41the judiciary system,
28:42needs a complete overhaul,
28:43at the moment,
28:44because it's completely,
28:44working against us,
28:46you just feel attacked,
28:47from every angle,
28:48at the moment,
28:49and it's like,
28:49I would say,
28:50I would honestly say,
28:51don't join,
28:52it's not,
28:53it isn't worth it,
28:54go and work,
28:54go and find a private sector job,
28:56go and be a train driver,
28:57or work in a council,
28:58or do something else,
29:01because,
29:02the risks outweigh,
29:03the positives now,
29:04and it's like,
29:06I'm going to be honest,
29:07the reason,
29:07I'm still in,
29:08because ultimately,
29:09there's still a bit of me,
29:10that wants to help people,
29:11but even,
29:12I sat the other day,
29:13and said to my other half,
29:15I don't,
29:16I said to him,
29:16I said,
29:17I don't know,
29:18how this is going to get any better,
29:20and it's like,
29:20and he turned around to me,
29:21and said,
29:22I think you should go at 55,
29:25because,
29:26I think you need to do something,
29:27that's positive,
29:28and everything that you do,
29:29in your work is negative,
29:30and I couldn't disagree with him,
29:32because he's like,
29:33he said,
29:34you're so,
29:35like,
29:36you're so like,
29:38demoralised with it,
29:39and it's like,
29:40every day,
29:40Good Morning Britain,
29:42comes on every day,
29:43and every day,
29:43they're having a pop,
29:44or 99% of the time,
29:45like four days out of five,
29:46in a week,
29:47there's something,
29:48about police,
29:49and how police are doing this wrong,
29:51and that wrong,
29:51and the other,
29:52and the amount of times,
29:53I shout at the TV,
29:54and my boss is like,
29:55they can't hear you Kelly,
29:56I'm like,
29:57yeah but they don't understand,
29:58it's like they're talking,
29:59from a point of view,
30:00where they don't understand basically,
30:03so yeah,
30:04I would say no,
30:04and that's really sad.
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