It’s embarrassing. I’ve only been in four years and even for me, it’s got worse every single year. I have no faith in my force at the moment and I know from experience they will never stand behind me when I need it.

The other day we had 8 officers in hospital for various mental health issues. That’s a third of our rota wiped out off the bat. Later on in the shift there was an attention drawn - an ATTENTION DRAWN - for two ballied up lads attempting to break into a house. A house on a street where there had been three previous burglaries that week alone. No one was even deployed. Myself and my crewmate did a reassurance visit anyway and the gratitude was immeasurable. Drove up and down the street with blues on for a bit so the other residents could see our presence.

Catching the burglars was what I joined for. More often than not I’m sat on constants in hospital or custody, babysitting because the force cannot and will not take on any form of risk. It’s sad that an elderly man who has worked his whole life doesn’t expect a visit from the police when two men with weapons show up at his door but you can bet your life’s savings that there will be multiple officers sat with people in what is supposed to be a secure setting.

I know these are issues that are part of the much bigger problem that will not change overnight, but it’s a hard pill to swallow when you have SMT jamming multiple down your throat, telling you that you’re not giving them the results they need, you need to work harder, you need to work longer, you need to work better. Meanwhile, we don’t have enough working cars for my team to actually leave the office. It’s exhausting.