In the aftermath of the horrific atrocity in Manchester last week, Theresa May raised the threat level from international terrorism to critical for the first time in almost 10 years. An hour later, I got a phone call from my supervisor.
I was told I’d be working a 12-hour shift pattern until further notice (we normally do a 9-hour shift) because another attack was expected imminently. I am a frontline police officer working in one of the UK’s major cities and I’m no stranger to working with a lack of resources, but the next five days were an experience I’ll never forget.
The last time the nation faced a critical threat from international terrorism was inJune 2007, following an attempted car bombing at Glasgow Airport.
A lot has happened to the police force since then. There are more than 35,000 fewer frontline police officers than there were in 2007. Home Office statistics show that there were 141,892 frontline police officers across England and Wales in 2007. In 2016 there were only 106,411 - that’s a 24.9% reduction in nine years.
When we came into work the day after the Manchester attack, we were told that crime investigation was to be “put on the back-burner” so that we could focus on reassuring the public by being visible on the streets instead. We were stretched thin because lots of my colleagues were redeployed to Manchester to provide support to the local officers.
I spent the next three days walking around the local community, along with my entire shift, while listening to around eight remaining police officers respond to 999 calls in an area with a population of more than 100,000. This wasn’t effective policing.
I was ordered to walk empty streets and to patrol local parks whilst I listened to other police officers shouting for urgent assistance over the radio. All the while, the occasional member of the public would walk past me and kindly say “It’s lovely to see a bobby on the beat again.”
Meanwhile, 3,000 soldiers replaced the armed police officers on duty guarding key sites. This was not some innovative idea from our government – it was a necessity to free up police officers in short supply.
When Theresa May was Home Secretary she was warned about the terrible impact further cuts to the police service would have. Inspector Damian O’Reilly, representing the Police Federation, warned more cuts would force the police service to adopt a “paramilitary” style of policing. What could be more paramilitary then seeing soldiers armed with semi-automatic rifles and clothed in camouflaged uniforms protecting Westminster and the Houses of Parliament?
Like the terror threat in 2007, the critical status lasted five days before being downgraded to severe. For those five days I worked 12-hour shifts doing community policing rather than solving crimes. It is heartbreaking to see the demise of community policing – I loved walking my patch and speaking to local residents – but I understand the necessity for it, and so do my fellow officers. There simply aren’t enough of us around anymore.
Seeing the return of community policing for that small window of time might have left you feeling reassured and safe. But at what cost? The police service has had to pay every frontline officer overtime to cover the 12-hour shift pattern. They have had to bring in soldiers onto our streets to perform routine police duties and Greater Manchester Police will have had to pay heavily for officers to support them from other police forces. Is this really the most effective way to police our country?
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