INCREASING strains such as taking people to hospital when ambulances are not available and struggling to pay for home essentials are pushing an already stretched police force to "breaking point", it has been said.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) Pay and Morale Survey for 2022 has revealed the severity of the crisis faced by rank-and-file officers and highlighted a sense of deepening frustration for the Government for continuously failing to assist with reasonable pay and conditions.

Underfunded forces and overworked and underpaid police officers are leading the profession to a level of crisis not seen before, the North Wales Police Federation has said.

In North Wales at least 98 per cent per cent of police officers reported facing a substantial increased cost of living between August and September 2022 with the price of fuel being the most common reason.

Furthermore, 20 per cent of police officers reported ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ having enough money to cover all their essentials.

The compelling findings have also illustrated a growing crisis in the wellbeing and mental health of police officers, with 86 per cent indicating they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing over the last 12 months. 

And 94 per cent stated they are not paid fairly for the stresses and strains of their job.

Mark Jones, General Secretary of North Wales Police Federation said: “The Pay and Morale survey is a real insight to how police officers are feeling on a range of issues.

“Police officers are realistic professionals who fully understand the public purse is not a bottomless pit. 

"But the sheer unfairness of once again being snubbed for a meaningful pay rise, added to rising inflation, will not be forgotten by our members.

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“There is quite evidently a growing crisis in the wellbeing and mental health of those who head towards danger and a defined link between these issues and the diminishing pay packets.

“The entire service is underfunded, and police officers have been totally undervalued by this Government."

Of the officers who responded, 97 per cent said their treatment by the Government harmed their morale.

Also, 13 per cent of respondents said they intended to resign either within the next two years or as soon as possible; 78 per cent of those who wanted to quit blamed poor morale, 69 per cent attributed this decision to the treatment of police by the Government and 76 per cent cited pay as the reason.

The vast majority (82 per cent) disclosed they are ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with their overall remuneration (including basic pay and allowances).

Additionally, 68 per cent of respondents said they would not recommend joining the police to others.

Mr Jones said: "The number of people leaving the force is at an all time high; I've never known so many people voluntarily leaving."

He explained officers increasingly find themselves being drawn into the work of the health services, adding: "Officers have ended up taking people to hospital in the back of police cars for a while.

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"They are unavoidably being drawn into doing that, as well as administering first aid where they arrive at a situation, someone needs medical attention and we're told there are no ambulances available for some hours.

"They are then put in a difficult or impossible decision - leave the person there on the floor, or look to get them as best as they can to a hospital for treatment.

"And if someone dies while in their care, even though it'd be a medical issue, there would be a referral to the IOPC and that officer would find themselves under investigation for weeks, months or years.

"That would be as a result of them dealing with something outside of their control or experience."

Mr Jones added officers also end up spending a large amount of time dealing with mental health incidents at hospitals, adding: "We work closely with the hospitals and we see the immense pressure they are under - they are trying their very best."

46 per cent of police officers reported facing verbal abuse in the past 12 months and 21 per cent of them said they had suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention because of work-related violence in the last year.

Summing up the difficulties and strains faced by officers, Mr Jones said: "This is stretching very limited resources even further, and that snowballs and impacts the morale of a police force already at breaking point.

"It adds to the pressure on officers who are already burned out."

A Home Office spokesman said: “Policing is a career like no other and we need officers to keep communities safe and cut crime. 

"We recognise the impact of the cost of living, which is why we accepted in full the Police Remuneration Review Body’s recommendation to award a consolidated increase of £1,900 to all ranks of police officers.

“The government remains on track to deliver its pledge to recruit 20,000 police officers by March 2023. 

"The overwhelming majority of new recruits recently surveyed report positive job satisfaction and want to remain officers for the rest of their working lives.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The Welsh Ambulance Service has been experiencing unprecedented pressures and we recognise the important role of other emergency services in supporting people in urgent need of assistance.

“An active delivery plan is in place to increase ambulance capacity, improve response times and ambulance patient handover. Over the last year we have invested in urgent and emergency care, including recruitment of additional frontline staff and introducing new ways of working to improve the timeliness and quality of care and provide support during times of unprecedented levels of demand.

“We continue to work with the police and other partners to improve the multi-agency response for individuals in crisis.”