Police 'Exodus of Experience' to Cost £10bn and Risk Public Safety, Federation Warns
The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), which represents more than 145,000 rank-and-file police officers, has warned that a 'broken' police service of underpaid, overworked, and under threat people risks a public safety crisis.
New analysis from the PFEW shows that policing faces an exodus of experienced officers which stands to cost the taxpayer almost £10 billion over the next five years.
Responding to the Federation's annual Pay and Morale survey of members, a quarter of officers say they plan to resign within two years. Voluntary resignations have risen 142% since 2018 and if this trend continues, 10,000 officers will resign every year by 2027, forcing the government to spend £9.9 billion on recruiting and training replacement officers just to stand still.
On International Workers' Day, the Police Federation of England and Wales is launching Copped Enough: What the Police Take Home is Criminal, a hard-hitting campaign which aims to expose the 'crisis in policing that is endangering officers' lives and livelihoods and threatening public safety across the country'.
PFEW Acting National Chair Tiff Lynch said:
'Our members run towards danger every day before taking the burdens of that work home to their families with them. What they take home – salary cut by a fifth in real terms within a generation and more trauma and stress than virtually any other worker in the country – is criminal.
'Police officers are overworked, underpaid, and under threat. We need properly-funded urgent action to stop the mass exodus of experienced officers which is putting public safety at risk. You can't have safe communities without enough police, and you can't have enough police if poor pay and poor care drives them away.'
Police officers do not have the right to strike. The campaign calls on the public to support police and their families by joining a 'digital picket line' in protest.
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Business News Wales
a day ago
- Business News Wales
New National Chair of Police Federation of England and Wales Announced
The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), the staff association representing more than 145,000 rank-and-file police officers, has announced that Tiff Lynch has been elected as the next National Chair. Nominations for the role of National Chair officially closed at midnight on 18 June 2025. At the close of the nomination period, Tiff was the unanimous choice of the Federation to assume the role and becomes just the second female Chair in the PFEW's 106 year history. She will formally assume the role on 1 July. On behalf of the National Board and National Council Mukund Krishna, CEO of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: 'During her time on the National Board – particularly as Acting Chair – Tiff has demonstrated unwavering commitment to fighting for police officers across the country. She is one of their own and has always stood firmly in their corner. Her leadership is rooted in authenticity, integrity, and a deep understanding of the challenges our members face on the frontline. 'I congratulate Tiff on her election as National Chair – a role I know she will approach with the same passion and purpose she has shown throughout her career. I look forward to working closely with her to ensure that the voice of our police officers is not only heard but acted upon in the months and years ahead.' Tiff Lynch, National Chair Elect of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: 'I am incredibly proud and honoured to become National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales. Police officers put their lives on the line, and it is indefensible that pay has fallen in real terms by a fifth since 2010. In addition to driving forward the Copped Enough campaign, which is demanding full pay restoration and an independent pay machinery with binding arbitration, I will fight for improved health and wellbeing care, workload reform to stop burnout, and full and proper enforcement of the Police Covenant so that it makes a positive difference supporting police officers and their families. 'Policing has become an easy target for politicians, the media, and armchair critics. That ends here. I will challenge damaging narratives, confront poor legislation, and ensure police officers' voices are heard where it matters. I will defend the profession, challenging government and chief officers alike, and I will not allow the courage, commitment, and professionalism of police officers to be undermined by cheap headlines, scapegoating, or political agendas. 'My purpose as National Chair is simple: to stand up for police officers and lead with a clear focus; to be bold, unapologetic, and relentless in fighting for fair pay and better conditions; to protect what matters; to improve what's not working; and to make sure the Federation stays relevant and strong in the face of ongoing challenges. It's not just about being seen; it's about getting things done. I look forward to working with members across the country and Mukund Krishna and his management team to achieve those aims.' Tiff joined Leicestershire Police in 1995. Throughout her policing career, she has specialised in firearms, tactical support and frontline as a general response and beat officer. Her Federation career started in 2007 with progression to the post of Chair of Leicestershire's Constables Committee (2011-2014); Chair of Leicestershire Police Federation (2014-2018); and National Board member of the Police Federation of England and Wales (2018-present). Nationally, Tiff has led on conduct and performance and parliamentary engagement, lobbying for the organisation – with membership and representation always at the core. Tiff was elected as the Deputy National Chair and assumed office from 1 June 2022. She has been carrying out duties as the Acting National Chair since 19 September 2024 seeking to drive forward the Federation's priorities and strategy for 2028.
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Tough action needed to halt level of attacks on police in NI, federation warns
During recent unrest in Northern Ireland, more than 70 officers have been injured, with some treated in hospital. Dozens of police officers have been injured during recent unrest in Northern Ireland (Liam McBurney/PA) However, the federation has highlighted that officers deal with the daily risk of assault which often leads to injury and time off work, placing additional pressure on serving colleagues. It has launched the 'Let Them Protect' public campaign, backed by PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and Justice Minister Naomi Long. Federation chairman Liam Kelly said the nine-a-day figure was conservative as many officers who suffer more minor assaults do not report them. Liam Kelly, chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland (Peter Morrison/PA) He said: 'These figures are shocking and appalling. It's high time we saw a much tougher approach with assailants who strike, kick, punch and spit at our colleagues. 'We want the public to realise the full extent of what our officers – themselves fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters – have to suffer. 'It's not right they should end up in hospital with injuries they sustain while protecting the community.' Mr Kelly added: 'Decisive and tough sentences handed down by magistrates and judges will deter those who assault our police officers. 'Sentencing guidelines must be strengthened to empower the courts, to implement an effective deterrent.' Ms Long said police officers in Northern Ireland demonstrate 'extraordinary courage' every day. Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long said she would introduce new sentencing legislation (Liam McBurney/PA) But she added: 'Shockingly, some people still feel that it is OK to attack or assault a police officer or that it's simply part of the job. 'That is not an acceptable attitude towards any other member of society and is certainly not an acceptable manner to treat those who uphold the rule of law and place themselves in harm's way to protect others.' She added: 'I am committed to introducing stronger legislation to protect police officers and staff and will include a new offence, with a higher maximum penalty, for assaulting a person who is providing a service to the public, performing a public duty or delivering a public service in the Sentencing Bill. 'I hope to introduce this legislation to the Assembly in the autumn of this year.' Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said policing cannot be taken for granted (Brian Lawless/PA) Chief Constable Mr Boutcher said: 'Policing is a tough profession and the officers and staff of the police service who stand up to serve the people of Northern Ireland deserve nothing but our admiration and respect. 'Every one of them does a vital job and whilst they come to work knowing that on any given day they could be faced with difficult and dangerous situations, what we should never accept, is for them to be physically assaulted. 'Being attacked should never be thought of as part of anyone's 'normal day' at work.' Mr Boutcher said the public cannot continue to take policing for granted. He said: 'Support for policing, and for our police officers, needs to be society-wide, and it should be recognised and understood that it is simply not acceptable to assault or attack police officers. 'We cannot, and will not, simply stand by and accept it.' Northern Ireland Policing Board chairman Mukesh Sharma said attacks on police officers are no longer isolated incidents (Liam McBurney/PA) Policing Board chairman Mukesh Sharma said: 'Police officers step forward when others step back. 'They put their lives on the line for others every day and they do not deserve to come to work to be kicked, bitten or assaulted in any other way. 'Regrettably, figures show that officer assaults are no longer isolated incidents and should not be tolerated.'
Reuters
12-06-2025
- Reuters
Insight: Islamic State reactivating fighters, eying comeback in Syria and Iraq
DAMASCUS, June 12 (Reuters) - Middle East leaders and their Western allies have been warning that Islamic State could exploit the fall of the Assad regime to stage a comeback in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, where the extremist group once imposed a reign of terror over millions. Islamic State (IS) has been attempting just that, according to more than 20 sources, including security and political officials from Syria, Iraq, the U.S. and Europe, as well as diplomats in the region. The group has started reactivating fighters in both countries, identifying targets, distributing weapons and stepping up recruitment and propaganda efforts, the sources said. So far, the results of these efforts appear limited. Security operatives in Syria and Iraq, who have been monitoring IS for years, told Reuters they foiled at least a dozen major plots this year. A case in point came in December, the month Syria's Bashar Assad was toppled. As rebels were advancing on Damascus, IS commanders holed up near Raqqa, former capital of their self-declared caliphate, dispatched two envoys to Iraq, five Iraqi counter-terrorism officials told Reuters. The envoys carried verbal instructions to the group's followers to launch attacks. But they were captured at a checkpoint while travelling in northern Iraq on December 2, the officials said. Eleven days later, Iraqi security forces, acting on information from the envoys, tracked a suspected IS suicide bomber to a crowded restaurant in the northern town of Daquq using his cell phone, they said. The forces shot the man dead before he could detonate an explosives belt, they said. The foiled attack confirmed Iraq's suspicions about the group, said Colonel Abdul Ameer al-Bayati, of the Iraqi Army's 8th Division, which is deployed in the area. 'Islamic State elements have begun to reactivate after years of lying low, emboldened by the chaos in Syria,' he said. Still, the number of attacks claimed by IS has dropped since Assad's fall. IS claimed responsibility for 38 attacks in Syria in the first five months of 2025, putting it on track for a little over 90 claims this year, according to data from SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militants' activities online. That would be around a third of last year's claims, the data shows. In Iraq, where IS originated, the group claimed four attacks in the first five months of 2025, versus 61 total last year. Syria's government, led by the country's new Islamist leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, did not answer questions about IS activities. Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra told Reuters in January the country was developing its intelligence-gathering efforts, and its security services would address any threat. A U.S. defence official and a spokesperson for Iraq's prime minister said IS remnants in Syria and Iraq have been dramatically weakened, unable to control territory since a U.S.-led coalition and its local partners drove them from their last stronghold in 2019. The Iraqi spokesperson, Sabah al-Numan, credited pre-emptive operations for keeping the group in check. The coalition and partners hammered militant hideouts with airstrikes and raids after Assad's fall. Such operations captured or killed 'terrorist elements,' while preventing them from regrouping and carrying out operations, Numan said. Iraq's intelligence operations have also become more precise, through drones and other technology, he added. At its peak between 2014 and 2017, IS held sway over roughly a third of Syria and Iraq, where it imposed its extreme interpretation of Islamic sharia law, gaining a reputation for shocking brutality. None of the officials who spoke with Reuters saw a danger of that happening again. But they cautioned against counting the group out, saying it has proven a resilient foe, adept at exploiting a vacuum. Some local and European officials are concerned that foreign fighters might be travelling to Syria to join jihadi groups. For the first time in years, intelligence agencies tracked a small number of suspected foreign fighters coming from Europe to Syria in recent months, two European officials told Reuters, though they could not say whether IS or another group recruited them. The IS push comes at a delicate time for Sharaa, as he attempts to unite a diverse country and bring former rebel groups under government control after 13 years of civil war. U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise decision last month to lift sanctions on Syria was widely seen as a win for the Syrian leader, who once led a branch of al Qaeda that battled IS for years. But some Islamist hardliners criticised Sharaa's efforts to woo Western governments, expressing concern he might acquiesce to U.S. demands to expel foreign fighters and normalise relations with Israel. Seizing on such divides, IS condemned the meeting with Trump in a recent issue of its online news publication, al-Naba, and called on foreign fighters in Syria to join its ranks. At a May 14 meeting in Saudi Arabia, Trump asked Sharaa to help prevent an IS resurgence as the U.S. begins a troop consolidation in Syria it says could cut its roughly 2,000-strong military presence by half this year. The U.S. drawdown has heightened concern among allies that IS might find a way to free some 9,000 fighters and their family members, including foreign nationals, held at prisons and camps guarded by the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). There have been at least two attempted jailbreaks since Assad's fall, the SDF has said. Trump and President Tayyip Erdogan of neighbouring Turkey want Sharaa's government to assume responsibility for these facilities. Erdogan views the main Kurdish factions as a threat to his country. But some regional analysts question whether Damascus has the manpower needed. Syrian authorities have also been grappling with attacks by suspected Assad loyalists, outbreaks of deadly sectarian violence, Israeli airstrikes and clashes between Turkish-backed groups and the SDF, which controls about a quarter of the country. 'The interim government is stretched thin from a security perspective. They just do not have the manpower to consolidate control in the entire country,' said Charles Lister, who heads the Syria program at the Middle East Institute, a U.S. think tank. Responding to a request for comment, a State Department spokesperson said it is critical for countries to repatriate detained nationals from Syria and shoulder a greater share of the burden for the camps' security and running costs. The U.S. defence official said Washington remains committed to preventing an IS resurgence, and its vetted Syrian partners remain in the field. The U.S. will 'vigilantly monitor' Sharaa's government, which has been 'saying and doing the right things' so far, the official added. Three days after Trump's meeting with Sharaa, Syria announced it had raided IS hideouts in the country's second city, Aleppo, killing three militants, detaining four and seizing weapons and uniforms. The U.S. has exchanged intelligence with Damascus in limited cases, another U.S. defence official and two Syrian officials told Reuters. The news agency could not determine whether it did so in the Aleppo raids. The coalition is expected to wrap up operations in Iraq by September. But the second U.S. official said Baghdad privately expressed interest in slowing down the withdrawal of some 2,500 American troops from Iraq when it became apparent that Assad would fall. A source familiar with the matter confirmed the request. The White House, Baghdad and Damascus did not respond to questions about Trump's plans for U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria. The United Nations estimates IS, also known as ISIS or Daesh, has 1,500 to 3,000 fighters in the two countries. But its most active branches are in Africa, the SITE data shows. The U.S. military believes the group's secretive leader is Abdulqadir Mumin, who heads the Somalia branch, a senior defence official told reporters in April. Still, SITE's director, Rita Katz, cautioned against seeing the drop in IS attacks in Syria as a sign of weakness. 'Far more likely that it has entered a restrategising phase,' she said. Since Assad's fall, IS has been activating sleeper cells, surveilling potential targets and distributing guns, silencers and explosives, three security sources and three Syrian political officials told Reuters. It has also moved fighters from the Syrian desert, a focus of coalition airstrikes, to cities including Aleppo, Homs and Damascus, according to the security sources. "Of the challenges we face, Daesh is at the top of the list," Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab told state-owned Ekhbariya TV last week. In Iraq, aerial surveillance and intelligence sources on the ground have picked up increased IS activity in the northern Hamrin Mountains, a longtime refuge, and along key roads, Ali al-Saidi, an advisor to Iraqi security forces, told Reuters. Iraqi officials believe IS seized large stockpiles of weapons left behind by Assad's forces and worry some could be smuggled into Iraq. Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Baghdad was in contact with Damascus about IS, which he told Reuters in January was growing and spreading into more areas. "We hope that Syria, in the first place, will be stable, and Syria will not be a place for terrorists," he said, 'especially ISIS terrorists."
