“We were right then – and we’re right now,” says Cambridgeshire Police Federation Chair Liz Groom, marking ten years since then-Home Secretary Theresa May’s infamous accusation that the Police Federation was “crying wolf.”
Reflecting on Ms May’s 2015 speech to the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) annual conference, Liz said: “Theresa May was spectacularly wrong when she dismissed our concerns as scaremongering. Everything we warned about, the consequences of cuts and austerity, has unfortunately come true.”
Since 2010, police officer pay has fallen by 21 per cent in real terms, and national officer numbers have declined by six per cent.
“Meanwhile, crime has gone up,” Liz added.
“Police recorded crime per 1,000 population has risen by 44 per cent over the past decade. Resignations have soared up 142 per cent since 2018, with more than 9,000 officers leaving the service across England and Wales in the last year alone.”
The pressures facing officers have intensified dramatically, Liz said.
She continued: “In 2024 alone, there were 45,000 assaults on police officers in England and Wales – that’s 123 officers attacked every single day. And more heartbreakingly, more than 18 officers die by suicide each year.
According to the most recent figures available, 572 frontline officers in Cambridgeshire were attacked between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.
Liz continued: “We said it then and we continue to say it now: this is the reality of a service stretched to breaking point. Cuts have consequences – and those cuts continue to cost us dearly, both as a service and as individuals.”
Today, the PFEW has released a powerful video to mark the tenth anniversary of Ms May’s speech. It includes clips from her address alongside stark statistics that show just how wrong she was.
The video launches a new campaign: Copped Enough – What Police Take Home is Criminal – which highlights the ongoing pay crisis and the growing dangers officers face daily.
Liz concluded: “Our members are underpaid, overstretched, and too often face violence simply for doing their jobs. Watching that video, hearing those words again, it’s infuriating.
“Our members have Copped Enough. It’s time for real change.
“It’s time for the Government to listen.”