Police Federation: Over-stretched members at “breaking point”

The Police Federation says over-stretched members are at “breaking point” after figures revealed 700 West Midlands officers were off work last year with stress, anxiety and depression.

Chairman of the West Midlands branch of the Federation, Tom Cuddeford, said losing 2,000 staff since 2010 amid multimillion-pound budget cuts had “taken its toll” on staff.

The Police Federation outlined details of its Protect the Protectors initiative at its national conference last month.

As well as tougher sentences for anyone who assaults an officer on duty the campaign called for better welfare support of federation members. The row over the impact of police cuts and pressures on over-stretched officers dominated the last week of the general election campaign following the London Bridge terror attacks which killed eight people.

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said his force was “buckling under the strain” of having to deal with the increased terror threat.