Police pressure is ‘worst in decades’ as cuts push frontline staff 'to the limit'

The number of traffic officers in Dorset has reduced by more than a quarter since 2009. 

And already this year, Dorset has seen the number of road deaths reach a higher level than in 2016.

Just a week after Dorset Police launched their Christmas drink drive campaign, a study published today by the Institute of Alcohol Studies reveals the number of breath tests in England has fallen by a quarter over the past five years due to police cuts.

In Dorset there is just one inspector, seven sergeants and 35 constables compared to two inspectors, six sergeants and 53 constables in 2009.

Tony Tester, chairman of Dorset Police Federation, said: “We’ve definitely lost that visible presence of traffic officers on our roads, that is a fact.
“Add this into the total number of officers lost, and it is a worrying picture.

“When an officer was on patrol, they would stop more vehicles, and be able to carry out more breathalysers. Now, patrol officers are going from job to job. 

“We’ve lost that aspect of policing. It’s been slashed.

“We have had a 20 per cent reduction in frontline police officers in ten years.

“And I would say demand has more than doubled.

“I would estimate that traffic officers have been cut by a quarter, at least.
“The impact that has on our traffic officers in Dorset is tremendous; personally and professionally. 

“But also, they are now being drawn into mainstream policing as well.”

Tony Tester, chairman of Dorset Police Federation

Mr Tester also confirmed Dorset has no overnight traffic cover, meaning at some times of day traffic officers are not on duty.

“It’s really bad”, Mr Tester added.

“When so much money is withdrawn, this is what you are left with.
“The pressure and demand on traffic officers and front line officers has never been so great in the whole of my 30 years of service.

“The stress and mental health of our officers is much worse than I have ever known.”

Katherine Brown, IAS chief executive, said: “Stripping police forces of the resources needed to tackle drink-driving may lead to worse outcomes in the future.”

Pete Williams, from RAC Road Safety, added: “Falling road traffic police officer numbers are stretching forces and one impact of this appears to be a reduction in breathalyser tests which is a worrying development.”

In a statement, a spokesman for Dorset Police said: "Dorset Police has a dedicated No Excuse team who are all fully-trained traffic officers. They use a combination of enforcement and education to tackle poor driving and reduce the number of casualties on Dorset’s roads. Officers target in particular the ‘fatal five’: drink and drug driving, excessive and inappropriate speed, not wearing a seatbelt, driver distractions such as using a hand-held mobile phone and careless driving. The team could be anywhere at any time.

"Traffic officers are also supported by a number of members of staff as well as other officers, who also carry out breath tests.

"Dorset Police is in an Alliance arrangement with Devon and Cornwall where we regularly conduct joint operations across the three counties and can deliver a specialist response to serious collisions.

"Devon and Cornwall currently have the added benefit of training their armed response officers around roads policing, meaning that we can access a much wider group of trained people than ever before.

"Our road policing operation is now more targeted with Operation Dragoon our direct response to identifying and dealing with high risk drivers; including those driving under the influence of drink or drugs or driving illegally or inappropriately and who pose a serious risk to themselves as well as putting innocent drivers’ lives at risk on our roads. We act on the intelligence from the public to help us track and convict offenders and would urge anyone with information about motorists committing a driving offence to please contact police urgently so we can deal with them robustly."