A major new survey of nearly 2,000 emergency response officers has revealed the scale of crisis facing policing, with 91 per cent of officers working in unsafe and understaffed teams.

The survey, conducted by the Police Federation, also found that more than half (52 per cent) of officers believe response policing is not working well, with just 6 per cent saying it is working “very well”.

The survey includes responses from officers in all 43 police forces in England and Wales, the majority of whom are constables and sergeants working on the frontline.

More than a third of officers said travel distances and the size of the areas understaffed teams cover are affecting their ability to respond, while almost one in five cited equipment failures.

Officers described “constant pressure to move onto the next incident”, “being singly crewed”, and “full shifts wiped out by the first job of the day”, painting a picture of response teams stretched not just by volume, but by distance, weak systems and too little support.

Alongside the survey, the Federation is launching a new film, “My Last Set”, which uses actors to portray the real, unedited words of police officers who were asked a very simple question: tell us what your last week of shifts were like.

The film is part of the Federation’s “Copped Enough” campaign, which calls attention to the crisis facing policing across the country.

The film reveals a consistent picture of everyday frontline policing:

• Teams operating well below safe staffing levels
• Officers working extended hours, often exceeding 60 hours a week
• Repeated exposure to traumatic incidents including suicides, stabbings and mental health crises
• Officers unable to take rest days due to the demands of the job and starting work feeling exhausted and traumatised.

Taken together, the survey data and the testimony in the film point to a service far beyond breaking point.

Police Federation Deputy National Chair Brian Booth said: “These officers are immersed in the blood, sweat and tears of emergency incidents every day. They know what they’re talking about and they know they’re working in a broken service that is only viable because it places unsustainable burdens on them.

“The question for anyone who cares about their community is simple: is this what a police service should look like? Our members will always do their duty, but they know they are working in a system that is failing them on every set of shifts they work, just as it is ailing the communities they are proud to serve.”

Watch the film below