PSA President Nick Smart has delivered his address to the 2025 conference:

Good afternoon Minister, colleagues and guests.  

It’s my great honour to welcome you to our 2025 conference. 

Whether you’re here in person, or joining us remotely, I want to thank you for taking the time to come together as leaders, practitioners, and partners in policing. 

The work you do—day in and day out, matters. 

It shapes the safety, the cohesion, and the confidence of our communities, and I’m proud to stand here representing such a dedicated and professional cohort.  

My input today is about the policing reality—it’s about the lived experiences of the workforce - about the conditions under which our people operate, and the pressures we face, both as a service and as individuals.  

I want to speak openly and frankly about three interconnected challenges. These are police funding, police demand, and most importantly, workforce wellbeing.  

These are not new issues, but they are becoming more urgent with every passing year.  

We are passionate about fighting for the rights of police officers, for the future of our Service, and ultimately for the safety of our communities.   

We as an association have a voice, and I am committed to using the privileged position I hold to speak out.  

And speak out we must. Especially when we have limited engagement with those with the power to change so much of what I speak about today.

Frustratingly, it is now 5 years since a home secretary has joined us at our workforce conference.  

However, we’re extremely pleased that the new policing minister has chosen to join us so soon in her tenure, and hope this is the start of a positive working relationship with the new team in the Home Office.
 

Let’s look at some of the real challenges facing us, but let’s also look at the real solutions we know can make a difference.  We want to influence positive change, and we want to serve as the catalyst to make this happen.

I also want you to hear from my colleagues – supers out there delivering critical services every day – on the personal impact of policing.

Let’s start with funding — the fiscal situation that underpins so much of our challenge.  

The national financial picture is bleak across every public service. We know this.  Police funding has suffered massively from chronic under investment for the best part of two decades. Make no mistake, At present, we are still operating in austerity.  
   
So policing continues to sit at the bottom of the pile when it comes to government funding, despite ongoing pressure to deliver widespread reform, with fewer and fewer resources. 

Following the comprehensive spending review, the NPCC referred to “A decade of under-investment” which “has left police forces selling buildings, borrowing money and raising local taxes to maintain what we already have, with forces facing a projected shortfall of £1.2 billion over the next two years, which is now expected to rise.”

It is the first duty of any government to keep its citizens safe, yet we see little evidence of a commitment to doing this in terms of funding of officers and resources. Instead, ensuring public safety will be even more challenging, as the population grows and demand on police rises, whilst funding does not keep pace.  

We are a minimum of 12,000 officers short based on per capita levels when compared with 2010. 

This is not the police service crying wolf. This is the real financial position facing our police Service.

The Police Uplift Programme replaced the number of officers lost in austerity – what we need now is to build upon this with significantly increased investment in direct response to rising demand, increased complexity of crime, and heightened public expectations.   
 
Many of the government’s election pledges centred around a commitment to ‘safer streets’, promising the public that it would meet ambitious targets. Yet - the lack of any meaningful investment we face, means that the service will continue to struggle to deliver the basics:

and continue to function as we are, let alone move forward on new public safety and transformation initiatives.

HMICFRS highlighted this only last week, saying government ambitions must be sufficiently funded. 

They said “Forces are struggling both to address the wide-ranging threats to public safety and to meet basic public expectations. These reforms are urgently needed. They must be sufficiently funded.”

It is positive that the recent pay award included a commitment to central funding covering this uplift – something that is critical and that we called for, but it is not enough on its own to fund the police service we all want and need. 
 
It is vital, that long-term, sustainable funding is injected into policing to enable us to move forward and deliver on the pledges made, to deliver the basics of policing, well and keep the public safe.

Why does this matter so much? 

Because demand continues to rise in both the physical and technical world, it continues to change, and critically, continues to consist of incidents that should in reality, be dealt with by other bodies. 
   
 We continue to repeat the same systemic errors that are leaving us stretched beyond belief, unable to meet true police demand, and are wearing down our people at all ranks.  

How does this feel in reality?  How busy are our own members, and how do they view this problem?  

We spoke to superintendents about the issues I’m talking about today, so you can hear their voices – not just mine – on the reality of policing today. 

(audio plays) 

These are the voices that matter – the people out there doing the work communities depend on, living the reality of what is spoken about in parliament and in the media.   

We heard a colleague talking about picking up the work of others.  

This is a crisis that has been allowed to go on for far too long. The former home secretary acknowledged that the system is broken and that the police pick up too much demand from others.  

It’s time for Government to clearly define what the police mission is. We as a service have repeatedly said this - it's time for the decision makers to engage and listen, and to set out clear priorities of what can realistically be delivered. 
  
We need national conversations, not about blame, but about responsibility, and about re-building a system of public services that work together, sharing performance metrics, outputs and outcomes. 

We need a reformed criminal justice system that works in unity rather than isolation.

There are solutions.  

Community Safety Partnerships need to be accountable for service provision and outcomes.  There needs to be national consistency so all citizens can expect the same services. And there needs to be national governance to ensure this. This will require political determination and intervention – but it is the right thing to do for the public – and the police.  

Let’s develop the conversations around preventative plans and powers for other agencies that will better respond to individuals in mental health crisis. This will reduce incidents where police attendance is required, and will ultimately result in more positive outcomes for those concerned, led by those who are trained in these complex issues.

Police officers are not medical professionals,  they are not social workers, and those in crisis deserve better than simply being placed with the “last resort” emergency service that will turn up.  

Police receive around 330,000 reports of missing people each year, many are young and vulnerable people who have gone missing from places of safety, and many of these are regularly reported as missing.  Let’s focus on bespoke intervention plans for these vulnerable people, developed by clinical experts to prevent them going missing in the first place and keep them safe.  It is the right thing to do for all concerned.

   
It’s incredibly encouraging to hear of the government’s commitment to reforms. We also want reform.  This is a tipping point for the service and the chance to make real, tangible change.

But where is the white paper that was mentioned 12 months ago here and due to be published in Spring?  And more importantly, what will it contain?

We have countless studies and research findings showing us the ways in which our service can be more efficient and more effective – something we all so clearly want. Where is the political drive, the plan, and more importantly the money, to make this happen?

A white paper should be the blueprint for change, based on evidence and engagement with the workforce. We have the evidence, we have the workforce experts such as our members ready to inform every step– now let’s commit to change and to being better.

Within this we can no longer avoid the critical need to define the police mission and our priorities.  

Last year I called for a commitment to doing just this – to defining what the police are here to do, what the public want us to do. Until this happens, we will continue to serve as society’s sticking plaster, and we will continue to be seen as failing at the basics, because we don’t have the people, or the training, to take on other agencies’ work as well as our own.

This is an unacceptable situation for the public, disappointing for those who measure us and hold us accountable, and unacceptable for the very workforce involved. This situation sets the service up to continually fail.

Add in to the mix the rising and changing political tensions we continue to see, and policing is once again being given an impossible task of balancing rights and speech. 
 
We are not a political service. Nor should we ever be. We police without fear or favour.

Yet those who dictate our actions, who write the law we are asked to enforce, are rooted in politics.

We have once again entered a period of ‘divided Britain’, during which we’re seeing communities at social conflict over issues linked to equality and diversity, immigration, free speech.

Policing can often find itself in the centre of this, policing societal issues. Whether its managing protests, responding to allegations of hate or offensive social media comments - our job is often impossible, and we will be viewed as ineffective. These issues surely can’t sit purely with the police service, who are working with outdated legislation.

We do not write laws. We are asked to enforce them – even when they are open to interpretation and division.

We’ve seen calls for clearer guidance for police on these issues from the Met Commissioner. We wholeheartedly agree.

Stop setting the police up to fail.

Define our mission,  state our priorities, and let us police the way that communities want to be policed.

Let’s now look at the impact of today’s policing on our people.  

A recent report by Martis Media showed that the number of officers signed off for mental health issues went up 22% in the financial year 2024-25. This is the fourth year in a row that the number has gone up.

In our member survey last year, 62% of our members from the supers association reported low force morale.

What leads to this? How are our people feeling?  

I’d like you to hear from my colleagues again.  

(audio plays)

We can’t stop the job our people are doing from being traumatic. 

They have willingly undertaken a difficult, dangerous and risky role as a vocation, to help other people. But we can build solid infrastructures to support them so that when it gets too much – which it undoubtedly will - we have the services to help them. We must have their back – we know how to help them – and we can support them back to full health. 

We heard Gavin Stephens yesterday speak of the need for a trusted, capable and well workforce. 

As Police budgets are squeezed, welfare is one of the first things to be reduced, when it should be protected at all costs.  It is a failure of our service when this critical area is neglected.

85% of the police budget is spent on people.

When the situation is bleak, with high stress levels, mounting workloads, constant scrutiny, welfare services are needed more than ever. Keeping staff fit and healthy – physically and mentally is a morale obligation.    

The Police Covenant should be the blueprint for supporting officers. Yet despite the efforts of some remarkable people, we simply don’t see impact and it is a pale imitation of the Military Covenant, which has been in place for 20 years and is enshrined in legislation. Where is the political imperative to support policing in the same way?  
 
 

I want to stress that there are some brilliant initiatives out there in forces. Merseyside and Humberside are beacons, leading the way in supporting our people, and as a result, building positive cultures within their organisations.

But welfare still remains too much of a postcode lottery for too many officers. This is simply not right. Creating a workplace in which people want to stay, and ultimately providing a better service to our communities by people who are fit and well, is what we must all strive for.

As an association, we want to step in where this isn’t the case, and find ways to support members who may be struggling.  

One way in which we have done so this year, is by offering every member a psychological risk assessment, which identifies the state of their psychological wellbeing. Where issues are identified, a report is provided to their occupational health unit so that help can be provided – if it’s available.  
   
The results have been so concerning in terms of the manner in which superintendents are carrying out their roles – many ignoring the very worrying signs of psychological burnout, to carry on and get their jobs done. 

Researchers reported that superintendents describe extreme workloads, long hours, and excessive responsibilities with little time to recover, leading to exhaustion and burnout.

As a result, clinical scores of anxiety, depression, primary and secondary trauma were significantly above benchmark rates, and the average anxiety and depression scores for supers were at clinically significant levels.

42% were recommended to have follow ups with their occupational health units, compared to just 20% of the benchmark group.

Conversely, it also showed that supers take far fewer sick days than those in similar roles, and all other ranks

What does this show us? That those in senior roles, with huge levels of responsibility feel they have to carry on regardless?   That their own health and wellbeing must take a back seat after the running of the organisation?  

We must address this culture within senior ranks of pretending burnout is not an issue, that admitting you’re struggling is seen as a ‘character weakness’, or believing it will limit career progression.   

Colleagues that have had issues identified, and who have then gone on to access effective support are reporting major change and huge benefits.  

(Audio plays)

I want to reflect on this positively.  The huge inroads we have made in the world of wellbeing as a service are important.  Through the work of Oscar Kilo, plus the hundreds of staff out there in each force, such as those referred to by my colleague you just heard in Humberside, each playing their role in protecting our workforce,  we are starting to do this better.  

But – there is always a but – it’s not enough. And that’s because it’s not accessible in the same way to every member of our workforce.  This inconsistency was highlighted in last week’s State of Policing Report – which also drew on our own data reflecting the poor morale and motivation of our members.

It doesn’t need to be like that. Chief constables rightly need to be held accountable for the level of provision of welfare that they have in place for their people. But they also need the funding for this.  

When we reflect on the sickness statistics I have mentioned, when we consider the cold, hard business benefits of having a ‘well’ and ‘motivated’ workforce,  why on earth hasn’t this happened?  

The State of Policing report directly calls on government and forces to act – Sir Andy Cooke says:  

“Government must do everything they can to help improve officer and staff morale and consistently support well-being and “Forces should do everything they can to create the conditions under which morale can improve.”   

I don’t think there is a better case study I can share with you to paint this picture than that of Louise.

(audio plays)

We can only imagine with horror what Louise and her colleagues saw and dealt with that day. 

Now imagine a reality where no one stepped in to help.  

Thank goodness for the incredible welfare offering at Merseyside and for the staff dedicated to getting Louise through.  

Let’s make that the norm.  

That means properly resourced occupational health units.  

It means effective supervision, meaningful PDRs and check-ins that don’t feel like a tick-box exercise.  

It means safe workloads, protected time for rest and development, and a culture that makes it safe to speak up.  It is about investment in staff. 

It makes complete sense. 

I want to end on a positive.  

I want to remind us all why it’s so important that we show these people the worth and value they deserve.  

I want to take a moment to acknowledge those forces and leaders who are driving wellbeing forward—who are treating it as a leadership responsibility, not a luxury. 

You heard my colleagues talk about the 60+ hours they work each week, you heard them talk about how policing damages you. But they also said this.  

(audio plays)

Let’s make it better for those that come after us and protect these feelings of pride.  

We will continue to champion evidence-based change, raising these issues in Westminster, in meeting rooms all over the country with colleagues, and in our national media.  

We need leaders who listen, who act, who make brave decisions and who work to protect the people behind the badge, along with their families and loved ones who share in their sacrifices.  

So what's the message to Government? Fund us – support us – listen to us – look after us.   

It is what policing needs and it’s what policing deserves.  

Thank you.