Fewer emergency workers keeping Mid Sussex safe than 10 years ago

While the country is still responding to the coronavirus pandemic, police, fire and ambulance staff unions are calling for more funding to protect frontline services.

Home Office and NHS Digital figures show the equivalent of 4,238 full-time emergency workers were employed by organisations covering Mid Sussex this year – 14% fewer than in 2011.

Among them were the 2,354 frontline police officers in Sussex Police's ranks as of March 31, according to the Home Office data.

That was 10% fewer than at the same point in 2011, when there were 2,619 FTE officers, though figures prior to 2015 are estimates.

Across England, the number of officers has dropped by 5% in the last decade – while recorded crime was rising year-on-year in the years before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Different Home Office figures show that across Sussex, the number of crimes recorded by police increased by 32%, from 97,134 in 2010-11, to 127,827 in 2019-20.

The figure fell to 108,229 in 2020-21, when crime levels nationally were significantly impacted by coronavirus lockdowns.

The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents officers, said the Government's promise of 20,000 new police officers by the end of 2023 does not go far enough.

A spokesman said: “An increase in the number of police officers is desperately needed, particularly given that the population in England and Wales has grown by 4 million in the last decade.

“In addition, the time officers spend dealing with non-crime issues, helping vulnerable people and those in mental health crises, has also increased.”

Meanwhile, the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service had the equivalent of 489 full-time firefighters responding to emergencies as of the end of March – 199 fewer than in 2011.