Criticism of the Police Is Affecting Morale, Says Commissioner

Published on: 28 Nov, 2025
Updated on: 28 Nov, 2025

Lisa Townsend PCC

By Emily Dalton

local democracy reporter

Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has defended police officers’ drop in morale, pointing to public and media criticism of the force.

Only 57 per cent of police officers believe they are making a difference, according to a new report, but PCC Lisa Townsend said the drop reflects wider tensions between the force and the field.

Speaking at a Surrey Police and Crime Panel on November 27, Townsend said: “It doesn’t matter what job you’re in, if the profession that [work in] is being attacked by the public, is being attacked in the news, attacked by colleagues or other people- there is an inevitable correlation in terms of morale.”

Townsend also said Surrey’s proximity to the Met Police “that features in the news on a regular basis” may also be influencing officers’ perceptions.

“Our officers feel that. They see police officers being attacked and it’s not surprising they are not completely immune to feeling that themselves,” she added.

But she warned against assuming pressure is spread evenly across the force. “We’ve got to be careful about treating it as a single… as a uniform [experience] across all police officers or police staff.”

Backlogs in the justice process, not feeling adequately equipped and workload were also cited as another frustration for police officers, potentially chipping away at morale.

Nearly 66 per cent of officers said they were unable to finish tasks on time, according to council documents.

Despite the uncertainty of local government reorganisation and the government scrapping the PCC role in 2028, Lisa Townsend stressed that officer numbers remain strong.

She added: “We would never have enough police officers to deal with everything every member of the public will want to deal with. It is always going to be an issue.

“Police officers are always going to be under a certain amount of pressure, as everyone in the public sector.”

The Commissioner said work to improve retention and reduce stress is making progress but a tough reality remains: the demand continues to feel high and work-life balance remains “the most common reason for leaving the force”.

Share This Post