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Bailiwick Law Enforcements recruitment issues eased somewhat in 2022, which was well as both police and border staff continue to face an increased technical workload.
Mental health incidents continued to place significant demand on front-line staff, noted as a concerning pressure by authorities in its latest annual report, published today.
Guernsey Police took a total of 4,747 calls in the year in the top two severity classes, slightly down from 5,106 in 2021.
While recruitment and staff retention improved, Chief Officer and Head of Law Enforcement Ruari Hardy said vacancies remain which had a “detrimental impact and led to officers working extended hours”, which resulted in higher overtime and staff absence.
“Work needs to continue with health professionals to look at the holistic provision of services in the area of mental health as there is still a concern as to the amount of time that officers are spending looking after such individuals that are not linked into the criminal justice system.”
Workload pressures were mirrored at the Guernsey Border Agency, with the number of declarations requiring personal oversight from customs officers nearly tripling between 2019 to 2022. The team are now required to meet several new obligations because of free trade agreements between Guernsey and other jurisdictions.
Non-EU work permit applications also doubled from 2021 to 2022, and passport applications remained high.
Brexit was again noted to have impacted the work of both organisations through “associated workloads, increased responsibilities and areas that need investment in terms of resources, digital upgrades and support, training and development”.
Pictured: Law enforcement want Health to ensure better prevention to stop police intervention in mental health cases.
The report’s publication comes in the middle of Island Games week and just days after a former police officer was convicted of intending to pervert the course of justice for activities committed at the end of 2021.
Law Enforcement reiterated in it that routine training, disrupted during the pandemic and because of wider recruitment issues, largely restarted in 2022, with beefed up reminders issued to staff on professional conduct and public expectations.
“On occasions, some staff do fall below the required levels. Guernsey Police and Guernsey Border Agency will always challenge and engage with any issues of performance and 2022 was a year where the standards were further enhanced with briefings to all staff covering a number of topic areas including social media, abuse of position andsubconscious bias,” it said.
“The organisation understands the importance of maintaining public trust and confidence as we work in partnership with key stakeholders and the community.”
But it also highlighted the tough work and long hours performed by staff across different service areas: “The staff who work tirelessly within the organisation to deliver these key services should be thanked for their efforts and contribution towards the community”
Pictured: The full report into the activities and pressures of the year can be found online.
CO Hardy said big events last year in Jersey, where a fishing trawler was sunk by a freight vessel and a block of flats exploded, showed that resilience and specialist skills are key, and training to ensure that must be delivered.
“As finances tighten, there needs to be an acceptance that this can only be dealt with in a significant way through a reduction in demand.”
Pictured (top): Head of Law Enforcement, Ruari Hardy.
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