The Association of Police Communicators has commissioned research in a bid to uncover what challenges and issues its members face.

The study, carried out by independent market research company Public Knowledge, showed that budget cuts and organisational change were among the major concerns of police communicators. Budget cuts are a problem for communicators in the public sector as a whole since cuts heighten the need for communicators to prove their worth within their organisation.

Media scrutiny and reputation management were also revealed to be an issue for those surveyed by APComm. These issues have particular gravitas in the police force where, as a service, they are frequently at the centre of national and international news stories. It is of particular importance for the police to maintain the public’s trust.

The research reveals that police communicators are frustrated with unmanageable workloads, and that they feel this will ultimately lead to loss of skilled and experienced staff. Managing new technology was also revealed to be a concern for APComm members. This may be more representative of the comms industry as a whole with demanding workloads and new technology frequently ranking high among the challenges faced by communications professionals.

APComm chair Amanda Coleman says, “The results are not that surprising as the public sector faces continued pressure with reduced budgets. In the past four years police communicators have seen teams reduced, policing increasingly under the spotlight, and the growth of social media and the arrival of police and crime commissioners.”

A recent Police Federation survey shows that more than 5,000 police officers in England and Wales are planning to leave the service in the next two years. Of the 32,000 officers who responded to the survey, 94% said that they believe morale in the service to be low or very low.