Is the "Police Service" Broken? One Officer's Shocking Account of Wokeness Gone Wild
From lowered standards to a leadership vacuum, a veteran officer reveals how political correctness is crippling the thin blue line.
Policing in the UK has undergone dramatic shifts over the years, but not all of them have been for the better. A conversation with a long-serving officer who spent 17 years on a 999 response team paints a troubling picture of a service losing its identity, its discipline, and, perhaps most critically, its ability to function effectively. These stories reveal a growing divide between what policing used to stand for and the state it finds itself in today.
From Police Force to Police Service: A Symbol of Decline?
“We’re not allowed to refer to ourselves as a Police Force anymore. We’re a Police Service,” the officer said. “That just says namby-pamby, does it not?”
This shift in language reflects broader cultural changes within the police. The officer’s frustration stems from the perception that this rebranding strips away the strength and authority traditionally associated with the role. Policing is no longer about enforcing the law with grit and determination but about accommodating every complaint, regardless of how trivial or impractical.
The fact that police officers now waste valuable time 'investigating' non-crime hate incidents—an absurd concept birthed by the 'College of Policing'—is emblematic of how far priorities have strayed. Instead of focusing on serious crime and community safety, officers are bogged down with bureaucratic nonsense designed to appease, not protect.
Lower Standards, Higher Risks
A recurring concern is the lowering of recruitment and training standards.
“The training we had when I joined—15 weeks at a training school, learning discipline and how to be Police—needs to come back,” the officer explained. “Now, exams are done online from home. Everyone’s cheating, getting their partners or friends to do the tests for them.”
This decline in rigorous training has consequences. Officers ill-prepared for the realities of the job face challenges they cannot handle. One story recounted an officer too frightened to attend to a scene with a body, instead calling her nurse mother for help. This kind of unpreparedness doesn’t just undermine public confidence; it puts colleagues and the public at risk.
I have heard firsthand from a police officer in a CID role who told me that a new joiner to their office was allowed to sit on their desk, claiming it was an expression of her "freedom of expression." Even more absurdly, she was permitted to wear what she wanted under the same justification. The police are supposed to be a disciplined service. What ever happened to standards?
Cultural Changes Undermine Professionalism
The officer who contacted me recalled a female colleague who objected to working night shifts, claiming she hadn’t been aware that it was part of the job. With the backing of a relative, a doctor, she argued that night shifts were detrimental to her mental health. Rather than addressing this as a fundamental issue of fitness for duty, the force capitulated, allowing her to remain on day shifts.
These kinds of accommodations—however well-meaning—send a troubling message: personal preferences are starting to outweigh professional responsibilities. As someone who joined the police in 2004 and left in 2013, I am genuinely shocked at what has happened to the thin blue line.
Senior management appear to have capitulated to a woke narrative and ideology championed by certain sections of the mainstream media. Ironically, much of the public no longer even consumes the content churned out by these outlets, yet senior officers who do seem convinced this is what the general public desires. It is not. This misguided belief has led to decisions that alienate both the rank-and-file officers and the communities they serve, eroding trust and effectiveness in the process.
Got a story or video to share?
Our team of experienced former emergency services and armed forces personnel wants to hear from you! With 230,000 monthly views, your story could reach a wide audience. Email us at contact@emergency-services.news.
Recruitment Initiatives Gone Awry
Another divisive issue is the emphasis on increasing diversity in policing. About a decade ago, officers of Black ethnicity were sent into ethnic minority areas to knock on doors and encourage applications to the force. The officer’s perspective on this initiative was blunt:
“What does it matter what skin colour you were born with? If you want to do the job, you will apply and hopefully gain entry. Asking about ethnicity, gender, or orientation—who cares? So long as you can do the job you’re paid to do.”
While diversity is an important goal, forcing quotas and prioritising representation over ability can create resentment—both within the force and in the communities it serves. Common sense has gone out of the window. It seems that now it is all about what you look like rather than what your capabilities are. “I don’t care who attends if I need help, so long as they help me,” the officer added, highlighting the frustrations of many who see policing being reduced to optics rather than effectiveness.
A Leadership Void and Media Undermining
At the heart of the problem lies a vacuum of leadership. Over the years, the media has chipped away at the reputation of police officers, and rather than standing firm against this narrative, many senior officers have succumbed to what can only be described as self-loathing. Instead of defending the force and the officers who risk their lives daily, they’ve left them out to dry, pandering to mainstream media criticism and internal politics.
Love ESN Report? Share the support!
Invite your friends, colleagues, and fellow supporters of emergency services to join the conversation. Together, we can amplify the voices that matter most.
This has left rank-and-file officers feeling completely abandoned. Police Federation representatives, whose job is to stand up for officers, often find themselves silenced or even suspended for speaking out too boldly. This erosion of advocacy has stripped officers of a vital voice and left the public with a distorted understanding of what policing truly entails. When the Police Federation HQ suspended the Met’s Police Federation Chair for daring to speak out, it cemented the reality: this isn’t just an opinion—it is an indisputable fact. Such actions only deepen the vacuum of leadership and erode any remaining trust within the ranks.
A Grim Outlook for Recruitment
Perhaps the most damning indictment comes from the officer’s own words:
“With the way it is now, I would never suggest anyone joins up. Which is sad, as a country does need a Police Force.”
The recruitment situation is dire. Few people want to join, and many officers are leaving. Don’t believe me? The Met Police added a net figure of just around 80 recruits over its last financial year. Financial incentives are almost nonexistent, with promotions offering as little as 60p an hour more. Be under no illusion—this is a crisis. Combined with a culture that increasingly prioritises bizarre optics over operational efficiency, it’s no wonder that recruitment and retention are in freefall.
A Call for Common Sense
The current trajectory of policing isn’t sustainable. Lowered standards, lack of discipline, and a leadership vacuum are taking their toll on morale and effectiveness. The question we must ask is this: how much longer can the service continue to function under these conditions?
It’s time to stop pandering to political correctness and focus on rebuilding a system that values competence, discipline, and common sense. If we want to restore trust and pride in policing, we need leaders willing to defend their officers, a return to rigorous training, and an emphasis on professionalism over pandering.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. A country without an effective police force isn’t just poorly protected; it’s vulnerable to collapse. Let’s hope that those in positions of power wake up to this reality before it’s too late.
If you value honest, unfiltered stories like these, consider subscribing and supporting this blog. Together, we can shine a light on the issues that matter and push for the changes our emergency services so desperately need.
Opinion: The "Woke" Takeover? How Political Correctness Appears to be Strangling British Policing
In recent years, many people feel that the backbone of British society, its police force, has been transformed into something barely recognisable. This transformation isn't driven by the needs of the public or the demands of law enforcement at a time when violent and sexual crime appears to be getting out of control but by a misguided embrace of 'wokeism' - a term now synonymous with political correctness gone awry.
Many people, both inside and outside the police, believe that senior officers have succumbed to the pressures and narratives pushed by political activists in the mainstream media, believing erroneously that these activists speak for the general public. The result? A police "service" that appears to have lost its way.
Firstly, the language has changed. We've seen the transition from "Police Force" to "Police Service," which might sound like a mere semantic shift, but it's indicative of a deeper cultural malaise.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to ESN Report to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.