Police are warning of inadequate readiness for expected summer riots, following recent protests in Epping, Essex. Tiff Lynch, head of the Police Federation, highlighted the pressure on police chiefs to balance local peacekeeping with national responsibilities. She pointed out the dangers of assuming that police can indefinitely manage potential unrest. Problems within the public order policing system have been exposed, as officers faced violence with insufficient support. Concerns about how police officers are valued and supported by the country have been raised, especially amid controversies surrounding police actions related to protester transport.
Lynch is warning that police are being "pulled in every direction" as police chiefs are being "forced to choose between keeping the peace at home or plugging national gaps."
Lynch said, "Officers were left to face missiles with little more than a shield and a short briefing. The risks were there in black and white - yet little has improved since."
She added, "This is about whether the country still values the men and women who step forward when everything else breaks down. Right now, many of them feel utterly abandoned."
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