Sajid Javid to tell police officers he understands 'hard and horrible' job because of brother's career

Address to Police Federation will be his first major public speech since he replaced Amber Rudd

'I’ve seen the impact the job has on family life', the home secretary will say (AFP)

The home secretary is to tell police officers he understands how “hard and horrible” their work can be because of watching his brother’s career.

Sajid Javid’s address to the Police Federation of England and Wales’ annual conference will be his first major public speech, just weeks after replacing Amber Rudd following her resignation.

The appearance comes amid calls for increased funding to turn around the loss of 20,000 officers since 2010 and deal with rising demand and the terror threat.

Mr Javid will tell officers gathered in Birmingham how he has followed his brother Bas’ 25-year policing career to become a Chief Superintendent in West Midlands Police.

“I know the tricky situations he’s been in,” he is due to say. “He’s been hurt more times than I want to know from being assaulted on duty. I’ve seen the impact the job has on family life. And as you would expect from a brother, he doesn’t shield me from the truth.”

Describing hearing verbal abuse during a ride-along in the back of his brother’s police car in Bristol city centre, he will tell officers he understands “how hard and horrible it can be being a police officer”.

The first day of the conference heard that police officers with decades of service were being “broken” by mental health problems exacerbated by rising demand and stretched resources.

Nick Hurd, the policing minister, was later heckled by Police Federation members demanding extra funding and increased pay.

He said the government was committed to increasing investment in policing “within the constraints that we’ve got”.

“Some forces are really struggling to deal with existing demand,” he acknowledged. “And I think the whole system is profoundly challenged in meeting future demand.”

Mr Hurd suggested a funding settlement allowing police forces to increase the amount of money they take from council tax to raise extra cash would be repeated next year and said work was ongoing to make “much smarter use” of resources.

Labour’s shadow policing minister, Louise Haigh, attacked the Conservatives for presiding over the loss of around 20,000 police officers since 2010.

“We’re seeing demand come from public services across the spectrum,” she added, pledging that Labour would increase investment to reduce the strain.

The chair of the Police Federation, Calum Macleod, said British policing was facing the “perfect storm”.

He told delegates: “Public safety has been compromised, officer welfare has been compromised…confidence has been affected by the fact the public are not seeing police – they are not there, they are not visible. It is letting crime run away.”

Chief Constable Sara Thornton, head of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said wider budget cuts had also decimated the “community infrastructure” in areas affected by violence and gang crime.

“I hope the new home secretary will recognise the stress and strain the service is under,” she told journalists.

“We do need a real-term increase above RPI [n the police grant] and we need to continue to work on efficiency.”

Mr Javid is to promise officers that he will listen to their concerns about demand, following statistics that showed a 22 per cent year-on-year rise in knife crime.

“I will give you the tools, the powers and the back-up that you need to get the job done,” he will add. “For those of you who stand on the frontline, be in no doubt, that I will be standing with you.”

“You’ve told me you’re feeling stretched, overburdened and not sufficiently rewarded… I know it’s frustrating when your rest days get cancelled – often at short notice.

“And I know your work can take its toll on your mental and physical health, and you deserve to be respected and valued.”