Concerns police officers are too busy to eat Police officers are being forced to forgo food all day in some cases because they are too busy to eat, an MP has claimed. Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP for Rochdale, said he feared for the welfare of officers who had told him excessive demands on their time meant they were effectively having to either fast while on duty or grab junk food and hurriedly consume it on the run. Mr Danczuk told PoliceOracle: That is what has been said to us by serving officers. Its a pretty desperate situation. He added: It concerns me that if they cant stop and have something to eat they are clearly overworked, and they wont be performing at their best. If they are eating on the run it is also a far from ideal situation. Something has got to change. Greater Manchester Police Federation Chairman Ian Hanson said officers were often not able to take breaks to eat. He said: Police officers realise that this will sometimes happen, but what we are hearing now is that it is becoming, in some cases, accepted that they are not getting any time to have a break. Can you give me an example of any other job where people are routinely expected to work for 10 hours and are not having the opportunity to have a break in the middle of that? He said officers health could be put at risk if they had to either keep working on an empty stomach or quickly eat convenience food. Greater Manchesters Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd has acknowledged that budget cuts have impacted on police resources in the city. Not eating for a single day can cause low blood sugar levels that can lead to anxiety, sweating, headaches and even blurred vision. More here policeoracle/news/HR%2C+Personnel+and+Staff+Development/2014/Sep/30/Concerns-police-officers-are-too-busy-to-eat_85657.html
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 08:11:22 +0000