EXCL: Former Cleveland Police officer resigned due to feeling 'like a number'
She had served 19 years with the force
A former Cleveland Police officer has been speaking exclusively to us about why she resigned after 19 years.
We submitted a Freedom of Information request which revealed 166 people stepped down within the last four years.
This woman, who did not want to be named, said: "I had that kind of lightbulb moment where it dawned on me that I was actually just a number. It wasn't me as a person. I was completely broken you know I was on the floor when I left.
"Nobody was concerned about me. Nobody was interested in me and if I did leave and kind of find my worth elsewhere, no-one would really care and I guess that's what I did. I realised I could take my skills elsewhere and actually be treated so much better.
"I absolutely loved my job and even to this day, I miss it immensely. It actually makes me quite emotional but I got to the point where I had to put myself first. I gave 19 years to the service and it completely broke me.
"I was a police officer from 20 years-old and it was my first real job. It was my entire life and I think to the point just before I left, my family in particular could see a real decline in me and I think when I said to them at that point 'I need to get out', 100 percent they supported me.
"The life I now have thanks to my new role I feel like a completely different person. I almost feel kind of a fraud in a way because I'm so used to how I was treated compared to the life I now have, I feel like it just doesn't seem real. It's so much better.
"100 percent I miss it. I miss everything about it. This is the first time I'm speaking out about it and I can feel myself getting emotional because I absolutely loved the police service and I loved my whole time in there, but it just got to a point where for once I had to put myself first.
"We keep getting told there's all these numbers coming through the door but they're not looking at the people who are leaving at the other end and the support we've got, the skills we've got, and you just feel like a number and they need to focus on the retention rather than the numbers coming through the door."
A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said: “Cleveland Police value the contribution that its officers make in protecting the people of Cleveland.
“When an officer voluntarily decides to leave the organisation, we will endeavour to seek the views and opinions of those individuals through a leavers’ opinion survey.
“This is to establish whether anything may be learned to facilitate improvements to the organisation, or the way that Cleveland Police manages its individuals.
“Officers are encouraged to discuss any concerns that they have prior to resigning or following a formal process and there are a number of supportive resources available to staff.
“Our staff engagement survey from 2023 showed an increase on the previous year on wellbeing with the vast majority of those responding saying they are proud of the job they do.
“Many said helping people makes Cleveland Police a great place to work while some credited the excellent support provided by team managers as a positive.
“Our most recent retention figures also show that fewer officers and staff are leaving year-on-year.”