The Police Federation of England and Wales has called for a minimum 17% pay rise for police officers this year, which the chair of Hampshire Police Federation says would help with the retention of officers, which is becoming a ‘serious issue’.
The Federation says it came to the figure after a report by the independent think tank Social Market Foundation showed that police officer pay had declined by 17% in real terms since 2000.
If the current police pay trend continues, officer remuneration will drop by a further 4% in real terms by 2027.
Zoe Wakefield, Chair of Hampshire Police Federation, has said:
“Police officers need a 17% pay rise to repair the damage that has been done to police officer pay since 2000. The Government has not only cut pay but also removed many allowances which have contributed to the large pay gap articulated in this independent report, comparing us to other similar organisations.
“Policing is a unique role where do not have the right to strike and therefore have no bargaining power with the Government. They take advantage of this by not paying us what we deserve.
“Police officers are putting their lives at risk every day yet this is not reflected in their pay. Experienced police officers are leaving for better paid jobs, not because they don’t want to be police officers anymore but because they have families to provide for. Retention of police officers is becoming a serious issue.
“A 17% pay rise will have a significant impact on retention. If we don’t get this pay rise, I can see officers leaving the service in huge numbers.”
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PFEW National Chair Steve Hartshorn has said:
“The Government can no longer sit by and ignore our members’ basic needs and must recognise the impact of this independent research. In the context of ongoing inflation, indications of a police retention crisis, and reports of officers being forced to turn to food banks, the issue of police pay must be addressed now after more than a decade of being ignored.
“Police officers deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and that begins with better pay. Pay that not only reflects the cost-of-living crisis that many of us face but puts right the 17% decline since 2000 and compensates officers for the dangers they’re exposed to as part of the job. They must be compensated fairly for doing a job that is so important and unique that they do not have access to industrial rights.”
I really wanted to be able to say somthing different, but PISS OFF persists at the front of my mind.
Cloud cuckoo land public job types, how about the normal folk that are as usual on 0% pay rise!
What you think is fair is irrelevant.
If the police have a problem retaining officers because of pay then you have a choice of paying them more or having fewer officers.
Choose.
Is this a joke ? It’s March not April 1st
They should go on strike. Ah hang on, be no different to what it is like now. Police actively ignoring crimes that happen right in front of them. Only deal with reported crimes. Seems like been on a work to rule for the last five years.
They do a good job. I think they deserve a decent pay rise.
Whilst at it why not give the unemployed a large pay rise, us working Minions who have not had a pay rise since Covid can pay for it.
The employed are seen as a soft touch, and robbed more and more each year.
As for old Bill asking for more, for doing less what a joke.
Long gone are the day’s you could see them on the streets, now the only place i have seen one is Tesco.
Parked up sat in a new warm car drinking costa lot coffee, i left Tesco 1 hour later and they were still sat there.
Did it not occur to you that they were there for a reason?
If they wanted to skive there are far nicer and far less public places to do it.
police not allowed to strike
The only working police officer on the island, who sits at the side of the road in his revenue generating camera van is hardly risking his life for the public is he?
“It’s a public service! They should do it for the love not the money.” Or whatever the idiots said when the nurses wanted it.
This is totally misleading. Boris promised to recruit 20,000 new police officers. The big recruitment drive brought in many who didn’t actually like the job and left before completing their probation. This is why it looks like the police have a retention problem. If you exclude that lot, there is no recruitment problem because police are well paid and most stay in the job for 30 years to get early retirement and a tidy pension. Nothing to see here.
Definitely. If the police are poor it inevitably leads to corruption! Common sense
Retention of personnel seems to be a problem in a lot of sectors, with staff leaving for better paid jobs. I would love to know where these better paid jobs are. I think the police do a good job now with the restrictions placed on them nowadays. It would seem that those in charge of the coppers want them to be more like social workers.
Maybe this is why cant hold on to staff as when they joined they thought the force was like the Bill, or the Sweeny.
Too much paperwork is the reality. Fair pay yes, 17% over the top.