The UK’s National Crime Agency is ‘on its knees’, suffering from poor retention and low morale caused by pay stagnation, according to a report published today.
Sometimes referred to as Britain’s FBI, the NCA is “haemorrhaging officers” and morale is at “rock bottom”, according to the report’s authors, at a time when it is playing a key role in tackling people smuggling and other organised crime.
The report by the non-profit organisation Spotlight on Corruption, calls on government to urgently review the organisational status of the NCA to ensure it is insulated from recruitment freezes and budget cuts and to reform its pay structures.
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It found that 9% of NCA roles are unfilled due to recruitment issues – more than double the 3.9% public sector average.
Despite a 7% pay award last year, officers’ median pay has dropped by 16.3% in real terms since 2013/14, when the NCA was established.
The report says the proposed 5% pay award for this year still leaves officers with a 13.9% real-terms pay cut compared to a decade ago.
Dr Susan Hawley, executive director of Spotlight on Corruption and co-author of the report, said: “If the government wants the NCA to be at the forefront of tackling the range of threats and challenges the UK faces, from organised immigration gangs to hostile and corrupt states, it needs to put its money where its mouth is.”
Brain drain
The authors found that the NCA expenditure on temporary staff and consultants had risen by an alarming 369% since 2015-16 and by 58% in the past three years.
It faces a “major brain drain” with a quarter of senior managers leaving each year. It also faces potential equal pay claims of around £200 million due to its unequal pay structures.
Three out of five NCA officers (59%) are stuck at the bottom of their pay range with no chance of pay or career progression.
The report found that NCA pay is falling behind the police and is well below specialist roles both in the civil service and the private sector, compounding its recruitment problems. The NCA pays less than the police at all grades, with the equivalent of a chief inspector being paid 21-25% lower.
The head of the NCA’s digital and tech command is paid 21.3% less than an equivalent role in the civil service, while a senior procurement manager at the agency is paid 20.8% less than in the civil service.
Hawley added: “The NCA for too long has been forced to operate at sub-par because of lack of sufficient investment. It desperately needs a new injection of cash to fund major pay reform and cutting-edge technology.
“This new investment can easily be offset against the long-term value for the taxpayer that it will bring, including by reducing the massive sums the agency now spends on temporary labour and consultants to fill its vacancies.”
Job satisfaction
The report found that morale and job satisfaction at the NCA was the lowest of all surveyed government organisations for how officers feel about resources and workload and among the lowest for pay and benefits.
In 2024, 9% of NCA posts were left unfilled due to difficulties attracting and retaining officers – up from 6.6% in 2023. Turnover is as high as 41% in some teams that are critical for supporting the NCA’s work.
Just 21% of NCA staff surveyed in 2023 were satisfied with pay and benefits – compared with a civil service average of 32%.
An NCA spokesperson said: “Serious and organised crime threatens our national security, economic prosperity and the safety of the public we serve; the challenges we face when tackling it are immense, and growing.
“The agency is world-leading in many areas and has achieved significant and continued success over its decade in operation. Last year alone, our officers made more than 4,700 disruptions, our most ever and more than a dozen every single day.
“That said, the Spotlight report highlights a number of issues regarding our funding, pay structures, staffing and investment – aspects we have identified in our own reports and are actively working to address.
“We are committed to working with government to ensure that the agency has the right structure and operating model, and, crucially, is able to attract, retain and support a talented workforce.
“We know that it is imperative that we deliver value for money while achieving our mission of protecting the public from serious and organised crime, now and as the threat evolves.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The National Crime Agency plays a vital role in tackling organised criminal gangs, and this government is committed to investing in the NCA and its people to ensure that it has the capacity and capability to tackle growing threats.
“Last month, we announced 100 extra NCA officers who will work with partners across Europe to smash the criminal smuggling gangs that are driving dangerous small boat crossings, which is on top of the 50% uplift in NCA officers stationed in Europol.”
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