Almost one in five police officers (18%) plan to resign in the next two years due to reasons including ‘unfair pay’.
The Police Federation of England and Wales’ annual pay and morale survey revealed the pressures faced by rank-and-file officers and a sense of deepening frustration with the government.
The most cited reasons respondents gave for intending to quit were morale (98%), how the police are treated by the government (96%) and pay (95%).
Five-sixths of police officers (83%) said they were either “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with their overall remuneration, while 19% of respondents reported ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ having enough money to cover their essentials.
Police Federation national chair Steve Hartshorn said: “Police officers are reaching breaking point and are leaving the service in their droves as every element of their pay and conditions has been gradually eroded in the space of a decade.
Police pay and morale
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“Record numbers are resigning over inadequate pay and conditions. We are losing some exceptional officers simply because they cannot afford to stay in the service, with an alarming number unable to afford monthly essentials.
“The latest figures indicate 8,117 FTE police officers left the service in England and Wales in the year ending March 2022 – the highest number of leavers since comparable records began, and at least 1,800 of those officers who joined under the government’s Uplift Programme have already voluntarily resigned.”
The government has said it is on track to deliver its manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 additional officers by March 2023. In October it had hired 15,343 extra police officers, 77% of the target.
Of 36,700 officers who responded to the Police Federation’s survey, which ran between September and October last year, 95% said their treatment by the government harmed their morale with 87% saying the same for pay. Ninety-four per cent stated they did not feel respected by the government, and 70% said they would not recommend joining the police service to others.
Police officers have suffered an average real-terms pay cut of more than 20% since 2010, said the PFEW, with officers at the bottom of the pay scale having experienced a drop of 30.1%.
An overwhelming majority (94%) stated they are not paid fairly for the stresses and strains of the job. Almost one in five (18%) said they had suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related violence in the past year. In the year ending March 2021, there were almost 37,000 assaults on police officers in England and Wales, a 22% rise from the previous year.
Hartshorn added: “We asked our members what they think and the results of our survey clearly illustrate the anger and disillusionment of police officers across England and Wales. Many have stopped expecting any recognition from the government for their unique responsibilities and the restrictions imposed on their industrial rights which is, quite frankly, dangerous.
“Being able to protect the public effectively, rests on a knife edge. Without sufficient investment in policing, we will see a further detrimental rise in resignations, and officers will not be able to keep up with the new technology innovations criminals use, will not be able to stretch resources to attend all crimes, and, ultimately, will not be able to keep our communities safe from the rise in violent crime.
“It is paramount the service is provided with long-term investment, instead of single-year settlements to future-proof the service. The government must listen and not ignore the needs of the service because they do not have the right to strike.
“To rebuild the broken thin blue line, police officers need a pay award that acknowledges the cost-of-living crisis, their unique responsibilities and the restrictions imposed on their industrial rights. Otherwise, the profession will remain at risk and the disillusionment of our colleagues will deepen. The government must act.”
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