Police officers deserve a fair pay rise after years of pay freezes

10 November 2021

The finances and morale of police officers have been hugely affected by years of pay freezes and they deserve a fair pay rise next year, Cleveland Police Federation has said.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the pay freeze imposed last year would end in April 2022, but the amount of the rise is unknown and it may not keep up with inflation, which is currently 3.1% and is predicted to go above 4% by December. On average, police pay has fallen in real terms by 12.4% since 2010.

Cleveland Police Federation Vice-Chair Paul Crowley said: “It’s welcome news that the pay freeze is over. But there are some key points that we need to remember. Police officers have been subject to pay freezes and restrictions since 2010 – 11 years’ worth of restrictions – which means that we’re currently roughly 18% behind the current cost of living. That is a huge burden on police officers, who have largely borne the brunt of the economic crisis.

“It impacts their day-to-day performance as well. The morale of officers is low at the moment and the pay freeze has had an impact on that.”

Meanwhile, it has been announced that officers of all ranks in Police Scotland will receive an extra £700 from the Scottish Government this year, along with a one-off bonus of £250 for their work during the pandemic. Paul said that Rishi Sunak should “follow their lead”.

Paul said: “The extra strain that we had over the pandemic still hasn’t gone away, it is still with us today. So we would call upon Rishi Sunak to follow the lead of Police Scotland and implement a pay increase of a similar nature to what they received.”