Pay And Morale Survey: 'Does The Government Have Officers' Backs?'

11 January 2023

A huge 96% of Cleveland Police officers do not feel respected by the Government, new research has shown.

More than half (56%) of officers said they would not recommend joining the police to others, and seven in ten (72%) said they do not feel valued within the service.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has just published its 2022 Pay and Morale Survey. It showed that officers are stressed at work and struggling to get by.

Three quarters of Cleveland officers (76%) said they are ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with their overall remuneration and 88% felt worse off financially than they were five years ago.

One in ten officers reported ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ having enough money to cover all their essentials.

Last year police officers across England and Wales were given an average of a 5% pay rise – but this was way below inflation booming now at more than 10%. Household bills are rising sharply and over the past 12 years police officer pay has fallen in real terms by 25%.

Officers’ wellbeing is also faltering, the research showed, with 86% of respondents indicating that they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing over the last 12 months. Half said they found their job ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ stressful.

Two fifths of respondents said they intend to resign from the service ‘within the next two years’ or ‘as soon as [they] can’, due to morale, how the police are treated by the Government and pay.

Three quarters of officers said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been too high and 32% said they often feel pressurised into working long hours.

Worryingly, two fifths of officers had suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work related violence in the last year.

Stephen Williams-Reader, Chair of Cleveland Police Federation, said: “The figures revealed in the PFEW survey by our members are devasting to read but they don’t surprise me. Police Officers are struggling to pay for the essentials, struggling week to week.

“The Government are neglecting them again with a pay rise well below inflation. Police Officers are making plans to leave, officers are suffering high levels of stress and anxiety.

“Police officers willingly sign up to the line of duty to protect lives of others but that does not mean they should face abuse and attacks. The negative impact of such acts on the morale of police officers and their families is an issue policing and society urgently needs to address it.

“I along with colleagues who represent Cleveland Police Federation are working with the Force to support officers.

“My question to the public and to Government… We have your back, have you got ours?”