Latest retention figures labelled 'disappointing'

2 August 2024

Derbyshire Police Federation chair Keith Chambers says he’s ‘disappointed’ by new figures that reveal a drop in the number of officers in the Force.

Keith said retention was a ‘big challenge’ with pay, morale, and unfair treatment by the former government key factors.

And he called on the new government and police leaders to do all they can to fix the retention crisis across policing.

His comments come as Home Office figures showed that the total number of officers in Derbyshire Police fell by 0.8 per cent (18 officers) to 2,122 officers in the past year.

Disappointing

Keith said: “It’s disappointing to see the number of officers in Derbyshire falling.

“Our recent pay and morale survey showed that 14 per cent of respondents intended to quit policing, with morale, the impact on their mental health, and how they were treated by the government as the main reasons.

“And three out of four said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their remuneration.

“Add to that negative media reports, fears about making a mistake and the conduct process and it’s clear to see why retention is a big challenge.

Branch chair Keith Chambers.

“We need the government and police leaders to address those issues to ensure officers feel fairly treated and fairly rewarded.”

The Home Office figures revealed that 9,080 officers left the service in England and Wales the year ending 31 March 2024, the second highest in a financial year. Of those, 43 per cent (3,964) had less than five years’ service.

Voluntary resignations were the highest on record at 3.4 per cent, and similar to the previous year (3.3 per cent). It has been on a general upward trend since the year ending March 2012 when it was as low as 0.8 per cent.

In the past year, 9,479 officers joined the service, a decrease of 6,848 on the previous year when 16,328 officers joined. At 31 March 2024, there were 147,746 officers, a 0.2 per cent increase from 147,434 on the previous year.

Keith said: “There’s a concern that if we don’t address the issues around retention, then the Uplift programme will have been a wasted opportunity.

Home Office

“The Home Office figures show that 43 per cent who left policing in the past 12 months had less than five years experience.

“It costs the taxpayer a significant amount of money when we lose a new officer, so it makes sense to invest in the long term through training, infrastructure, and equipment.

“Pay is clearly an issue as well, and while this week’s increase of 4.75 per cent is welcome it doesn’t go anywhere near addressing the huge drop in real-terms pay officers have experienced over the past 15 years. Address that, and I’m sure morale will improve.

“Which is why the Federation continues to call for a fairer, independent system, and one that we’re involved in.”

Keith added that new officers needed to be aware of what being a police officer involved.

“This is a job like no other and new recruits need to be aware of the restrictions they face in their personal and professional lives,” he said.