28 February 2020

Stark Reality Of New Officers' Low Pay

The stark reality of the low starting salary for new police officers has been laid bare as a new recruit’s first pay slip showed they take home less than £1,000 per month.

The Dorset officer’s payslip was tweeted by a longer-serving friend, who remarked: “A friend of mine sent this to me today. They have just joined the police and this is their first payslip. This is shocking!”

The payslip shows the monthly take-home pay for the force’s starting salary of £18,000.

Anna Harvey, Chair of Dorset Police Federation, said: “Some 24 years ago I had three years’ service and was on £18,000 a year. The starting salary back then in 1993 was around £15,000.

“If you take account the rise in cost of living and inflation, the police starting salary has never reflected this. Neither does it reflect the increased violence officers are subjected to whilst being held accountable for their actions .

“If you want professional people who are committed to the service you need to offer competitive salaries. If not, people enter the service and then leave due to financial pressures .

“When I speak to new recruits, the majority have taken massive pay cuts to join policing.”

John Apter, Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said he would be printing off the payslip and showing it to Home Secretary Priti Patel at his next meeting with her.

John tweeted: “You don’t join policing to be a millionaire but you expect to be paid fairly for what is a dangerous and pressurised job. This is not right!”

He added: “The @PFEW_HQ submission to the Pay Body seeks to bring new recruits starting pay to just over £24k. This is a fair starting salary for what is a challenging, pressurised and often dangerous job.

“I’m meeting the Home Secretary in the next couple of weeks, this pay slip will be printed off and given to her.”