9 March 2023

Derisory Pay Shows Government's Dismissive Attitude Towards Police

The Police Federation of England and Wales has called for a minimum 17% pay rise for police officers this year.

The PFEW came to the figure after a report by independent think tank Social Market Foundation showed that police officer pay had declined by 17% in real terms since 2000.

James Dimmack, Chair of Dorset Police Federation, said: “This is not a number plucked out of thin air – it is a figure arrived at independently which represents a real terms decline in police pay.

“This is of course going to be reflected in recruitment and alarmingly retention both now and moving forward. Policing is a challenging and diverse occupation which requires a certain type of individual. We need to understand that these individuals who have families need to be properly remunerated or they will look elsewhere for work.

“Equally the derisory pay offers we have received over recent years – when we have received them at all – also reflect an attitude of dismissive malaise towards policing and not pride and commitment as it should be.”

The SMF research also found that police pay fared badly when compared to other protective services and public sector workers, whose pay rose by 1% and 14% respectively over the same period.

The report also claimed that the decline in police pay is likely to be linked the restrictions on their right to strike.

And it added that if the current police pay trend continued, officer remuneration would drop by a further 4% in real terms by 2027.

PFEW National Chair Steve Hartshorn said: “The Government can no longer sit by and ignore our members’ basic needs and must recognise the impact of this independent research. In the context of ongoing inflation, indications of a police retention crisis, and reports of officers being forced to turn to food banks, the issue of police pay must be addressed now after more than a decade of being ignored.

“Police officers deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and that begins with better pay. Pay that not only reflects the cost-of-living crisis that many of us face but puts right the 17% decline since 2000 and compensates officers for the dangers they’re exposed to as part of the job. They must be compensated fairly for doing a job that is so important and unique that they do not have access to industrial rights.”

The report also found that a key factor in discussions over police pay should be what it called the “P-factor”: an element of police pay that reflects the unique obligations and responsibilities police officers’ experience relative to other comparable roles. This includes their unique risk of exposure to physical and psychological harm, alongside the restrictions that are placed upon their private lives.