The pay award recommendation put forward by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) is welcome in isolation – but the wider picture of the real-terms deficit in police pay must remain highlighted, says branch chair Delme Rees.

Earlier this month, the NPCC confirmed it had submitted evidence to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) and the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) in calling for a 3.8 per cent uplift in officer pay across all ranks, with a rise in starting salaries for constables and a review of pay scales to reflect skills and experience.

This proposal will be considered as the PRRB makes its overall pay award recommendation to the Government later this year.

The recruitment and retention of officers was at the heart of the NPCC’s recommendation package, which outlined the need for policing to become a competitive career choice once more.

Dyfed Powys Police Federation chair Delme Rees.

Assistant Chief Officer Phillip Wells, NPCC lead for pay and conditions, said unattractive salaries posed ‘a significant challenge’ to hiring and keeping hold of officers, who have the desired mix of talent and ‘values and standards we need’ to meet the job’s unique demands.

In response to the recommendation, Delme said: “I can identify with a lot of the motivation behind what the NPCC is proposing here – we do need to fix recruitment and retention problems urgently.

“Therefore, with finances still being difficult across policing, I think any pay increase should be seen as a positive step towards this.

“But in the wider context, we still have a long way to go to correct the degradation in police pay over the long term.

“Because it has been chipped away at for so many years, pay rises of the numbers we are talking about will, on their own, not make officers better off in real terms, with inflation taken into account. This has to remain the ultimate aim when it comes to pay.”

The NPCC said its recommendation would boost government projects such as the Safer Streets Mission and the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, as well the focus on reducing knife crime, anti-social behaviour, and violence against women and girls.

Fair pay

“This is why we need a force motivated with pay they deserve – not that money is the only motivator for any officer, but everyone should be paid fairly for the service they provide,” Delme said.

“Policing has demands, challenges and expectations like no other profession, and there are some big tasks ahead, so we need to get the best people through the door and then give them opportunities to grow and develop.

“Above all else, it’s important those in policing feel valued and respected as people, as well as professionals, with what they are paid for the sacrifices and risks they take every day.”

Meanwhile, the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) is gathering evidence for its own recommendation to the Government on the annual police pay award.

PFEW now offers an independent recommendation after formally withdrawing from the PRRB process in 2021, believing it to fall short too often in its remit to represent the perspectives of Federation members.

Instead, PRRB proposals are more likely to be influenced by government briefings and financial limitations, says PFEW.

PRRB process

On the question of PFEW rejoining an overall recommendation input led by the PRRB at some point, Delme said: “When there are bodies putting forward official advice to government on how much they should get paid, the most important thing is that police officers feel listened to.

“I think, at both local and national level, we should always be open as a Federation to our members who may believe being part of the PRRB process is for the better.

“If we want to get an idea of the current mood, we could ask the National Council to gather views from across the branches in England and Wales. It would certainly be interesting to see.

“Regardless of exactly how the recommendations are made, though, they need to have officers’ best interests at heart, to get the best possible deal for them.

“As people dedicated to serving the public through policing, they deserve a salary worthy of everything they give to the profession.”

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