Exodus of Essex Officers Feared With Cut To South East Allowance

5 February 2025

The substantial risk of experienced Essex Police officers leaving to join other forces for better pay looms large after it was confirmed the South East Allowance – designed to negate the huge cost of living in the county – will be cut.

Yesterday, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Essex announced that the force hoped to retain all of its 99 Police Community Support Officers. It was previously feared they would be cut due to a budget shortfall, but the Government has pledged extra funding to police forces, £2.3m of which will go to Essex Police.

The force has submitted a plan to the Home Office to retain the PCSOs, but the Government funding is not enough to cover the whole shortfall the force faces.

The PFCC/force still plans to cut around 65 police staff roles; reduce officers’ South East Allowance by £250 a year; and cut the Detective’s Allowance, alongside other cost-cutting measures.

Laura Heggie, Chair of Essex Police Federation, said: “It’s great that this new funding has given us more options and that we might be able to keep the PCSOs. But it doesn’t answer the whole question.

“People need to look at the bigger picture – we’re still going to potentially lose officers and their experience due to their South East Allowance being cut. I don’t see this as a win.”

Laura said officers had already told her they were thinking of transferring to other forces.

She said: “A lot of our officers want to live in the area that they police – they are passionate about policing in Essex. But they’ve still got to put food on the table. And Essex is not a cheap place to live; that's the reason the South East Allowance was brought in in the first place, to assist with recruitment and retention.

“With us bordering London, the Metropolitan Police and The City of London Police are attractive, because as soon as you step over the border into London you instantly get another £6,500.”

Cutting police staff will also have an impact on officers’ workload, Laura said: “Most staff roles support what officers are doing – they enable us to get officers out onto the frontline. And if they’re not doing that work, someone’s got to do it.”

She added: “Officer morale is low. Not just because of the loss of money, but also because of the impact on police staff colleagues. We all work together closely, we’re like a family. So if it hurts one of us, it hurts all of us.”