Gloucestershire Police Federation Pay & Morale Report

11 April 2024

84% of Gloucestershire Police officers feel ‘worse off’ financially now than they were five years ago and 18% ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ have enough money to cover all their essentials.

According to the 2023 Police Federation of England and Wales Pay and Morale Report – published today - 88% of respondents have seen living cost increases in the previous month and 78% of officers are dissatisfied with their pay.

Worryingly, 15% of Gloucestershire Police officers who responded to the survey said they intend to resign from the police service either ‘within the next two years’ or ‘as soon as [they] can’.

Whilst Police Officers received a 7% pay rise in 2023, they have still seen an incredible 16% real-terms pay cut over the past 12 years.

Police chiefs have pointed out that the high cost of living in the UK is placing an even bigger strain on officers, as well as hampering recruitment. They have asked the Government for officers to receive a 6% pay rise in 2024.

Officers are also struggling with low morale and lack of support, the survey found. 96% of officers said they do not feel respected by the Government, and 50% said they were experiencing low morale.

72% of respondents from Gloucestershire Police said that they would not recommend joining the police to others. 67% said they do not feel valued within the service.

Steve James, Chair of Gloucestershire Police Federation, said: “The findings of the 2022 Pay and Morale Report continue to paint a stark picture of the state of policing in this country, and in our own county.

“Officers have been let down time and again by a Government that continues to degrade officers pay and conditions, fails to deliver sustainable long-term investment in policing, and by both these means delivers a poorer policing service to the public.

“Locally, Gloucestershire officers are not immune to these issues and I will be raising the findings of this report with our Chief Constable and discussing how the Constabulary can offer more support to its officers.

“The demand on overworked officers is now so high that in many cases it has a profound long-term impact on their mental health. In the meantime many officers report barely being able to make ends meet, as their pay still languishes 16% behind in real-terms.

“Our officers are subject to more accountability than any other police service, and yet this accountability is not matched by support from Government, with almost every officer feeling disrespected and undervalued by this Government.

“Whoever wins the next General Election has a long journey ahead of them to repair and rebuild trust with police officers.”

Officers are coming under attack from the public too, the report showed, with 21% having suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related violence in the last year.

Only 14% of officers who responded reported having access to double crewing at all times whilst on duty.

70% of respondents from Gloucestershire Police said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been ‘too high’ or ‘much too high’. 3% of officers said that they have ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ been able to take an 11-hour break between shifts in the last 12 months and 35% said they feel ‘always’ or ‘often’ feel pressured into working long hours.

Sadly, 82% of respondents from Gloucestershire Police indicated that they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing over the last 12 months, and 48% said that they find their job ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ stressful.

The survey is based on 167 responses received from Gloucestershire Police officers.