Christmas and New Year Message for Members from Zoe Wakefield, Chair of Hampshire Police Federation

22 December 2022

Christmas and New Year Message for Members from Zoe Wakefield, Chair of Hampshire Police Federation.

“2022 has been another challenging year for policing and it has been no different in Hampshire.

“Despite the current recruitment campaign, officers are still stretched to the limit on a daily basis.

“Experienced officers are leaving in large numbers which is reducing the average length of service on many teams. Student officers are struggling with the demands of policing whilst trying to complete a degree. Hopefully change is on the horizon to resolve this issue.

“Pay is still a major factor in why police officers are leaving.

“Police officers have had a real terms pay cut of 25-30% over the past decade plus and many are struggling to pay their bills. The cost of living in Hampshire is high and we have heard of officers who do not have any food to keep them going through a 10 hour shift because they have no money to buy any.

“Most of the public will be looking forward to some time off with their families at Christmas but many police officers will not. They will know that some shifts over the Xmas period are the busiest of the whole year and they will be working with minimal staffing levels, missing out on previous time with their families.

“Christmas will be a particularly difficult time for the families, friends and colleagues of PC Dan Golding and PCSO Daniel Gower who both lost their lives on duty recently. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

“Looking forward to 2023, we welcome a new Chief Constable in February and say our farewells to Olivia Pinkney. We will hopefully see changes to the student entry route into Hampshire, making it more accessible to more of the community. I would love to say that we will see police officers appropriately renumerated for the demanding, challenging, high risk job that they do, but I don’t think even Santa can fix that one!

“On behalf of Hampshire Police Federation, I would like to wish all my colleagues a safe and happy Christmas. I hope you all get some time with your loved ones. If you’re working, stay safe and look after each other.”