Officers worrying about money on a daily basis

18 November 2019

Almost half of the Hertfordshire officers who responded to the national Police Federation pay and morale survey said they worried about the state of their personal finances daily or almost daily.

In addition to the 47 per cent of respondents concerned about money, more than two thirds (68 per cent) said they felt they were worse off financially than they were five years ago and more than three quarters (77 per cent) said they were dissatisfied with their overall remuneration including basic pay and allowances.

The survey also revealed 91 per cent of officers did not feel fairly paid for the stresses and strains of the job and 73 per cent did not feel fairly paid for the hazards they faced.

A total of 12 per cent said they never or almost never had enough money to cover all their essentials.

“Police officers have a very challenging role. While they are serving their communities, fighting and preventing crime, helping keep order and protecting the vulnerable, the last thing they should be worrying about is whether they can pay all their bills and make ends meet,” says Geoff Bardell, chair of Hertfordshire Police Federation.

“I hope the findings of this survey make the Government take a long, hard look at police pay and take steps to ensure officers are fairly paid for the critical role they play in society.

“In recent years, they have seen their pay reduced in real terms and that needs to be addressed.”

The survey results did not make any better reading in terms of officer morale; 72 per cent of Hertfordshire respondents felt Force morale was low and 49 per cent said their personal morale was low.

The three main reasons given for low morale were how the police as a whole are treated (79 per cent), pay and benefits, including pension, (73 per cent) and management of change within the police (71 per cent).

Over half (52 per cent) said they would not recommend joining the police to others and 12 per cent said they were aiming to leave the police service within the next two years or as soon as possible.

The Police Federation carries out its pay and morale survey each year with the findings being used in its dealings with the Government and other stakeholders.

Locally, the Federation uses the results when negotiating with chief officers and senior managers on officers’ behalf.

The survey was carried out between June and August this year. A total of 192 officers from the Force responded to the survey, a response rate of nine per cent.

“It’s disappointing that so few officers were able to fill out the survey,” says Geoff, “While we feel the results are still representative of members’ views, we would encourage more officers to take part next year as it would then give further weight to the findings and strengthen our case when representing members' views.”

Read the full report.