Poor pay putting officers under pressure, says Fed chair

3 May 2023

Hertfordshire Police Federation chair Luke Mitchell described poor pay as the biggest pressure facing police officers as he renewed his call for a 17 per cent increase.

He said falling wages were hurting morale and hampering officer recruitment and retention.

Luke said: “Poor pay is doing more than anything to hurt policing. It’s time the Government put its money where its mouth is and rewarded hard-working and dedicated police officers for the unique role they perform.”

Luke was responding to a speech by Home Secretary Suella Braverman in which she said political correctness was hampering police.

Ms Braverman was speaking at the Public Safety Foundation think tank where she said that officers should concentrate on “common sense policing”

She said: “Common sense policing means more police on our streets.

“It means better police culture and higher standards.

“It means giving the public confidence that the police are unequivocally on their side, not pandering to politically correct preoccupations.

“It means measuring the police on outputs such as public response times, crimes solved, and criminals captured.

“It means police officers freed up to spend their time on proper police work.

“It means police prioritising the highest harm crimes and those that matter most to the public.

“It means the police making use of powers like stop and search that have proven effective in taking weapons off our streets.

“And above all else, common sense policing means officers maintaining a relentless focus on fighting crime, catching criminals, and keeping the public safe.”

Ms Braverman added: “Now I believe in the police. But the policing in which I believe isn’t riven with political correctness, but enshrined in good old fashioned common sense.

“The perception – however unjustified or unrepresentative – that some police are more interested in virtue signalling, or in protecting the interests of a radical minority engaged in criminality, than they are protecting the rights of the law-abiding majority – is utterly corrosive to public confidence in policing. The police must be more sensitive to this and work harder to counter it.

“If police chiefs approached instilling a culture of political impartiality, with the same dedication which they approach instilling a culture of diversity and inclusion, I have no doubt that public confidence in policing would be materially improved.”

Luke added: “These comments are unhelpful and divisive and designed to deflect from the lack of investment in police and poor pay for officers.

“We’ve seen a 20 per cent cut in real terms in police wages in the past 20 years which is why I’m renewing our call for a minimum 17 per cent rise for officers.

“Our members come into policing to tackle criminals and to protect the public. But they can’t do it effectively when they’re having to visit food banks or worrying about paying their rent or their mortgage.”

Read Ms Braverman’s speech in full.