Copped Enough: Public urged to back new police campaign

1 May 2025

Northamptonshire Police Federation is backing a hard-hitting campaign exposing the crisis in policing that is endangering officers' lives and putting public safety at risk.

Copped Enough: What the Police Take Home is Criminal calls for urgent action on police pay, conditions, and welfare.

It is launched on International Workers’ Day (1 May), which celebrates the dignity of labour and the right of every worker to fair pay and safe conditions.

However, police officers in Northamptonshire have no industrial rights while face spiralling trauma, violence, and risk, all while losing a fifth of their pay in real terms since 2010.

The campaign calls on the public to support police and their families by joining a 'digital picket line' in protest at www.polfed.org/campaigns/copped-enough

The reality for our officers:

• Nationally, 10,000 officers will resign every year by 2027, forcing the government to spend £9.9 billion recruiting and training their replacements just to stand still.

• 35 per cent of police officers in England and Wales have five or less years’ experience today, a third more than in 2020.

• 82 per cent of officers in Northamptonshire feel worse off financially than five years ago – the highest figure outside the City of London and the Met police forces.

• 14 per cent of officers in Northamptonshire report ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ having enough money to cover all their essentials. 

 

 

Northamptonshire Police Federation warns that the crisis is deepening, with recruitment and retention issues already impacting policing in our communities.

Branch chair Sam Dobbs said: “Our officers are overworked, underpaid and under threat while their real income continues to shrink.

“We have officers using food banks, struggling with mental health, and feeling forced to leave the job they love.

Copped Enough

“Police officers put up with more than most, but too many have just Copped Enough.

“Without urgent action to restore fair pay and protect welfare, we face a dangerous loss of experience and a direct threat to the safety of our communities."

The Copped Enough campaign calls for action in three areas: 

1. Restore police pay

• Urgent and fully-funded pay restoration

• Introduce a ‘P-Factor’ allowance to reflect the unique demands and risks of policing

• A binding, independent pay review system, free from political interference

2. Stop the exodus of experienced officers

• Develop retention packages for skilled officers

• Implement a national workforce strategy focused on experience, not just recruitment numbers

• Improve work-life balance with better parental leave, protected rest days, and career transition support

3. Protect Frontline Officers

• Enforce tougher sentencing for those who assault police

• Centralised funding for police treatment centres, not out of police officer pockets

• Mandatory national recording of suicides and suicide attempts in the service, with dedicated mental health support 

As part of the campaign, Sam urged the public to stand with police and their families by joining a digital picket line at www.polfed.org/campaigns/copped-enough

He said: “We need a well-resourced and well-managed police service with officers who feel wanted and supported.

“But the facts are that morale in policing is low, and thousands are thinking of leaving.

“You can’t have safe communities without enough police. And you can’t have enough police if poor pay means experienced officers have just Copped Enough.”