Financial struggles faced by officers laid bare in new independent study

14 March 2025

The chair of Nottinghamshire Police Federation says the results of a survey which lays bare the financial struggles facing officer make for ‘appalling reading’.

Simon Riley says the research by Metfriendly must serve as ‘a wake-up call’ to the Government about the money pressures members are under.

He said: “This survey makes for appalling reading.

“It’s shocking that we have so many people young in service, and supposedly the keenest because they’re at the start of their career, who are feeling they need to leave because of the financial pressures they’re under and that they can’t afford to live.

“It’s also shocking that this is having an impact on their mental health.

“It needs to be a wake-up call for the Government and for policing.”

Metfriendly, the UK police family finance specialists, surveyed more than 10,000 police officers and staff for its Police Family Finance Index.

Second job

It found 24 per cent of officers with one to five years of service are contemplating leaving policing and 18 per cent of officers in this group are considering taking on a second job.

Simon said it was ‘false economy’ for police officers not to be paid properly for their unique role in society.

He said: “For the recruitment, and then the first two years of an officer’s service with the cost of wages, training, pension, etc, I think the figures quoted are around £100,000

“If somebody leaves within those first couple of years, that’s £100,000 of public money that’s wasted, which is shocking.

Key findings

Other key findings in the Metfriendly survey included:

• 64% of officers reported financial concerns

• 17% of officers are missing meals due to a lack of money

• 55% of officers say financial stress is severely impacting their wellbeing

Simon said: “We have PFEW’s Pay and Morale Survey, which, broadly speaking, comes up with similar sets of results.

“Now we have this high profile survey from Metfriendly, one of the leading financial providers to police officers in the UK, which paints a bleak picture.

“The million dollar question is when is the evidence going to be enough for the government to act?

Take notice

“When are they going to sit up and take notice?”

Tiff Lynch, acting national chair, said the research provided further evidence in support of PFEW’s pay campaign.

She said: “Our worries are not just numbers on a page. Findings of independent studies such as this demonstrate the significant impact on the mental health and wellbeing of officers and their families because of financial hardship.

“We will be intensifying our campaign for police pay which takes into account the difficulties and dangers of the job and demanding that the Government urgently take remedial steps.”

Read the full report.

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