Pay and morale survey findings ‘difficult reading’

11 January 2023

Suffolk Police Federation chair Darren Harris says members are sick of the contempt in which they’re held by the Government.

Darren was speaking as a stark new report published today (Wednesday 11 January) reveals the poor morale and dissatisfaction with pay and conditions, and the frustration members feel towards the Government.

The annual pay and morale survey carried out by the Police Federation and involving members across England and Wales found that 94 per cent of Suffolk police officers don’t feel respected by the Government.

More than half of respondents (55 per cent) said their personal morale was low or very low, with 97 per cent saying that how they’re treated by the Government was a major factor. Pay (83 per cent) and how police are treated by the public (80 per cent) were the other main reasons.

The survey gathered responses from 406 rank and file Suffolk officers, around 30 per cent, and found that 88 per cent of respondents feel morale in the Force is low or very low.

Almost three quarters (74 per cent) said they are either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their remuneration. In addition, 86 per cent felt they were financially worse off than five years ago while 14 per cent reported never or almost never having enough money to cover all their essentials.

Darren said: “Our annual pay and morale survey makes for difficult reading and illustrates just how tough things are for our members, who are sick of the contempt they’re held in by the Government.

“They’ve had 12 years of real term pay cuts, cuts to officer numbers, cuts to support staff, cuts to training, cuts to just about everything but they’ve got on with their job and continued to serve and protect the public.

“But cuts aren’t without consequences and they’re having a huge impact on the lives of our members, particularly as the cost of living continues to rise. The survey found that three out of every 20 officers are struggling to pay for their basic needs.

“Officers are sick and tired of being underfunded, of attacks on their pay and conditions, and of being treated with contempt by the Government.”

Other key findings in Suffolk were:

Engagement

• 67 per cent said they would not recommend joining the police to others

• 68 per cent said they did not feel valued within the police.

Intention to leave

• 15 per cent said they intend to resign from the police service within the next two years or as soon as they can

• The most frequently cited reasons for intending to leave were the impact of the job on family and personal life (100 per cent), morale (98 per cent) and the impact of the job on mental health and wellbeing (98 per cent).

Workload and working time

• 65 per cent said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been too high or much too high

• four per cent said that they have never or rarely been able to take an 11-hour break between shifts in the last 12 months

• 34 per cent feel always or often pressured into working long hours over the last 12 months.

Safety, violence and physical injuries

• 39 per cent have experienced verbal insults such as swearing, shouting and abuse at least once per week in the past 12 months

• 11 per cent have experienced unarmed physical attacks such as struggling to get free, wrestling, hitting and kicking at least once per week in the past 12 months

• Only 11 per cent reported having access to double crewing at all times while on duty

• Eight per cent reported they had suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related accidents in the last year

• 15 per cent reported they had suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related violence in the last year.

Health and wellbeing

• 74 per cent indicated that their overall physical health is good or very good

• 44 per cent said they find their job very or extremely stressful

• 85 per cent indicated they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing over the last 12 months.

Read the full report.