Pay and Morale Survey: 94% of Surrey Police officers do not feel respected by the Government

16 February 2022

A huge 94% of Surrey Police officers say they do not currently feel respected by the Government with 49% worrying about their finances every day.

The new figures from the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) 2021 Pay and Morale Survey come after 12 years of pay caps and pay freezes for the police.

71% of respondents from Surrey Police felt that they were worse off financially than they were five years ago and 13% of respondents reported never or almost never having enough money to cover all their essentials.

The negative impact of the Government’s treatment towards police officers and police pay is clear from the survey – 91% of respondents from Surrey Police felt that morale within the Surrey is currently low.

And 70% of respondents from Surrey Police said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been too high or much too high.

Last year police officers across England and Wales were given a 0% pay rise. Household bills are rising sharply and National Insurance is going up in April. Over the past 10 years police officer pay has fallen in real terms by 18%.

So it comes as no surprise that 80% of the 404 respondents from Surrey Police said that they are dissatisfied with their overall remuneration.

Meanwhile 71% of officers who responded said they would not recommend joining the police to others and 17% of respondents from Surrey Police said they had an intention to leave the police service either within the next 2 years or as soon as possible.

The Federation is urging MPs to support its campaign for a real-terms pay increase and a fair and independent mechanism to decide on police officer pay rises.

Mel Warnes, Surrey Police Federation Chair, said: “These results speak for themselves. There is an obvious feeling within Surrey Police that the Government do not respect the police, and this very much reflects the National picture.

“Alongside this, financial vulnerability is a big concern. More and more officers are worried about their finances. We know there is an increase in officers who have little or no money spare at the end of the month, but a lack of pay increases and a real terms pay cut of 18%, alongside an increased inflation rate, higher energy and fuel prices and NI contribution increase will only lead to even more officers having little or no money at the end of the month. The last thing we want is struggling officers turning to pay-day lenders.

“This vulnerability is on top of Surrey paying a competitive South East allowance rate and other allowances.

“Another worrying aspect is the increased number of officers intending to leave the service. This will lead to a loss of experience in an increasingly young in service Force.”