Pay and Morale Survey: 93% of Sussex Police officers do not feel respected by the Government

16 February 2022

A huge 93% of Sussex Police officers say they do not currently feel respected by the Government with 45% 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.

75% of respondents from Sussex Police felt that they were worse off financially than they were five years ago and 14% 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 – 88% of respondents from Sussex Police felt that morale within the Sussex is currently low.

And 72% of respondents from Sussex 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 78% of the 607 respondents from Sussex Police said that they are dissatisfied with their overall remuneration.

Meanwhile 67% of officers who responded said they would not recommend joining the police to others and 13% of respondents from Sussex 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.