Sussex Officers Are Choosing Whether To Buy Food Or Put The Heating On

11 January 2023

A shocking 85% of Sussex Police officers feel ‘worse off’ financially now than they were five years ago, new research has found.

And 18% ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ have enough money to cover all their essentials, according to the 2022 Police Federation of England and Wales Pay and Morale Report, published this month.

More than 1,700 officers responded to the research, which found that a shocking 98% had seen living cost increases in the previous month.

83% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with their pay.

Last year police officers across England and Wales were given an average of a 5% pay rise – but this was way below inflation booming now at more than 10%. Household bills are rising sharply and over the past 12 years police officer pay has fallen in real terms by 25%.

Officers are also struggling with low morale and lack of support, the survey found. A huge 91% of officers said they do not feel respected by the Government, a further nine in ten (91%) said morale is low at the force.

Officers are coming under attack from the public too, the report showed, with 19% having suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related violence in the last year.

Low mood and poor wellbeing is also a problem at Sussex. 69% said they do not feel valued within the service, and 72% said they would not recommend joining up to others.

Sadly, 86% of respondents from Sussex Police indicated that they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing over the last 12 months, and 48% said that they find their job ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ stressful.

Worryingly, 21% of respondents told researchers that they intend to resign from the police service either ‘within the next two years’ or ‘as soon as [they] can’.

Daren Egan, Chair of Sussex Police Federation, said: “This recent survey shows Police Officer morale is the lowest it has been in a generation. Increased demand and larger workloads have resulted in regular shift changes and days off being cancelled which is having a detrimental effect on their private lives. 48% of our officers now find their job extremely stressful and they are both mentally and physically exhausted.

“The cost of living crisis has hit Police Officers harder than most, resulting in a perfect financial storm for them. Let’s not forget, that up until last year, Police Officers were the only emergency service workers on a pay freeze. Accompanied with Police pay failing to keep up with inflation over the past 10 years, this has resulted in a real term pay cut of 30%.

“The long-term financial prospect for our Officers is dire. Police Officers do not qualify for any benefits or access to social housing but get paid far too little to be in a position to keep up with the cost of living, or to be able to buy any sort of home.

“For Sussex Officers, this forces them into one of the most expensive rental markets outside of London. Sadly we know a growing number are now making choices as to whether to buy food or put the heating on and for the first time in my 28 years in Policing, we are seeing food banks at Police stations.

“The Government have failed the Police Officers in England and Wales. With the winter of discontent upon us, I would advise other unions to take note of our plight.

“In 2014 the Government changed our Pay negotiation mechanism to the current Police Renumeration Review Body (PRRB). In effect, we now have a pay review body that the Government have dictated have no obligation to agree or even discuss any increases in Police pay, it beggars belief! As a result, the Police Federation of England and Wales withdrew from it last year and instead we are asking for a pay negotiation body similar to our colleagues in Scotland, but to date the Government are refusing to budge.

“Going forwards, I have planned meetings with the majority of Sussex MPs in Parliament to discuss these issues. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why 1 in 5 of our officers are now considering leaving the Police over the next 2 years. This is not only bad for our members, but it could make it harder to keep our communities safe.”