‘Officer uplift not enough without better pay and conditions’

27 January 2022

The Police Federation has welcomed a 2.4 per cent increase in the number of officers serving in Welsh forces.

The Government pledged to recruit 20,000 more police by March of next year and figures released yesterday show a small increase in all four of the forces in Wales – Dyfed Powys was up by 2 per cent, Gwent by 1.7 per cent, North Wales by 3.4 per cent and South Wales by 2.3 per cent.

Nicky Ryan, Welsh lead for the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), said: “These extra officers are very good news for Wales and represent a win for the Federation, as we have been campaigning for years for an uplift.

“However, even with the progress made so far, we should remember that this simply replacing the officers we lost during the austerity years and these gains could be temporary unless more is done by the Government to retain officers and to deliver longer term sustained police funding.”

Nicky is calling for the uplift to be accompanied by a commitment from the Home Secretary to sustainable funding for Welsh policing, as well as ensuring that officer pay keeps pace with inflation and the rising cost of living.

She added: “Getting more officers through the door is a start, but to keep our new recruits and our experienced officers requires continued investment in training, equipment and supporting our officers through difficult times – we know this is the best job in the world, but it is also difficult, stressful and challenging.

“We seem to be asking the near impossible of our new recruits, asking them to study for a degree with all the work that can entail while also learning their frontline policing role on the job.”

Ché Donald, interim national chair of PFEW, backed Nicky’s comments.

He said: “We need long-term recruitment and sustainable funding in policing, and police leaders must ensure they don’t just focus on getting people through the door, but also do what is needed to retain them.”

Last year, officers were shamefully rewarded for their hard work and sacrifices in the pandemic with a pay freeze, prompting the Federation to say it no longer had confidence in Home Secretary Priti Patel. The freeze has since been lifted.

The Home Office’s quarterly uplift statistics published yesterday show were 139,939 officers in England and Wales as of 31 December 2021 - an increase of 11,505 officers.

A total of 11,048 have been recruited through the Police Uplift Programme so far as part of the Government’s manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 more officers by March 2023. If the target is achieved, it would bring officer numbers up to around 148,000, which is slightly above the number of officers in 2010.