‘Officers feel alienated by Government’

11 January 2023

The Police Federation’s Welsh lead has said the Government is “totally alienating police officers” following the publication today of a new report into pay and morale.

Nicky Ryan is calling on politicians in Parliament at Westminster to listen to the views of rank-and-file officers and take steps to repair the “broken relationship”, after a staggering 93 per cent said they do not feel respected by national leaders, and 64 per cent do not feel valued within the service.

Nicky warned: “The Federation’s latest pay and morale survey of our members in Wales must be a wake-up call for police leaders and Westminster.

“It shows just how bad relations are right now between the service and the Government. More than half of Welsh officers are telling us that their morale is low, an even greater number think morale is poor in their force, and 12 per cent tell us they intend to leave policing in the next two years.  This alone should ring alarm bells at a time when the Government at Westminster is coming towards the end of a three-year recruitment drive, as we are losing experienced officers as fast as we are taking on new recruits.” 

Nicky said this was hardly surprising given that nearly one in five respondents from Welsh police forces reported ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ having enough money to cover their essential spending, and 98 per cent are feeling the pinch from inflation.

She added: “Police officers should feel proud of the job they do. They work incredibly long hours, put themselves in harm’s way, and uphold our laws – they are the very best of society. Yet our survey has found that two thirds of Welsh officers would not advise others to become a police officer. That is incredibly sad.

“I urge police chiefs and Government to make it their new year resolution to rebuild this lost trust, starting today. Warm words are not enough, our members have heard it all before, we need to see action around pay, workloads and mental health.”

The Federation surveys members across England and Wales every year to gather their views around pay and morale. The findings are then used in conversations with police leaders and other stakeholders to evidence the need for change. The latest survey received 1,916 responses from the Welsh police forces, representing a response rate of around 25 per cent.

Key findings included:

• 80 per cent of respondents dissatisfied with their pay and allowances
• 98 per cent feel worse off due to inflation and the cost-of-living
• 18 per cent reported ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ having enough money to cover all their essentials
• 51 per cent reported low personal morale, and 84% believe morale in their force is low
• 93 per cent do not feel respected by Government
• 48 per cent are dissatisfied with Professional Development Review Process
• 66 per cent say their workload has been ‘too high’ or ‘much too high’ in the last 12 months
• 15 per cent have been physically assaulted at least once a week in the last year.

A total of 51 per cent of respondents described their morale as poor, down from 59 per cent in the previous survey which was during the pandemic. The numbers reporting low in their force (84 per cent) was close to the previous survey (87 per cent).

The survey found the main reasons for low morale across the four Welsh forces of Dyfed Powys, Gwent, North Wales, and South Wales, was pay (86 per cent), workload (66 per cent), how the police are treated by Government (94 per cent), the treatment of police by the public (80 per cent), pension (69 per cent) and opportunities for promotion (32 per cent).  

These numbers are consistent with English forces, apart from opportunities and development, where a higher percentage (39 per cent) highlighted this area as a factor in their low morale.

Read the full report.