Federation calls for urgent action on officer pay

9 May 2022

West Mercia Police Federation has repeated its calls for the Government to take urgent steps to ensure police officers are paid fairly.

The long-running row over pay erupted again earlier this year when a survey found eight out of 10 officers in the Force were unhappy with their remuneration while almost felt they were not respected by the Government.

One in 10 West Mercia officers said they wanted to leave the police service either within the next two years or as soon as possible.

Branch chair Sarah Cooper said: “Every day I am hearing from officers who are looking to leave the service. Experienced officers are finding that the pressures and sacrifices necessary to perform their role are simply not worth the poor renumeration and negative conditions they are expected to work under.

“They feel undervalued and the toll that is taking is just overwhelming for some. It used to be unheard of that an experienced officer would resign, but now it is commonplace and this is a huge detriment to the service and the public.

“In addition, I am regularly speaking to newly recruited officers who are looking for alternative employment before they have even completed their training. Many of these individuals have taken pay cuts to join the police and once they realise the demands being placed on them they are realising that they simply aren’t being fairly remunerated and are exiting the service.”

Sarah says the “appallingly low” starting pay makes it almost impossible for people with life experience and family commitments to choose the police as a career because of the significant drop in income they would face.

“I have spoken to officers who would have relevant experience to go into hard to fill roles, such as firearms, but they cannot afford to stay when they understand the realities of the entry routes and the low financial reward for what is being asked of them,” she explained.

Referring to the crisis in officer morale, Sarah said she genuinely believed things had never been so bad and she fears for the future of the police service and its ability to serve the public.

“The Government needs to wake up and see what is going on here. Policing is at crisis point and ultimately it will be the communities of West Mercia that suffer. Something needs to change so that my members feel valued and recognised for the unique and hugely challenging role they play in society. We are simply asking for fair pay,” she said.

“We are calling on the Government to work with the Federation on a new and fairer system for determining police pay to ensure officers are paid fairly for the critical roles they carry out and to help them recover from the years of real-terms cuts.”

New Police Federation national chair Steve Hartshorn has vowed to continue the fight for increased pay and improved conditions for officers.

He said: “My priority is to continue to build on the important steps we have taken in pushing for improved pay for police officers, as well as improving all their working terms and conditions of service.

“I will continue to apply whatever pressure is necessary on the Government. 

“Historically, governments have recognised the restrictions placed on police officers and were committed to ensuring they would suffer no detriment in terms of pay and conditions. Sadly, that no longer appears to be the case.”