‘Home Office must commit to improve officer pay’

2 May 2023

Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s calls for common sense policing must be matched by a commitment to improve officer pay and conditions, according to West Mercia Police Federation chair Barry Horton.

Ms Braverman gave a speech at the Public Safety Foundation in which she set out her ethos for common sense policing which includes  “a relentless focus on fighting crime, catching criminals, and keeping the public safe”.

She said the public wanted to see officers “pursuing good old fashioned criminal justice rather than social justice” and took a swipe at forces which had “completely abandoned impartiality in favour of taking partisan positions – sometimes even engaging in political argument on Twitter”.

“Now I believe in the police. But the policing in which I believe isn’t riven with political correctness, but enshrined in good old fashioned common sense”, said Ms Braverman.

Barry said most police officers would agree with Ms Braverman’s position but said the Force had been brought to its knees by 13 years of underfunding which had to be addressed.

“Everyone wants common sense community policing and bobbies on the beat but a lot of that was lost when bore the brunt of the public sector cuts imposed by the Government’s austerity programme,” he said.

“That underfunding and lack of resourcing has left policing in crisis and needs to be reversed if the service is to meet the demands of the Home Secretary.

“Pay and conditions will have to improve and the wider picture of how policing is financed also needs urgent review.

“The Police Federation has long argued that annual funding settlements don’t work and need to be replaced by a model of sustainable multi-year settlements so forces can make long term strategic plans to respond to the changing nature of crime.

“West Mercia Police has just announced its uplift recruitment figures but once again training, equipping and resourcing those new officers will take time and investment and can longer operate on a rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul basis.

“Our members want to deliver the kind of police service the Home Secretary outlined in her speech but to do so they will need the wholehearted support of the Government and a commitment to improve their pay and conditions.”

Ms Braverman said she believed policing had reached a turning point.

She said: “We must all work towards rebuilding public trust and refocusing on the public’s priorities.”