Message to new Government: ‘Police officers need a fair pay review process’

5 July 2024

The new Labour Government must hit the ground running in implementing its manifesto pledges on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, according to the chair of West Midlands Police Federation.

But Rich Cooke says it must abandon the current police pay review mechanism in favour of a fair system in which officers’ voices are heard to help restore their morale and ensure the public is served by a motivated and effective police service.

“In its manifesto, Labour set out plans to put 13,000 extra neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs on the streets which, of course, we welcome since we are aware of the impact the erosion of neighbourhood policing has had on the service we have been able to provide for our communities,” says Rich.

“In pre-election promises, which they must now fulfil, they also vowed to crack down on anti-social behaviour, impose tough new penalties for offenders, introduce a specialist rape unit in every force and get knives off our streets, an issue on which we have campaigned for a long time.

“However, for these plans to be effective, the new Government must first tackle the crisis in officer morale which has been crippling policing in recent years.

“Police officers feel they were not respected by the previous Government and felt undervalued. This was partly caused by the lack of an independent mechanism for determining police pay with the existing Police Remuneration Review Body being far from independent.

“The Federation has withdrawn from that process and now calls on the Government to restore a fairer mechanism, collective bargaining and a means for independent arbitration.

“This is not just about calling for a meaningful pay award for police officers but more critically making sure the way in which officer pay is determined is truly independent and, above all, fair through a process where we can be involved in negotiations as equals.

Named officers

“Police occupy a unique position in the constitution of the country and are therefore subject to certain unique restrictions and limitations, including not being able to join a trade union or go on strike.

“To a large degree, we, as police officers, have consented to that, but that is no longer the case and the new Government needs to urgently restore our trust by creating mechanisms that include us fully in decision-making.”

Rich Cooke, chair of West Midlands Police Federation.

In its manifesto, Labour said it would fund its plans for tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, which also involved every community and resident having a named officer, by ending tax breaks for private schools and through a Police Efficiency and Collaboration Programme.

“We hope that the pre-election pledges are properly funded and want to see long-term and sustained investment in policing, not the boom and bust funding we have seen in recent years,” says Rich, who is particularly keen to for plans to crackdown on knife crime come to fruition.

Labour wants to ensure knife carrying triggers rapid intervention and tough consequences with every young person caught in possession of a knife being referred to a Youth Offending Team and receiving a mandatory plan to prevent reoffending. Penalties would include curfews, tagging and custody for the most serious cases.

In the run-up to the election, it vowed to ban ninja swords, lethal zombie-style blades and machetes, and strengthen rules to prevent online sales with executives of online companies flouting the regulations being personally held to account through tough sanctions.

“Knife crime is blighting our communities,” says Rich, “Too many young lives are being senselessly lost, devastating their families. We want to see the Government act on this as a matter of urgency.”