Pay and conditions: Loss of social spaces has been 'a hammer blow'

23 April 2024

The loss of canteens, social facilities, and subsidised accommodation - on top of real-term pay cuts - have been ‘a hammer blow’ to policing.

That’s the view of West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke.

Rich said the abolition of ‘non-pecuniary rewards’ made it even more difficult to recruit and retain officers.

“When you talk about the diminution of pay and conditions, you have to look at the whole package,” he said.

“When I joined, you had the pay, the pension, and you also had a wraparound of support.

“So I had subsidised accommodation, a canteen with good, subsidised food. We had car parking. We had social facilities.

“Most of that has disappeared.

West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke.

“We’ve had a 20 per cent reduction in pay on average since 2000. That is clearly a big issue but it has to be taken with everything else.

“With everything else it’s an absolute hammer blow.”

Rich said that a third of West Midlands Police recruits come from outside the Force area and those ‘non-pecuniary rewards’ helped anchor new officers.

“A high proportion transfer out as soon as they have their substantive rank and are able to transfer to another force,” he said.

“If, after you’ve spent a lot of money on training them, you want them to stay and to retain their skills, it’s by giving them a subsidised place to live.

“It helps the local community because they’re nearby.

“It’s a big incentive to stay in the area because they will possibly meet a partner, settle down, and then they’ve got ties to the area. They’ve going to stay in the West Midlands.

“These days, it’s like we don’t care. You’ve got to drive in every day. You’ve got to pay for your own parking.”

Rich said that the loss of access to residential training, such as used to be delivered at Ryton and Bruche, had also had an impact on recruitment and retention.

“You did a 12-week initial course where you lived on the site,” he said.

“That’s all gone, so you get a new recruit now who lives in Wales, which is an actual example in the West Midlands, and they have to drive into Birmingham every day to do their course.

“You’ve got to be seriously committed to do that, because I don’t think I’d have done that.

“There are all these things that are impacting people that aren’t summed up by pay.”

Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Rich added: “In any industry the incentives for individuals must be right.

“They should support them to settle, train carefully, reward their hard work sufficiently and allow them to appreciate the mostly non-pecuniary rewards a career like policing offers.

“So sad the opposite is now true.”

Rich’s comments come as the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has launched a study into how changes to police estate, particularly rest spaces, have affected police officers wellbeing.

The study is being carried out in partnership with the University of Lincoln, Liverpool John Moores University and the Open University.

Click here to take part in the research.