Officers unhappy over pay andmorale in force

ALMOST 70 per cent of Leicestershire Police officers who answered a recent survey would not recommend joining the force to a friend.

Pay and morale were the main issues highlighted by the 270 local officers (15 per cent of Police Federation members in Leicestershire) who answered the annual survey carried out by the Police Federation of England and Wales.

In response to the survey results, Chief Constable Simon Cole admitted that he too has concerns about remuneration and highlighted the fact that the force has 500 fewer officers than it did eight years ago.

When asked about morale within Leicestershire Police, 89.2 per cent of the survey’s respondents felt that it was currently low force-wide.

The three main reasons given were how the police as a whole are treated, management of change and pay and benefits.

When asked about pay, 86.5 per cent said they are not paid fairly for the stresses and strains of the job and 72 per cent said they are dissatisfied with their overall remuneration – including basic pay and allowances and pensions.

Leicestershire Police Federation branch sec- retary Matt Robinson said: “While I am disappointed that such a relatively low number of members completed this survey, we do need to see the results as a snapshot of the current feelings of officers.

“I think, in all fairness to the force, most members’ dissatisfaction is down to the Government cuts.

“Officers have seen their workload increase to such an extent that they are buckling under the pressure.

“With reduced funding, we have seen officer numbers fall at a time when demand has gone through the roof.

“Police officers join up to serve and protect, but they are struggling to provide an effective service and, as the pressures mounts, we are seeing more and more of our members suffering stress and other mental healthrelated issues.”

Of those quizzed, 69.9 per cent said they would not recommend joining the police to others.

Mr Cole said: “We conduct our own annual staff survey, which more than half the force completed this year.

“We are in the process of analysing its findings. However, the indication is that the vast majority of our workforce is proud to work for Leicestershire Police.

“I, like others, have concerns about remuneration. The recom- mendations made by the independent police pay body have been ignored, meaning that confidence in that process is undermined. We have more than 500 fewer officers than we did in 2010.

“The pressures that brings on colleagues are reflected in both the force and federation surveys.”