‘Poverty puts police at risk of corruption’

Police could be at risk of “corruption and financial control and coercion by criminal gangs” because they are paid so poorly, warns the man who represents Avon & Somerset rank-and-file officers.

Mark Loker, chairman of the force’s Police Federation, has launched a stinging attack on the Government for showing “contempt” and “loathing” to officers, whom he says are “breaking” because of the way they are treated and the fact they are in abject poverty.

In a post on Facebook, Mr Loker said policing was facing more cuts amid plans in Westminster to implement austerity measures across the public sector because of the economic crisis.

He wrote: “We know we are not going to earn lots; we know we are going to be hammered mentally and physically. We know this but still do it anyway, it’s a vocation and long may it continue to be.

“But at what stage does this become economically unviable?

“Police salaries should not leave our officers unable to pay the bills, to afford the luxuries in life - like food, or household energy, or petrol you know, the stuff of dreams.

“I jest, but this is the reality, this is the true contempt shown to your police service by this Government.

“They have us over a barrel because we cannot say ‘No’ or ‘Please Sir, may I have some more’ and by God does this Government take full advantage of that.

“And are we feeling the effects of slow starvation under this regime.

“We cannot ask for more, nor should we be silly enough to expect more. All this Government demonstrates is that it is hell bent on demanding more from the police.

“Cuts do have consequences and what this Government seems to forget is that our resources are finite.”

He added: “Leaving police officers in relative poverty, 25 per cent below where we should have been in the space of a decade, could lead to officers being susceptible to corruption and financial control and coercion by criminal gangs.

“Not attracting the best candidates to replace, sorry ‘uplift,’ 20,000 officers because the pay and conditions are just not worth the risk and restriction on your private life.

“These are real risks and the real reasons there is a crisis in policing.”

A Home Office Spokesperson said: “Our police do an incredible job on the frontline, often in the most difficult of circumstances.

“We are ensuring police forces have the resources they need to keep our communities safe.

“This is why we’ve increased the police funding settlement by more than £1 billion this year, providing up to £16.9 billion for the policing system.

“Additionally, every police officer received a £1.9k uplift to their salary this year which equalled up to a 8.8% increase for those on the lower salary bands.

“Avon and Somerset Police will receive up to £362.2 million in funding in 2022/23, an increase of up to £18.6 million as compared to 2022/21 levels, and has already recruited 318 additional uplift officers at 30 June 2022.”