‘Police colleagues are broken and feel undervalued’
NINE OUT OF 10 OFFICERS FEEL LACK OF RESPECT FROM THE GOVERNMENT
MORE than nine out of 10 police officers in Leicestershire do not feel respected by the government, with some intending to quit the force.
The figure was revealed following the publication of the latest Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) Pay and Morale Survey, which looked at how officers felt in their jobs.
The Police Federation is the body representing rank-and-file officers.
The survey, which received hundreds of responses from Leicestershire officers, also revealed deep-rooted financial concerns among staff, with many said to be “broken” by their struggles.
A breakdown of the results shows major concerns about morale within the force, with 92 per cent of officers in Leicestershire saying they do not feel respected by the government.
A further 71 per cent of respondents felt that they were financially worse off compared to five years ago, with 42 per cent of officers said to be worrying about their finances “every day”.
The extent of their struggles also saw 11 per cent say they never or almost never have enough money to cover all their essentials.
Adam Commons, chairman of Leicestershire Police Federation, said the results may appear shocking to the public, but not to himself and others in the know.
“Unfortunately, the survey results are not a surprise,” said Mr Commons.
“My colleagues are broken and feel undervalued by a government which has been cutting their pay since 2010.
“We are in a cost-of-living crisis with inflation and bills going through the roof and I’m not surprised my colleagues are stressed about money.”
Those financial concerns come after officers were denied a pay rise last year, but low satisfaction was not just centred on money.
The PFEW survey revealed that 68 per cent of respondents felt that morale within Leicestershire Police was currently low.
Mr Commons believes the reasons for this are clear.
“For the past two years they have been on the frontline of a pandemic, putting themselves in harm’s way to continue protecting our communities while the government flip-flopped with legislation changes and last-minute decisions,” he said.
“On the one hand our ministers will give soundbite interviews praising the work the police have done, and in the next breath they will criticise the whole police service. The criticism hurts.”
That hurt is reflected in the survey figures, with more than half (54 per cent) saying they would not recommend joining the police to others.
More worryingly for the force, 8 per cent – almost one in 12 – said they intended to leave the police within the next two years – or as soon as possible.
“My colleagues put their lives on the line every day, and after a while you start to question if it’s worth feeling this low,” said Mr Commons, who reiterated calls for greater pay for officers.
His calls, which are being echoed and spearheaded by the national Police Federation, aims for a real-terms pay increase for officers around the country.
If successful, it would also see the creation of an independent mechanism to decide on police officer pay rises.
After the recent problems that have seen police bosses and politicians including Home Secretary Priti Patel and London mayor Sadiq Khan clash in the wake of Cressida Dick’s resignation from the Metropolitan Police, Mr Commons said the two should not mix again.
“That has proven again that there is no room for politics in policing,” he said.
“Take personal agendas and political manoeuvring out of the equation and get back to the basics of helping us preserve and improve the best policing service in the world. Let’s start with the creation of a fair pay and review body, completely independent of interference and see where we go from there.”
My colleagues put their lives on the line, and after a while you start to question if it’s worth feeling this low Adam Commons