ONE OFFICER’S STORY...
VICKY Knight, a detective constable with North Wales Police, said: “I have never known it to be this bad in 23 years’ service. I have never felt this poor.”
Ms Knight, a Police Federation rep, said she was “not alone”, with other officers also struggling.
The separated mother-of-one added: “I was scared on Saturday. I had no money left, and I mean like at the end of my overdraft, not a penny. And I had to go cap in hand to my mum. I’m 47 years old, I’ve been a professional for 20 years, it’s a professional job, and I had to go to my mum and say, “It’s been a five-weekend month, Mum, and I have got no money left and I need to buy school dinners”.
Earlier, Ms Knight had asked Priti Patel if she could live on the take-home pay of a probationary officer, £1,200 a month to “go out and get kicked and spat at”.
The officer said: “I could see the shock in her face when I asked her, ‘Could you live off twelve hundred pound a month?’
“She’s a mum herself. She’s a woman doing a very difficult job in a very male-orientated environment. What would you do if you found yourself in this situation?”
Ms Knight said after paying her bills, she is left with around £100 a month for food.
She said an accountant friend went through her finances and came to the conclusion she would be better off giving up her police officer role and working 22 hours a week in a shop, which would make her eligible for benefits and housing allowance.
Ms Knight, who said she had used food banks in the past, but not regularly due to the support of family and friends, added: “As a detective of 23 years, I couldn’t believe it. How is that even possible?
“Some of the politicians are so far removed from the reality of it and they live in their big houses in their nice area with their kids in public school.
“I joined the navy when I was 17 and I’ve done nothing but serve the public all my working life. I’m potentially going to lose my house. I’m potentially going to have to move back in with my parents.
“And I’m not on my own.”