Almost nine in 10 (89%) Metropolitan Police officers feel ‘worse off’ financially now than they were five years ago and 22% ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ have enough money to cover all their essentials.
According to the 2023 Police Federation of England and Wales Pay and Morale Report 91% of respondents have seen living cost increases in the previous month and 82% of officers are dissatisfied with their pay.
Worryingly, 29% of Metropolitan Police officers who responded to the survey said they intend to resign from the police service either ‘within the next two years’ or ‘as soon as [they] can’.
Whilst Police Officers received a 7% pay rise in 2023, they have still seen an incredible 16% real-terms pay cut over the past 12 years.
Police chiefs have pointed out that the high cost of living in the UK is placing an even bigger strain on officers, as well as hampering recruitment. They have asked the Government for officers to receive a 6% pay rise in 2024.
Officers are also struggling with low morale and lack of support, the survey found. 97% of officers said they do not feel respected by the Government, and 71% said they were experiencing low morale.
84% of respondents from Metropolitan Police said that they would not recommend joining the police to others. 78% said they do not feel valued within the service.
Rick Prior, Acting Chair of Metropolitan Police Federation, said: “Police Officers need to be properly paid for the difficult and dangerous role we perform. We need to revert to the time when being a police officer was a lifelong vocation with decent pay and conditions, not a short-term job where officers struggle to put food on the table.
“We need an independent pay review body similar to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) who determine MPs’ pay, where their recommendations are legally binding. Like MPs, police officers play a vital role in our democracy; however, unlike MPs they also risk their lives on a daily basis to keep our communities safe - and this should be reflected in their pay.
“It is rank hypocrisy for the Government and MPs to have an independent and legally binding pay review mechanism for themselves, but insist on the non-binding and Government influenced Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) to advise on police officers’ pay.
“The Police pay review body is limited to considering matters only directly requested by the government, with the government being able to completely disregard any recommendations they make. This is wholly unacceptable. All we want is an independent and fair pay mechanism to determine police officers’ pay and conditions that we can have full confidence in.”
Officers are coming under attack from the public too, the report showed, with 14% having suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related violence in the last year.
Only 61% of officers who responded reported having access to double crewing at all times whilst on duty.
56% of respondents from Metropolitan Police said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been ‘too high’ or ‘much too high’. 12% of officers said that they have ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ been able to take an 11-hour break between shifts in the last 12 months and 33% said they feel ‘always’ or ‘often’ feel pressured into working long hours.
Sadly, 79% of respondents from Metropolitan Police indicated that they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing over the last 12 months, and 39% said that they find their job ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ stressful.
The survey is based on 5,946 responses received from Metropolitan Police officers.
