Devon & Cornwall Police Federation have issued a damning press release after their pay and morale survey blasted a hole in the force’s ability to retain staff in a service that is already in need of more officers.
Among the findings of the pay and morale survey, 95 per cent of police officers said how the police are treated by the Government had a negative impact on their morale.
Steve Lodge said: “News from the Devon & Cornwall Police Federation that that 1 in 5 police officers plan to quit should ring warning bells to the Government. Spending on police has only just crept up to 2011 levels in real terms – which means there has been underfunding of the police amounting to billions of pounds for well over a decade. It is understandable that confidence in the Government by police officers is so low.
“This Government has also asked council tax payers to pick up much of the bill for policing, and the current Conservative Police & Crime Commissioner has increased the police precept by 4.9% when people are struggling to cope with the cost of living crisis. It is time this Government was removed and people got a fair deal – and if elected I will press hard for fair funding and smarter spending so that we invest in better policing.”
• 81 per cent said their pay had a negative impact on their morale.
• 73 per cent said they would not recommend joining the police to others.
• 71 per cent said they did not feel valued within the police.
• 92 per cent of respondents feel they are not fairly paid given the stresses and strains of their job.
• 86 per cent said they do not feel there are enough officers to meet the demands of their team or unit.
• 64 per cent said their workload has been ‘too high’ or ‘much too high’ over the last 12 months.
• 39 per cent said their workload being too high had an impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
The press release is available here: https://www.polfed.org/dcp/news/latest-news/pay-and-morale-survey-undervalued-police-officers-planning-to-quit/