The latest Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) Pay and Morale Survey has found that an increased number of officers within Cambridgeshire Constabulary are planning to leave the Force.
Results released yesterday (Thursday 1 May) revealed 21 per cent of participants reported an intention to resign from policing ‘within the next two years’ or ‘as soon as they can’. This response is up from 14 per cent last year.
The most frequently cited reason for wanting to depart the Force was morale (cited by 84 per cent), followed by the impact of the job on mental health and wellbeing (73 per cent) and how police are treated by the Government (70 per cent).
Pay remains an ongoing concern in Cambridgeshire, with over half either ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with their overall remuneration, including basic pay and allowances.
Federation chair Liz Groom commented on these findings, saying: “It is disappointing to see a substantial number of branch members feeling like they have no other choice than to leave policing, and my sympathy is very much with them.
“That said, these figures come as no surprise. Demands and pressures are only growing, while pay and conditions continue to stand still – or even worsen.
“These results only support my ongoing argument for officers in Cambridgeshire to be given the south east allowance. It’s massively unfair that our members are not eligible for the allowance, while our neighbouring forces – Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire – are.
“It’s no wonder morale is so low.”
Liz added: “Although we can acknowledge a fair gap between the proportion of Cambridgeshire Constabulary respondents who reported at least some level of unhappiness over their pay and the corresponding national average (52 per cent or 65 per cent, respectively), I think we can agree that over half feeling that way is still an unacceptable level.
“As always, I will be using the survey findings to shape conversations with police decision-makers on behalf of the Federation, and I want to assure our members I will never settle for anything less than the best for you, when it comes to moving forward with your rights and entitlements.”
This year’s Pay and Morale Survey results come at a time when the PFEW has launched a national campaign which aims to expose the police pay crisis.
Copped Enough: What the Police Take Home is Criminal, is calling for immediate action around the pay and conditions of police officers in England and Wales.
A key criticism highlighted by Copped Enough comes around the fact that real-term police pay has been lost by a fifth since 2009.
And this reality was echoed by Cambridgeshire respondents in the survey, with three-quarters saying they felt worse off financially than they were five years ago.
As for concerns around safety on the job, 14 per cent of respondents reported they had suffered one or more injuries as a result of work-related violence that required medical attention in the last year – very similar to last year’s rate of 15 per cent.
With many Cambridgeshire-based cops required to join the police response to civil unrest in the UK last summer, only 24 per cent said they felt ‘completely’ or ‘very’ safe and supported during these times.
Part of the Copped Enough proposal for change is around better protection on the frontline for police, with appeals launched for stronger sentencing for officer assaults and the funding of police treatment centres centrally.
“Now, I think we need to be stronger than ever on what we expect as police officers when it comes to our general treatment – our members want, and deserve, more in return for the lengths we go to every day, not less,” Liz added.
“Hopefully, this new campaign will bring more momentum to that mission, because police officers have been pushed to their limits for far too long, and we need to communicate that only a complete reversal of that will be good enough.”
Read the full Cambridgeshire Pay and Morale Survey results.
As part of the campaign, the public is being urged to stand with police and their families by joining a digital picket line at www.polfed.org/campaigns/copped-enough