Police Federation chairman: Pay officers a decent wage

THE low pay on offer to police officers is putting off new recruits to Essex Police, the force’s federation has said.

Mark Smith, chairman of Essex Police Federation, (pictured) said the force has seen “issues with recruitment and the standard of recruits”.

Andy Fittes, general secretary of the Police Federation of England and Wales made the same point at an open meeting earlier in the month.

He said that to get a “flexible, motivated and balanced workforce you need to pay a decent wage.”

Mr Smith told EssexFedFocus: “The issue for me is that they have changed the regulations to say that unless you have Special or military experience, you need A levels to join the service. But we are not going to get these people. If they have worked hard to get their A levels or degree, why are they going to want to join up only to get the current wage? It is a big issue.”

He said the problem was reminiscent of the 1970s, when recruitment was so low the Government had to double the police wage overnight.

Mr Smith added: “The Government is saying that there is a queue of people wanting to join up. But I don’t agree. People see the cuts, they see the problems the police are having, the changes to pay and conditions and I do not believe there is this queue of people around the block. They just need to pay a decent wage and then the force will have its pick of applicants.”

Mr Fittes told the Greater Manchester Police Federation’s annual meeting there was a risk the service was “teetering on the edge of not recruiting the right people into the organisation.”

Mr Fittes told more than 200 officers at the meeting on the Thursday 13 November, that the national the Fed is working to convince the new Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) that there is a need to pay officers this “decent” salary.

Earlier this month Home Secretary Theresa May published the remit for the new PRRB – with officers set for no more than a 1% pay rise in 2015. However the final decision will not be made until next year.

Mr Fittes said: “It is a new way of working. It is a way of joint working, with the chiefs [and] Superintendents’ Association to deliver a joint message on behalf of policing – which basically say pay officers a decent wage, otherwise you don’t get good police officers.

“It is a lot more complicated than that and obviously it has to be evidence based argument but basically that is what we are saying to the Pay Review Body… if we say it jointly on behalf of all of policing it is a stronger message.”