Pay and Morale Survey: 90% of Essex Police officers do not feel respected by the Government

A HUGE 90% of Essex Police officers say they do not currently feel respected by the Government with 53% worrying about their finances every day.

The new figures from the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) 2021 Pay and Morale Survey come after 12 years of pay caps and pay freezes for the police.

68% of respondents from Essex Police felt that they were worse off financially than they were five years ago and 17% of respondents reported never or almost never having enough money to cover all their essentials.

The negative impact of the Government’s treatment towards police officers and police pay is clear from the survey – 77% of respondents from Essex Police felt that morale within the Essex is currently low.

And 60% of respondents from Essex Police said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been too high or much too high.

Last year police officers across England and Wales were given a 0% pay rise. Household bills are rising sharply and National Insurance is going up in April. Over the past 10 years police officer pay has fallen in real terms by 18%.

So it comes as no surprise that 77% of the 1568 respondents from Essex Police said that they are dissatisfied with their overall remuneration.

Meanwhile 58% of officers who responded said they would not recommend joining the police to others and 10% of respondents from Essex Police said they had an intention to leave the police service either within the next 2 years or as soon as possible.

The Federation is urging MPs to support its campaign for a real-terms pay increase and a fair and independent mechanism to decide on police officer pay rises.

Laura Heggie, Essex Police Federation Chair, said: “This was the highest return for any survey in recent times in Essex Police which shows the strength of feeling.

“We know officers are struggling with their finances, but to hear almost a fifth say they never or almost never having enough money to cover all their essentials is a blow. You cannot expect officers to be performing at their best when their mind is elsewhere on just getting through from day to day.

“It came as no surprise that 90% of the respondents don’t feel respected by the Government, what have they done to make them feel any different?

“The Government is breaking policing. Those in power need to not just sit up and listen, we need action, we need a fair system to decide on pay rises and those rises are needed now.”