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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
68% of respondents from\u00a0Essex\u00a0Police felt that they were worse off financially than they were five years ago and\u00a017%\u00a0of respondents reported never or almost never having enough money to cover all their essentials.<\/p>\n
The negative impact of the Government\u2019s treatment towards police officers and police pay is clear from the survey \u2013\u00a077%\u00a0of respondents from\u00a0Essex\u00a0Police felt that morale within the Essex is currently low.<\/p>\n
And\u00a060%\u00a0of respondents from\u00a0Essex\u00a0Police said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been too high or much too high.<\/p>\n
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%.<\/p>\n
So it comes as no surprise that\u00a077%\u00a0of the\u00a01568\u00a0respondents from\u00a0Essex\u00a0Police said that they are dissatisfied with their overall remuneration.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile\u00a058%\u00a0of officers who responded said they would not recommend joining the police to others and\u00a010%\u00a0of respondents from\u00a0Essex\u00a0Police said they had an intention to leave the police service either within the next 2 years or as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Laura Heggie,\u00a0Essex\u00a0Police Federation Chair, said: \u201cThis was the highest return for any survey in recent times in Essex Police which shows the strength of feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt came as no surprise that 90% of the respondents don\u2019t feel respected by the Government, what have they done to make them feel any different?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"