Labour’s plans to put more bobbies on the job will fail as a record number of officers resign or plan to leave, the Police Federation has warned.
In an exclusive article for The Telegraph, Tiff Lynch, acting chairman of the Federation, which represents frontline officers, said Labour’s plans for 13,000 extra community police officers were “unfeasible” due to the turnover of officers leaving the service.
Figures from the Ministry of the Interior show that the number of police officers who have voluntarily left the service has reached a record high of more than 5,000, or 3.4 percent of the workforce. This is more than double what it was four years ago.
The federation’s survey of its 145,000 members found that one in five said they planned to leave the service within the next two years or as soon as possible. That equates to 29,000 officers – 9,000 more than the officer increase by the last Tory government.
“The Government has made it very clear that its current policing priority is to take back our streets, by investing in additional community policing officers, to reduce the crimes plaguing our local communities, including anti-social behavior and shocking shoplifting,” Ms Lynch said.
“In their own words, ‘victims are being abandoned’. The only way to achieve this is through a sustainable recruitment and retention program. But I worry about the current track record of employee turnover, which seems unachievable.”
She said officers felt the force had been “devalued” by this year’s 4.75 percent pay, while millions of other public sector workers had been rewarded with increases of between 5 and 6 percent for the current financial year.
This is despite a recommendation from the National Council of Chief Constables that officers should receive a 6 per cent pay rise to widen the gap between them and other public sector workers.
“This recommendation was ignored and instead our hard-working police officers were given 4.75 per cent, widening the gap and division between them and the people they work with in helping the public,” Ms Lynch said.
“Since 2010, they have suffered a pay cut of almost 20 percent in real terms. How can this be fair? What impression does this give to young men and women who are considering becoming career police officers? How does this affect police officers and their families? And what message goes to the public?”
Ms Lynch cited two cases in the past week in which “extraordinary” and “brave” police work each day helped convict a doctor who killed his mother’s partner by injecting him with a poison, and a PC who saved an unconscious driver from a smoking car. vehicle that caught fire minutes after he pulled it out.
The federation, which represents rank-and-file officers up to the rank of chief inspector, is demanding a return to collective wage bargaining, which would allow it to negotiate pay directly with employers rather than relying on the Police Remuneration Review Body, which was set up in 2014. .
The country has boycotted the review body since 2021, claiming that the Interior Ministry can set the parameters for any recommendation, that there are no means of negotiation or arbitration and that the government is not obliged to accept its proposals.
The federation has warned that if the government refuses its call for collective bargaining, it will vote its 150,000 members on whether they want to apply for the right to take industrial action.
Home Office data showed that the number of police officers leaving the service in the period to March 2024 was 9,080, accounting for 6.2 percent of the workforce – the second highest ever. More officers joined than left, meaning there were a total of 147,746 officers, an increase of 0.2 percent from March 2023.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This Government will work with the police to tackle challenges and ensure officers receive the right support, resources and recognition – and to improve standards.
“As part of our mission to create safer streets, we will restore community policing and support troops to rebuild relationships with their local communities.
“This includes providing thousands of additional community police, community support workers and special constables, all of whom play a vital role in building trust in our communities.”
Officers are leaving en masse – the government’s target for more police is untenable
It was early this week when I was first asked: “So, what are your thoughts on Labour’s first 100 days?” writes Tiff Lynch.
Putting my personal views aside and putting the more than 145,000 police officers I represent at the center of my considerations, based on our recent meetings with Ministers, I would say that they appear to be listening to the concerns expressed about the ongoing problems in the Police. , which we appreciate. But as we cross the 100-day mark, we must see that warm words translate into action.
As an indispensable service in the public sector, the police are being devalued. As we have seen, millions of public sector workers have been rewarded with 5 to 6 percent pay increases for the current financial year – with the exception of the police. Police chiefs recommended 6 percent, widening the gap between the pay of police officers and other public sector workers, but this was ignored and instead our hardworking police officers were paid 4.75 percent, widening the gap and division between them and the police increased in size. people they work with to help the public.
Since 2010, they have suffered a pay cut of almost 20 percent in real terms. How can this be fair? What impression does this give to young men and women who are considering becoming a career police officer? What consequences does this have for police officers and their families? And what message goes to the public?
Morale is at an all-time low
In the past week, a Sunderland doctor has been convicted of attempting to kill his mother’s partner after injecting him with a poison that caused a flesh-eating disease during a rigged Covid vaccine appointment. The police work in the case was praised by the Crown Prosecution Service, which described it as an “excellent investigation into what has been one of the most elaborate criminal plots in recent history”.
We also heard about the incredible PC Mark Jones from Cheshire Constabulary, who was praised after pulling an unconscious driver from a smoking car which caught fire not long after the rescue. These are just two examples from throughout the week, but this extraordinary work and courage is happening every day, 365 days a year, across the length and breadth of our country.
It is of the utmost importance that police are appropriately financially rewarded for their efforts to protect and serve the public in all situations. Currently, morale is at an all-time low among ordinary people and thousands of police officers tell us in our annual Pay and Morale Survey that they plan to leave the service as soon as possible or within the next two years, with reasons including unfair pay .
The current staff turnover figures are worrying
We cannot emphasize enough; this is not just talk. According to official data, the rate of voluntary resignations of police officers in the year ending March 31, 2024 is the highest ever recorded, at 3.4 percent. The Home Office statistics reflect what police officers tell us year after year and the Government can no longer ignore this.
The underlying problem is a broken and inadequate reward mechanism that does not allow for negotiation and binding arbitration, but only the imposition of a fixed reward.
In our recent poll, 98 percent of officers supported the federation’s call for a return to collective bargaining with binding arbitration for all parties, including the government.
The Government has made it very clear that its policing priority is to take back our streets, by investing in additional community policing officers, to reduce the crimes plaguing our local communities, including anti-social behavior and shocking shoplifting. In his own words: “victims are abandoned.”
The only way to achieve this is through a sustainable recruitment and retention program. But I am concerned about the current track record of employee turnover; that seems impossible.
We have offered to the government to work with us to undo this damage, to prevent more record-breaking crime statistics and police officer departures en masse, by committing to restoring a reward mechanism that is free from flaws and unfairness .
Tiff Lynch is acting chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales