The Police Federation has warned that Labour’s plans to introduce more police will fail as record numbers of officers resign or plan to leave.
In an exclusive article for The Telegraph, Tiff Lynch, acting president of the Federation representing frontline officers, said Labor’s plans to recruit 13,000 extra neighborhood police officers were “unattainable” due to the attrition rate of officers leaving the service.
Home Office figures show the number of police officers voluntarily leaving the service has reached a record number of more than 5,000, or 3.4 per cent of the workforce. That’s more than double the rate four years ago.
The federation’s survey of its 145,000 members found one in five plan to leave the service within the next two years or as soon as possible. This is equivalent to 29,000 officers; 9,000 more civil servants than 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 extra neighborhood policing officers to reduce the crime that negatively affects our local communities, including antisocial behavior and shocking levels of shoplifting,” Ms Lynch said.
“In his own words, ‘victims are being let down’. The only way to achieve this is through a sustainable recruitment and retention program. “But I am concerned about the current performance in attrition rates, it seems unattainable.”
He said officers felt the police force was being “undervalued” by this year’s 4.75 per cent pay award, while millions of other public sector workers were rewarded with increases of 5 to 6 per cent for the current financial year.
This was despite a recommendation by the National Police Chiefs’ Council to give officers a 6 per cent increase to widen the gap between civil servants and other public sector workers.
“This advice was ignored and instead our hard-working police officers were given 4.75 per cent, which continued to widen the gap and deepen the divide between them and the people they work with to help the public,” Ms Lynch said.
“Since 2010, they have had a salary cut of almost 20 percent in real terms. How can this be fair? What impression does this give to young men and women considering becoming career police officers? How does this impact service to police officers and their families? So what message is going out to members of the public?”
Ms Lynch cited two cases last week where “extraordinary” and “courageous” police work on a daily basis helped convict a doctor who killed her mother’s partner by injecting him with a toxin and a computer who saved an unconscious driver from smoking. The vehicle burst into flames minutes after he pulled her out.
The federation, which represents rank-and-file officers up to the rank of chief inspector, is calling for a return to collective pay bargaining, where it can negotiate pay directly with employers rather than relying on the Police Pay Review Body, which was created in 2014. .
He has been boycotting the review body since 2021 because he claims the Home Office can set the parameters for any recommendation, there is no avenue for negotiation or arbitration and there is no obligation to accept the Government’s proposals.
The Federation has warned that if the Government rejects its call for collective bargaining it will put its 150,000 members to a vote on whether they want the right to industrial action.
Home Office data showed that the number of police officers leaving duty by March 2024 was 9,080, accounting for 6.2 per cent of the workforce; This is the second highest figure in history. More officers joined than left; this meant there were 147,746 officers in total, up 0.2 percent from March 2023.
A Home Office spokesman said: “This Government will work collaboratively with policing to meet the challenges and ensure officers have the right support, resources and recognition and to improve standards.
“As part of our mission to deliver safer streets, we will revitalize neighborhood policing and support forces to rebuild relationships with local communities.
“This includes the deployment of thousands of extra neighborhood police officers, community support officers and special constables who play a vital role in building trust in our communities.”
Civil servants are leaving in droves – Government target for more police unsustainable
I was first asked this question earlier this week: “So what are your views on Labour’s first 100 days?” Tiff Lynch writes.
Putting my personal views aside and placing the more than 145,000 police officers I represent at the center of my thoughts, I can say, based on recent meetings with ministers, that they appear to be listening to the concerns raised about persistent problems in policing. We appreciate this. However, as we pass the 100-day mark, we need to see warm words turn into action.
Policing, an essential public sector service, is being devalued. As we have seen, millions of public sector workers, excluding the police, have been rewarded with a 5 to 6 percent pay rise this financial year. Police chiefs have recommended increasing the pay gap between police officers and other public sector workers to 6 per cent, but this has been ignored and instead our hard-working police officers have been given 4.75 per cent, which continues to widen and deepen the gap between them and police officers did. the people they work with to help the public.
They have suffered salary cuts of almost 20 percent in real terms since 2010. How can this be fair? What impression does this give to young men and women considering becoming career police officers? How does this impact service to police officers and their families? So what message is going out to members of the public?
Morale has hit rock bottom
Last week, a Sunderland doctor was found guilty of attempting to murder his mother’s partner after injecting her with a flesh-eating disease-causing toxin during a fake Covid vaccination appointment. The police’s work in this case was praised by the Crown Prosecution Service, which described it as “an outstanding investigation into one of the most elaborate criminal schemes in recent memory”.
We also hear about the incredible constable Mark Jones from Cheshire Constabulary, who was commended after pulling an unresponsive driver from a smoking vehicle that was engulfed in flames shortly after the rescue. These are just two examples from around the week, but this extraordinary work and courage happens every day, 365 days a year, all over our country.
It is crucial that police are appropriately rewarded financially for their efforts to protect and serve the public in all situations. At the moment, morale among the rank-and-file is at rock bottom, 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 for a variety of reasons, including unfairness. pay.
Current attrition rates are alarming
We can’t stress enough; It’s not just about talking. According to official data, the voluntary resignation rate of police officers in the year ending March 31, 2024 was 3.4 percent, the highest rate in history. Home Office statistics reflect what police officers tell us every year, and the Government can no longer ignore this.
The fundamental problem is a broken and unfit for purpose payment mechanism that does not allow for negotiation and binding arbitration, only the payment of a fixed fee.
In our latest survey, 98 percent of civil servants supported the federation’s call for a return to collective bargaining through binding arbitration on 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 extra neighborhood police officers to reduce crime that negatively affects our local communities, including antisocial behavior and shocking levels of shoplifting. In his words, “victims are being let down.”
The only way to achieve this is through a sustainable recruitment and retention program. However, I am concerned about the current performance in attrition rates; This seems unachievable.
We have asked the government to work with us to reverse this damage and stop further record-breaking statistics on crime and mass layoffs of police officers by committing to reinstating a pay mechanism free of flaws and injustice.
Tiff Lynch, deputy chief executive of the Police Federation of England and Wales