Chair says 2.5% pay award for officers is a step in the right direction

A 2.5% pay rise for police officers given the economy is in a precarious place due to the pandemic is ‘a step in the right direction’ says Hampshire Police Federation.

The Home Office announced it had accepted the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) recommendations and officers will notice the uplift in their September pay packets.

It’s half of the 5% police leaders wanted but has been broadly welcomed by the service and Federation Chairs, including Hampshire Chair Zoe Wakefield.

“Police officers have faced cuts to their pay for several years and the removal of different payments and allowances such as the competency related threshold payments, priority payments,” she said.

“We also have had increases to our pension contributions. The starting salary for new officers has decreased. Police officers aren’t adequately paid for the risks that they face and the level of responsibility that many roles carry, but the 2.5% rise is a step in the right direction in the current climate.

“It goes a little way to making up for the years of cuts to our wages.”

Zoe hopes the increase is heralding a new relationship between policing and the Government damaged by what appeared to be a lack of trust and respect for policing from previous administrations.

She said the current Government appeared to be backing the police even though it’s warned the public sector to expect pay ‘restraint’ to help fill the financial hole left by the pandemic.

“This Government has shown that it values police officers and the contribution that we make. To not continue to recognise that contribution, not just us but also the other emergency services, could damage our future relationships which we wouldn’t want given how things are now compared to the previous Government,” she said.

“Given that the country’s likely to face a recession, crime is likely to increase. So is the workload for police officers, we’re going to have to deal with more offences, and more importantly we’re going to be dealing with more victims of crime as well.

“So I think it’s probably quite early for the Chancellor to say that and hopefully it won’t happen.”