Police Pay Must Increase Across The Board

The ‘P-Factor’ is important, but police pay needs to be increased across the board, the Chair of Hampshire Police Federation has said.

The P-Factor represents the dangers police officers face and is often cited as a reason officers should be paid more. Last month the Social Market Foundation (SMF) published a blog saying that there would be a continued decrease in officers’ spending power in the years ahead, and that there was a strong argument for increasing transparency around the P-Factor.

Meanwhile, the latest PFEW Pay and Morale Survey found that 73% of respondents from Hampshire Constabulary were ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with their overall remuneration, and 56% said their morale was currently ‘low’ or ‘very low’.

Zoë Wakefield, Chair of Hampshire Police Federation, said that the current Government was not looking at the P-Factor, but she was optimistic that a new Government might consider it. But she was clear that police pay must increase for all officers, not just those who were considered to work in more dangerous or challenging roles.

Zoë said: “Even if our pay was just increased in line with inflation, that would be a big boost for police officers. That would make them feel more valued. Pay increases need to be across the board.

“It is no surprise that police officers are still struggling financially. There are officers who are only filling their car up with petrol on pay day. We’ve got other officers who have only been able to afford to get somewhere with their partner, then they’ve then split up and then can’t afford to move out. That’s no good for people when they need that rest and downtime from a difficult and stressful job, if the atmosphere at home is difficult and stressful as well.

“The results from the Pay and Morale Survey for Hampshire are on a downward trend, particularly around officers’ welfare. When we drilled down into the responses, there was an even spread of respondents across all ages, ranks and length of service. So there’s lots of work to be done.

“I’ve already met with the Chief Constable and the Deputy Chief Constable to discuss the results. They’re concerned as well, and they’re going to look at what work can be done to improve these issues.”