Police pay: South East allowance must be fair for Hampshire officers

HAMPSHIRE Police Federation says it’s “absolutely in support” of PFEW’s call for a 5% pay rise for all police officers.

PFEW, in conjunction with the Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA), has published its submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB), asking for a pay uplift of 5%. Last year officers were awarded 2.5%.

The PFEW has also asked for a minimum starting salary of £24,177, and an 150% uplift in the London and South East Allowances.

Alex Charge, Chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, said he was “100%, absolutely in support” of the request. “It’s a lot more expensive to live in the South East. That’s recognised in London with the London weighting. But within Hampshire we have the lowest South East regional allowance at £1,000. Other police officers in other areas don’t have such a significant problem.”

Alex pointed out there would soon be an uplift in numbers of new police officers, and they needed a reason to work in Hampshire rather than Surrey, where they could get an extra £2,000, or Sussex where they’d get an extra £1,500.

“They need to get parity across the board and index-link it, because it’s not unreasonable if you work as a police officer in the South East of England that you should be able to buy a home for your family.

“We also, as a police service, need to encourage all sorts of people to join, not just students or young people who live with their parents. We need to encourage people who are mid-life, people who’ve got kids, people who have done other things, people who have left the military, because the police needs to reflect the communities it works in.”

PFEW National Chair John Apter said: “For too many years police officers have been treated with contempt by Government, with their pay having effectively been cut by 18% in real terms over the past decade.

“And while we’re starting to see some positive moves from the new Government, ministers now need to show they are serious about their commitment to policing, by paying police officers fairly for the uniquely challenging job they do.”