Poorly Paid Officers Struggle With High Housing Costs

More police officers, especially those who are single, are struggling with the high costs of housing, Hampshire Police Federation has said.

Federation Chair Zoë Wakefield was commenting following an article in The Times about a police officer who couldn’t afford his energy bills and ended up sleeping in his car.

She said: “It’s really difficult in Hampshire, because only those people who are in a couple are able to get on the property ladder. If you’re on your own and you’ve only got your police income, it’s pretty impossible, unless you’ve got lots of savings or you have family that can help you out.

“We’ve had officers who’ve been in rented accommodation and then suddenly the landlord decides to put the rent up and they can’t afford it. It puts them into such a tough position. We’ve also got single parents who are struggling to look after children on a really low wage.”

Another problem was the discrepancy between the London Allowance and the Southeast Allowance, Zoë said. Despite many Met officers living in the home counties, including Hampshire, they get paid more than officers working in southeast forces.

“It’s just so tough, particularly on younger-in-service officers. It doesn’t surprise me that officers are struggling this much,” said Zoë.

“It would be good to see forces and PCCs looking to see if there’s anything they can do. I know our PCC did look into whether any old police buildings could be converted into flats or rooms for officers to rent. There’s a property on the Isle of Wight that they’re considering converting into a house.

“I know force budgets are tight, but police officers should not have to be sleeping in their cars. It’s just so wrong.”