Federation discussing opening a food bank to help struggling officers

SOUTH Yorkshire Police Federation is discussing opening a food bank to help struggling officers through the cost-of-living crisis, Chair Steve Kent has said.

Steve warned that with the cost of everything booming and police pay stagnating, many Police Officers are worried about paying the bills and putting food on the table as Christmas looms.

He said: “It’s really important for members to know that they can pick up a phone and have a conversation with people who can provide solutions.

“We’ve got financial institutions in our force who can give practical, independent advice to officers who are really struggling. We are exploring the possibility of having to open our own food bank in our force because we are cognisant that some people may be too embarrassed to come and seek help.

“The problem is that with the Government tightening the purse strings, some of the things that may suffer as a result are overtime and people should never have to rely on overtime to make ends meet. But sadly they do, and that is a worry for some people.”

Steve said UK officers are among the lowest-paid in the G7 and called for a “root and branch review of police officers’ pay”.

He added: “Sadly, no Federation has sufficient reserves to help out every cop who could do with more money. But those who really need it, who are struggling to put food on the table or heat their homes,they do really need to come to us and there’s things we can at least try and signpost or put in place to try and assist them.

“We are seeing an increasing stream of officers coming to us and it is worrying.”