Record High Of Police Voluntary Redundancies

Police officers are resigning due to low pay, poor resourcing, high stress levels and a culture of criticism, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

New figures from the Home Office show the highest number of voluntary resignations among police officers in England and Wales since records began 17 years ago. A huge 5,058 officers resigned in the year to 31 March, which is 10% higher than the previous year and an almost five-fold increase in a decade – only 1,158 officers resigned in 2012.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said that although retention figures in his force weren’t too bad, he was concerned that more officers could resign if pay and conditions didn’t improve.

Speaking about the national figures, he said: “There are a number of aspects at work here, including pay. We are still among some of the worst-paid officers, on average, in the G7.

“Then there’s the constant risk of unfair criticism. As well as the poor resourcing and high stress levels. So it’s a perfect storm.

“It is right that officers need to be held to account. But there is a real culture of fear within policing at the minute, where cops think honest mistakes are going to end up getting them into trouble and putting their livelihoods at risk. That fear is adding to a culture where cops don’t necessarily want to work here anymore.

“We need to bring back common sense to discipline in policing, we need to properly resource police officers, and we need to pay them properly. It’s as simple as that. Until we do that, it’s going to carry on until it reaches a point where it’s not sustainable.”