IT IS \u201cabsolutely scandalous\u201d that officers are struggling to make ends meet financially while they\u2019re risking their lives to protect the public, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Rising fuel and food bills, double-digit inflation, and worries about paying the mortgage or rent is hitting officers hard, according to Federation Chair Steve Kent.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe\u2019re getting people coming to us who are struggling to make ends meet. Even though we\u2019re not the biggest force geographically, we\u2019ve still got officers who live at one side of the county and because of the Peak District it takes them a long time to get to work. And they\u2019ve been struggling to afford fuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, it was a drip in terms of officers coming to us in financial difficulty, but what I\u2019m concerned about is: is that drip going to turn into a stream? We\u2019re going into winter and bills are going through the roof already.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know this is not just a problem in policing, this is a problem across the board. But it comes on the back of 12 years of horrendous pay progression for police officers. So where officers should be significantly financially better off at the moment, maybe better equipped to deal with the financial crisis, they\u2019re not.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re on their backsides, and it\u2019s absolutely scandalous that \u2013 especially our younger-in-service officers \u2013 are struggling to make ends meet when they\u2019re going out and risking their lives and their health to protect the public.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve said officers in crisis must approach their Federation Rep, who can signpost them to help, saying: \u201cThere\u2019s myriad things we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that No1 CopperPot Credit Union and Serve & Protect were holding financial seminars around the force, giving valuable assistance and advice.<\/p>\n
In addition, the Federation was in talks with the force about what it could do to help.<\/p>\n
Steve explained: \u201cI\u2019m pleased that the Chief Constable is keen to try to assist with the financial situation, and we are constantly in dialogue with the force about what it can do to make little differences to officers out there, in terms of the cost of living and the cost of things like parking.\u201d<\/p>\n