SOUTH Yorkshire Police officers are dealing with \u201cunbelievable stress for an absolute pittance\u201d and an increasing number are leaving for the private sector, the Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Recent official submissions to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) warned the Government that policing would be under threat if it continued to ignore calls for a fair pay increase. A third of officers now have fewer than five years\u2019 experience, and a rising number are leaving the service.<\/p>\n
Yet it has been reported that the Government is planning a below-inflation 3.5% pay rise for police officers and other public-sector workers.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cThere needs to be a drastic improvement in police pay. A number of our officers across the force are now exploring other options. They\u2019re not just saying it in the heat of the moment. They\u2019re looking at contingencies about where else they can go and work, so that they can make ends meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudent officers, experienced officers, and officers of rank are all talking about leaving. South Yorkshire Police is doing better than most when it comes to recruiting, but even we are finding this challenging. So the knock-on effect across the country is going to be forces who are really struggling to make the numbers up.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cIf we start losing experienced officers, what are we going to be left with? We need to be improving the standards of policing, not lowering them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a foodbank for officers, and it\u2019s being used with increasing regularity \u2013 that shows how hard officers are finding it financially at the minute. There needs to be a bare minimum of a 10% pay rise, and I\u2019m calling for 15%. We are one of the poorest-paid police services in the G7, and that is being felt by our officers who are putting their lives on the line, dealing with unbelievable stress for an absolute pittance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way we can address this is to start properly investing in policing, and making the job attractive to the right people, because we want to be competitive. We want to bring in exciting young talent, and at the minute that\u2019s not going to be happening when people are coming in and seeing that the pay is very poor compared to the private sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
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