It is vitally important that police officers get their voices heard by filling in the new Pay and Morale Survey, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
The latest Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) Pay and Morale Survey launches this week, and South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent says it is a key piece of evidence that he uses when speaking to local MPs and advocating for officers\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n
Steve said: \u201cThe survey is massively important because it\u2019s one of the few things that we can use to gather evidence about how pay is affecting officers on the frontline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I went out to speak to officers this year, there was a mix of views on the 7% pay deal. There are some who are used to being ignored and treated appallingly over pay who think this is a great result. But there are also officers out there who, quite rightly, acknowledge that that wasn\u2019t anywhere near enough to repair the damage of the last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve acknowledged that there could be \u2018survey fatigue\u2019 among officers and that he had received emails asking him what the point of the survey was.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI would urge people to fill it in because it\u2019s what we can actually use in discussions with MPs, and get people on side to understand the plight of police officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can use the survey to go to our local MPs and say, \u2018You know cops are struggling to put fuel in their cars? You know cops can\u2019t afford to pay the mortgage? You know cops are using food banks?\u2019. Because MPs always ask, \u2018Can you back what you\u2019re saying up? Can you give me some evidence?\u2019. It\u2019s great to have something like this behind me, with localised results.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI do get that cops haven\u2019t got time to pull their socks up half the time, let alone anything else. But I cannot impress enough how the collective response helps me do my job locally, and then feed into the national picture. And also the media picture \u2013 cops do want to see supportive media articles as opposed to the majority that are attacking us. So this is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n