Workloads for police are ‘unmanageable’

A REPORT says three-quarters of Devon and Cornwall Police officers feel worse off financially than they were five years ago.

- by STAFF REPORTER

According to the 2024 Police Federation of England and Wales pay and morale report, 87% of respondents have seen living cost increases in the previous month and 65% of officers are dissatisfied with their pay.

The survey, based on 1,024 responses from Devon and Cornwall Police officers, said 17% ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ have enough money to cover all their essentials.

And 23% of officers who responded said they intend to resign from the police service either ‘within the next two years’ or ‘as soon as (they) can’.

While police officers received a 4.75% pay rise in 2024, officer pay has reduced by a fifth in real terms since 2010. Nationally, 76% of officers responding to the survey said their pay does not reflect the dangers they face and a third struggle to afford essentials such as food, rent or heating.

Officers are also struggling with low morale and lack of support, the survey found. In Devon and Cornwall, 92% of officers said they do not feel respected by the Government, and 57% said they were experiencing low morale.