Police crisis with one in five officers planning to quit job

Policing is facing a “perfect storm”, with fears of a looming staffing crisis as figures reveal more than one in five officers is poised to quit the service.

- AMY-CLARE MARTIN

 

A major survey of rank and file officers found 22 per cent are planning to resign in the next two years – up from 18 percent the previous year and just 12 per cent in 2021 – in the wake of complaints of poor pay, declining mental health and low morale.

The stark figures from the Police Federation’s annual survey come after a record figure of almost 9,200 officers left forces last year, with one police figure warning: “They are feeling that it’s just not worth being a police officer any more. We have never known it so bad.”

According to the survey, officers have had faeces thrown at them and endured being spat at in public, with many feeling like they are a “scapegoat” for the nation’s issues.

It comes after a string of shocking scandals involving police officers, including serial rapist David Carrick and Sarah Everard’s attacker Wayne Couzens, as well as a high-profile spat with former home secretary Suella Braverman, who accused police of bias in their handling of protests over the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Federation chairman Steve Hartshorn warned policing is facing a recruitment and retention crisis if another 9,000 leave the force this year – adding that the attrition rate has previously sat at between 6,000 to 7,000 leavers.

He pointed out that officers are struggling with low pay during the cost of living crisis, forcing six in 10 to cut down on energy use and spend less on food and essentials, combined with unsustainable workloads – including pressure facing officers drafted in from around the country to police the protests.