West Midlands cop explains Australia switch as more officers move Down Under

The officer said there were no incentives to remain in policing in the UK as it was revealed that hundreds of serving officers have applied for jobs in Australia following a recruitment drive.

The officer, who doesn’t want to be named, said pay and lifestyle were key reasons behind his decision to pursue a new career on the other side of the world.

The 21-year-old said: “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to move to a new place.

“It’s grey, miserable and raining here at the moment and I’m not saying it’s not going to be like that in Australia but I’ve been before and I think the likelihood is low.

“I’ve applied for Queensland, whereas a lot of others have applied for Western Australia because they were the first to open up to British officers.

“Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Great Barrier Reef, it’s such a beautiful place, it would be silly not to go.

“I can go and if I don’t like it I can always come back whereas, if I didn’t go, in 20 years’ time I might be wondering what if?”

The officer’s comments come as it was revealed that 1,400 serving UK police officers have applied for jobs in Western Australia following a recruitment drive.

The officer said he would have to wait at least another four years for his UK wages to match the starting salary in Australia.

He said: “And that’s one of their lower pay scales as it only rises from there.

“It’s a no brainer as I will be earning more money and I’ll be in the sun, right next to one of the best beaches in the world.”

West Midlands Police Federation vice chair Jase Dooley said he wasn’t surprised officers were looking to take advantage of recruitment drives to relocate Down Under.

He said austerity had been a key driver.

He said: “This has been happening for a while since the first cuts.

“We lost a lot of officers. Recruitment was frozen. The pensions have been slashed. The pay has been slashed.

"We had a recent pay award of seven per cent but we’re still 10 per cent down from where we should be.

“We said that cuts have consequences.

“There’s no proper mechanism to bargain for pay. We pulled out of it because we weren’t being listened to and the Government wasn’t listening to what the Pay Review Board was saying.”

Mr Dolley said that officers were struggling under heavy workloads, while the scrutiny of every aspect of their role, including breaks, was turning officers away.

He said: “They can’t eat lunch because people say we’re not paying your wages for you to eat and what other industry would be treated like that?

“The conditions we’re up against such as cancelled rest days and court appearances when you’re on annual leave.

“We’re not even being spoken to about court dates, they’re just booking them and it doesn’t matter if you’re on a rest day or whatever, you’re expected to go.

“We’re only employing young people because the wage at the moment can’t cover a person with a family.

“We’ve got officers on food banks and what’s that all about?

“So, given the support they seem to get in Australia, the weather, the conditions, it’s not surprising when you hear officers are applying for roles.”