Three out of five West Midlands Police officers 'dealing with low morale'

The Police Federation's annual pay and morale survey showed the figure was at 61 per cent at West Midlands Police, up from 52 per cent the year before.

The figure is higher than the national average of 58 per cent – with almost nine in 10 officers saying they felt morale was low within the force itself.

Meanwhile the biggest factor affecting officers' morale in the region was how police were treated by the Government, with the figure hitting 95 per cent.

Almost nine in 10 officers reported low morale over how the police are treated by the public, with three-fifths raising the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eight in 10 officers said they were dissatisfied with their overall remuneration, including basic pay and allowances, in the force, according to the federation.

Almost half reported worrying about the state of their personal finances whilst one in 10 reported never, or almost never, having enough money to cover all their essentials.

Three-fifths of officers said their workload had been too high, or much too high, over the last 12 months. Although only five per cent said they have never, or rarely been able, take at least one rest day per week in the last 12 months.

West Midlands Police Federation deputy chair Samantha Hughes said: “This report makes grim reading and should serve as a wake-up call for the Government and decision-makers.

"It’s disgusting that so many of our members have to deal with the stress and trauma of their role and then have to deal with additional money worries when they get home.

"There are officers who have had to ask for help with providing food for their families, which is a direct impact of no increase in salary, escalating domestic fuel bills which leads to people having to choose whether to buy food or fuel and the recent notification of possible vehicle fuel cost rises due to the current world issues.

"Our members are under huge pressure to deliver, but with cuts to resources and ever-increasing demands, the burden is becoming intolerable for some."

In addition to findings on pay and morale, the survey also revealed that 48 per cent of West Midlands officers did not feel they were fairly treated. This was the sixth highest level across the 43 forces of England and Wales.

Ms Hughes added: “We need the Government to act now or we risk losing many more of our colleagues. As a federation, we’re calling on the Government to work with us on a new, independent fair pay mechanism that delivers a binding outcome to restore trust in the process.

"We’re also calling on the Government to ensure officers receive a meaningful pay increase after years of real-terms cuts to wages."

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: "I am very concerned about the morale of officers and the pressures they are under. For many years they have been responding to more crime and having to deal with many other problems that the public face. All whilst public services, including the police and our criminal justice system, have suffered a decade of reckless cuts.

"That decade led to West Midlands Police having 2,221 fewer police officers – that was a loss of 25 per cent of our police officers – and the loss of £175m from the budget. By 2023 the force will still have 1,000 fewer officers than it did in 2010. That has had a serious impact on the capacity policing has had to respond to crime, it has also had a significant impact on morale and the pressures that officers face.

"I am committed to supporting our police officers and to putting more police out on the streets to keep people, their families and communities safe. That is why I am rebuilding community policing, ensuring that we have an extra 450 police officers assigned to neighbourhood policing."