Third of Met officers to quit over pay - survey

Nearly a third of Metropolitan Police officers intend to resign from the force because of low pay and morale, according to the Metropolitan Police Federation.

The staff association said most of the 6,000 members it surveyed believed low wages along with the high cost of living meant officers felt "worse off" than they were five years ago.

One former officer told the BBC he resigned within three years of joining the force because he was "struggling" to live on his salary.

The Met said it recognised "low starting salaries" for professions such as policing made them an "unrealistic prospect for many". The government said it had recently awarded "a pay increase of 7% to officers".

According to the 2023 Police Federation of England and Wales Pay and Morale Report, published on Wednesday, 91% of officers who responded said they had experienced cost of living increases, while 82% of officers were dissatisfied with their pay.

The Metropolitan Police Federation also found 29% of officers who responded said they intended to resign from the police service either "within the next two years" or "as soon as [they] can".

Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed also said they were experiencing low morale.

Ali Hassan Ali was a police constable for the Met from 2019 to 2021.

He told BBC London he resigned as he was "struggling" to pay bills on his salary, and because of a racist and sexist culture within the force, which he found "offensive".

The former officer said his starting salary left him with about £1,700 a month after tax, which meant he had "nothing" after paying rent and bills in London.

Mr Ali said he found his fellow officers to be "frustrated" with wages having worked "so many hours", and they would "share hardships" between colleagues.

He added that morale also played a large part in his decision to leave, saying he experienced and saw "huge racism" and "a huge anti-woman sentiment".

Findings from the survey:

• 89% of officers surveyed said they felt "worse off"
• 29% of officers who responded to the survey said they intend to resign
• 97% of officers surveyed said they did not feel respected by the government

The former police constable said that despite his experience he still "loves" the police and wants to see it "fixed".

"I would pay them (officers) double what they get now, and even that's still low," he said.

Since Mr Ali left the force, the commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, has launched reforms to improve standards, saying he wanted to cut out the "cancer" within the organisation.

This followed a review of the organisation by Baroness Casey last year.

The Met Police Federation found the vast majority of officers surveyed (84%) would not recommend joining the police.

Rick Prior, acting chairman of the Federation, said officers' pay should reflect the fact they "risk their lives on a daily basis".

He said: "We need to revert to the time when being a police officer was a lifelong vocation with decent pay and conditions, not a short-term job where officers struggle to put food on the table.

“We need an independent pay review body similar to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority who determine MPs’ pay, where their recommendations are legally binding."

Responding to the Metropolitan Police Federation's survey results on pay and morale, a Met Police spokesperson said: "We have a brilliant workforce who do a challenging job delivering for Londoners every day.

“Our retention is fairly stable, but we haven’t been able to recruit as many new officers as we would like to meet the recruitment levels we aspire to.

"The challenges we face reflect what the public sector is seeing across London where employers struggle against a competitive employment market and a high cost of living, with low starting salaries making policing, health, the prison service, probation and other careers an unrealistic prospect for many who might otherwise choose to join.

“Met officers and staff have recently had a 7% pay increase but we understand that cost of living has increased and offer internal advice and support to officers who may be struggling.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We recognise the incredible role that police officers do up and down the country, and last year, we awarded a consolidated pay increase of 7% to officers of all ranks.

“The retention of police officers is a priority for the government and our latest survey of new police recruits found that 85% of respondents were satisfied with their job, with 72% intending to stay in their role until retirement age.”

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