Better pay crucial to recruiting more officers
Police chiefs have issued a joint statement calling for an increase in officer pay across all ranks as well as raising the starting salary for constables and reviewing pay scales to match skills and experience.
In a joint submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) and the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB), the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), Chief Police Officers’ Staff Association (CPOSA) and the Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA) say there’s a “critical need” for an uplift in officer pay which reflects the “incredibly challenging nature of the job”.
The recommendations, recognising the highly demanding nature of the role, also include wider officer pay structure reform and outline the importance of making policing a competitive career through better pay for all officers.
Police chiefs have also stressed the importance of adequate funding for all forces to cover any increase, recognising that the ability for forces to absorb additional cost pressures is extremely limited.
The statement says: “The service continues to operate in a context of year-on-year real-term pay cuts for officers, alongside requirements for efficiency savings from forces.
“As a result, forces have substantial concerns over their financial sustainability, with some facing significant deficits impacting their ability to deliver on local demand, to retain the workforce strength required and to deliver ongoing savings.
“We currently operate in an unfunded budget gap estimated at £500 million in 2025 /26.”
It adds: “The service needs a stronger forward-looking focus in relation to its workforce.”
The NPCC recommends an annual pay uplift of 3.8 per cent from September 2025 with funding provided centrally over two per cent, while the PSA and CPOSA recommend a pay uplift of 4.8 per cent, with uplifts in a number of allowances, many of which have not been reviewed for a considerable time.
The submission says these changes together will help with the recruitment and retention of officers and in turn support the Government’s Safer Streets Mission, Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee and its focus on reducing knife crime, anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls.
NPCC lead for pay and conditions, Assistant Chief Officer Philip Wells, said: “Below market starting salaries for constables and real term pay cuts for officers poses a significant challenge to attracting and retaining talented police officers.
“To deliver against the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee we need to recruit, build and retain skills, attracting those people with the aptitude but also values and standards we need in policing.
“Our recommendations recognise the significant financial pressure facing both forces and government, whilst advocating for the critical need for a funded uplift in officer pay which reflects the incredibly challenging nature of the job.”