The Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA) and the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) have asked for recognition of the incredible efforts of police officers, through a fair increase in pay, in their joint submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB).
 
The submission puts forward a strong body of evidence, calling for a pay rise of just 3%, alongside a bonus payment in line with many key workers in the private sector.
 
The staff associations detail the extraordinary context within which officers have had to police the pandemic, responding and dealing with an incredible 64 legislative changes, equal to 1 every 4 days, whilst also facing increasing aggression from members of the public resisting the health regulations.  A recent PFEW survey showed that as many as 1 in 3 police officers had been threatened with assault by using Covid-19 as a weapon.
 
The submission details the affordability of this pay rise following an increase in police funding as part of the spending review, plus the results of ongoing benchmarking exercises showing that police officer pay continues to fall short of private sector equivalents.
 
 In total, the joint submission makes 10 requests for the PRRB to consider or comment on, including: 

-          The removal of the 2 lowest pay points, ensuring that no police constable is paid less than £24,780

-          Agreement to a timetable to ensure that police officer pay is reviewed and amended in line with benchmarking

The submission also outlines continued concerns over a lack of ‘procedural justice’ surrounding police pay.  It details the fact that in the seven years that the PRRB has existed to provide independent recommendations to the Home Office, this is the 5th year that its advice has been ignored, with government decisions made regardless of its evidence.
 
In addition to the joint PSA/PFEW report, the association has provided a joint submission to the PRRB with the Superintendents’ Association of Northern Ireland (SANI), evidencing issues that specifically concern the superintending ranks.
 
PSA National Secretary Dan Murphy said:

“Our regular submissions to the PRRB, in conjunction with our staff association colleagues, pull together detailed data, evidence and insight based on the realities of policing today and the associated financial content within which police officers work.
 
“In common with every frontline worker tasked with protecting communities in the face of this pandemic, the efforts of police officers have been extraordinary.  We don’t underestimate the economic impact of Covid-19, but believe that this modest increase, affordable through the extra funding given to forces through the spending review is fair, and a fitting recognition of the risks and sacrifices police officers face. 

“Once again, we are having to raise serious concerns over the processes in place that determine police officer pay.  Police officers dedicate years of their lives to Service, putting themselves at risk in roles unlike any other. We therefore believe they should have trust and faith in the processes that determine how they will be remunerated. This year, for the fifth time, the independent process put in place to ensure fairness around pay has been ignored, raising questions around its legitimacy.
 
 “We will continue to play an active part in each of the forums in place to determine police pay and conditions, providing evidence to support the best interests of our workforce.  We hope this will help drive much-needed reform to ensure police officers are fairly rewarded for the crucial work they do.”

The joint PSA / PFEW PRRB submission can be viewed here.

The joint PSA / SANI submission can be viewed here.