1 May 2025
77% of Surrey Police officers feel ‘worse off’ financially now than they were five years ago and 10% ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ have enough money to cover all their essentials.
According to the 2024 Police Federation of England and Wales Pay and Morale Report – published today - 86% of respondents have seen living cost increases in the previous month and 56% of officers are dissatisfied with their pay.
Worryingly, 24% of Surrey Police officers who responded to the survey said they intend to resign from the police service either ‘within the next two years’ or ‘as soon as [they] can’.
Whilst Police Officers received a 4.75% pay rise in 2024, officer pay has reduced by a fifth since 2010.
Nationally 76% of officers responding to the PFEW Pay and Morale survey say their pay does not reflect the dangers they face and a third of officers struggle to afford essentials such as food, rent, or heating.
Officers are also struggling with low morale and lack of support, the survey found. 92% of Surrey officers said they do not feel respected by the Government, and 55% said they were experiencing low morale.
73% of respondents from Surrey Police said that they would not recommend joining the police to others. 71% said they do not feel valued within the service.
Officers are coming under attack from the public too, the report showed, with 17% having suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related violence in the last year.
Only 14% of officers who responded reported having access to double crewing at all times whilst on duty.
70% of respondents from Surrey Police said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been ‘too high’ or ‘much too high’. 4% of officers said that they have ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ been able to take an 11-hour break between shifts in the last 12 months and 32% said they feel ‘always’ or ‘often’ feel pressured into working long hours.
Sadly, 84% of respondents from Surrey Police indicated that they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing over the last 12 months, and 47% said that they find their job ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ stressful.
The survey is based on 654 responses received from Surrey Police officers.