Sussex Officers Struggling Financially, Survey Shows

1 May 2025

76% of Sussex Police officers feel ‘worse off’ financially now than they were five years ago and 14% ‘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 - 85% of respondents have seen living cost increases in the previous month and 58% of officers are dissatisfied with their pay.

Worryingly, 21% of Sussex 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. 88% of Sussex officers said they do not feel respected by the Government, and 54% said they were experiencing low morale.

72% of respondents from Sussex Police said that they would not recommend joining the police to others. 71% said they do not feel valued within the service.

Raffaele Cioffi, Chair of Sussex Police Federation, said: “Seeing that 76% of people unhappy with their basic pay is screaming to me that people are struggling to live.

“These statistics are stark, they’re worrying, they’re concerning. Would you join the police service knowing there is a 93% chance of you having a significantly stressful workload and low mood and anxiety? Is that something that attracts you to this environment?

“There’s clearly something within that data that says there’s something going on in policing that has to change.

“The overarching issue is always going to be pay. I know it’s expensive, but the government says it wants the best police service in the world. Put your money where your mouth is, start bridging that gap, start making our working environment better, start investing in policing.

“Policing knows about austerity. But if people are remunerated correctly, and are able to take care of themselves and their families, I think you’ll start to see these figures start to drop.”

Officers are coming under attack from the public too, the report showed, with 19% having suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related violence in the last year.

Only 19% of officers who responded reported having access to double crewing at all times whilst on duty.

67% of respondents from Sussex Police said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been ‘too high’ or ‘much too high’. 5% 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 37% said they feel ‘always’ or ‘often’ feel pressured into working long hours.

Sadly, 84% of respondents from Sussex 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 45% said that they find their job ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ stressful.

The survey is based on 1,220 responses received from Sussex Police officers.