With the government’s police pay award expected at any time, new research from the Police Federation of England and Wales has shown thousands of police officers are now working second jobs just to make ends meet in a damning indictment of how far police pay has fallen. 

Data obtained by the Federation under the Freedom of Information Act shows that more than 4,000 officers were approved to take on secondary employment in 2024 – double the number recorded in 2019.

The Federation says the surge can only be explained by a deepening pay crisis, with real-terms police pay down by 21% since 2010 and a starting salary of just £29,000. After six years’ service, police pay still lags up to £10,000 behind that of teachers or nurses with equivalent experience.

Brian Booth, Deputy National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said:
“Police officers are overworked, underpaid and under threat. They should not have to finish a shift protecting the public and then work a second job just to pay their bills.

The impact on their family life or rest and recovery time is scary to think about – but this is a damning indictment of how far police pay has been allowed to fall by successive governments.

We need pay restoration now, and we need Chief Constables to get off the fence on pay and support their officers.”

Many of the forces showing the greatest increases – including Essex, Kent, Hampshire, Hertfordshire and Surrey – are among the most expensive areas in the country to live.

The police force areas with the largest percentage increases in officers approved to take second jobs between 2019 and 2024 include:

• Dyfed-Powys: +3,088% (from 9 to 287)
• Essex: +500% (from 30 to 180)
• Cleveland: +421% (from 23 to 120)
• Hampshire: +348% (from 33 to 148)

The actual number of officers working second jobs is likely to be much higher, as nine forces – including the Metropolitan Police, the largest force in the country – refused to provide data.

Mr Booth added:

“I’m particularly annoyed that some forces told us it would take more than 18 hours to find this data. This information should be at Chief Constables’ fingertips, because it highlights financial stress directly linked to officer welfare.

I call on all forces to publish this data quarterly – don’t make us drag it out of you.”

A police officer who serves in Wales but wanted to remain anonymous told the Federation:

“There was a time when, had I not had other employment, my wife and I would have lost our house. If I didn’t have this second income, it would be very tight. I’ve had to increase my work on the side to make up for the degradation of my police pay over the years.

“Having a second job has affected my sleep, my diet and my fitness levels, but I’ve had to do it”

The Federation’s national campaign – Copped Enough: what the police take home is criminal – highlights how falling pay, increasing workloads, and growing personal risk are pushing officers to breaking point. The campaign calls on the public to demonstrate support for police by joining a digital “picket line” at https://www.polfed.org/campaigns/copped-enough/

Since 2010, police pay has fallen by a fifth in real terms. With inflation and rising interest rates, the financial strain on officers is becoming unsustainable.

The Police Federation is calling on the government to urgently set out plans to restore the 21% in real-terms pay lost by police officers since 2010.

Note: The data used in this story was obtained from police forces via an FOI request that made specific reference to the phrase "secondary employment."  Following publication of this story we were contacted by Dyfed Powys Police who told us they had provided data on all business interests. The force insists that it has a current total of 11 Police Officers and 20 Police Staff with authorised Secondary employment.