Essex Police boss calls on Government to give officers pay rise

Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington has called for a pay rise on behalf of his dedicated officers becoming the first outside the capital to do so.

He has broken his silence after the Police Federation in England and Wales found bobbies have suffered a real-terms pay cut of 17 per cent since 2000.

According to Essex Police's website, the starting salary range for a police officer is £28,812 to £29,682.

The salary then goes up in yearly increments up to £43,032 within seven years "along with a number of other benefits".

The Join The Cops website says police sergeants take home between £43,000 and £46,000 annually and inspectors between £52,000 and £57,000.

Despite this, many – including a sergeant-level officers with five years of service - are said to be leaving the profession to find better paying work elsewhere.

Mr Harrington said one detective has been tempted back to her old job selling double glazing while another resigned to become a £250-a-day scaffolder.

Mr Harrington has now called on the Government to increase the wages of officers in the county to help him retain his workforce.

“My colleagues are proud and they’re not the kind to complain but someone has to speak up for them and their families,” he said.

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“You can’t Taser the gas bill and you can’t handcuff the family food shop at Lidl. And you can’t arrest rising mortgage bills.

“How can it be right you can earn £20,000 more selling Nissans in Romford than working as a PC?

The police chief, who took up the post in 2018, broke his silence while speaking to 84 new recruits as they made the attestation at Essex Police HQ.

But Mr Harrington has concerns over how long they will stay in the job for.

“I need the officers and staff to focus on helping people, keeping people safe and catching criminals, not on whether they can afford to stay in policing, he said.

“There is no doubt it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep the best new talent and they are moving on, silently, but we simply have to stop this silent erosion of talent.

“I simply have to speak up while there’s still time to make that stop.”

Mr Harrington went on to add more than 300 colleagues have asked permission to do second jobs or do unpaid work to improve their prospects in the last year.

He also says foodbanks are being set up in police station to help colleagues and £248,000 has been paid to struggling officers by Benevolent Fund in last two years.

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“It breaks my heart people who put themselves in harm’s way to catch criminals are having to rely on their mates so they can go home to a hot meal,” he added.

“It is precisely because officers do their duties without fuss or complaint that it is vitally important that I do make a fuss and that I do speak up.

“I say to decision-makers, do not ignore the 17 per cent pay gap. It’s an impossibly big gap to bridge if you’re an experienced officer who can’t make ends meet.

 “Please, end the silence on this issue in Westminster and and set out the plan to maintain the strength that forces have built up in recent years, or risk losing it.

“There is still time to fix this and allow policing to get on and invest in the experiences and skills we need in our teams to reduce crime and keep people safe.”