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Recruitment and Retention Survey Summary of

Key Findings

January 2018

2

Table of Contents 1. Purpose ....................................................................................................................................... 3

2. Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 3

3. Summary of Key Findings - Recruitment and Retention .............................................................. 5

4. Summary of Key Findings - Transfers and Resignations .............................................................. 9

5. Summary of Key Findings - Internal Recruitment ...................................................................... 11

6. Summary of Key Findings - Posting of Officers .......................................................................... 12

3

1. Purpose

1.1. The purpose of this survey is to collect information on what recruitment and

retention payments are currently being used across a number of forces. We want to

identify whether there is an opportunity to have flexibility over the use of regional

allowances to help overcome challenges such as, filling hard to fill roles.

1.2. The survey has been carried out by the reward framework team. This

national reward team have been established by CC Francis Habgood, the lead for

officer pay and conditions, to design and implement a new national reward

framework for police officers.

1.3. The survey wants to collect information from forces on the following four

sections;

External recruitment

Transfers & resignations

Internal recruitment

Posting of officers

This survey used a combination of closed and open ended questions.

1.4. We reviewed all responses that were received and all data will be used to form part of the appendix for this year’s Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) submission.

2. Methodology

2.1. 13 forces were selected to complete this survey. Although not all forces

participated in the survey each force was profiled in order to provide a balanced

representation. The forces were chosen based on their geographic location (both

within and outside London and surround who offer South East recruitment and

retention allowances), size and operational challenges.

2.2. An online tool, Survey Monkey, was used design, collect and analyse

responses.

2.3. The survey opened on the 22nd June, 2017 until 6th July, 2017. The initial

findings were issued however have been updated to be included in this submission.

4

2.4. To ensure the integrity of the information provided, it was requested that the

respondents were Heads of Recruitment and/or Workforce Planning respectively,

with suitable expertise within these fields. Also, in absence of data, their professional

opinion was sought on the reasons for any issues identified. To ensure accurate

interpretation of the findings, follow up interviews were conducted where additional

clarity was required. The response rate was high, at 93%.

2.5. This survey summary was drafted by Charlotte Corbett, NPCC National

Reward Consultant, if you have any queries please contact my email address;

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

5

3. Summary of Key Findings - Recruitment and Retention

3.1. The intention of this section was to determine the health of the external police

officer recruitment market across the country and to access the degree to which

existing variable pay arrangements (i.e. London and South East allowances) were

working. This related only to new recruits at the constable rank.

In 15/16 and 16/17 did your Force accept new constable recruit applications all

year round, or from running specific campaigns within a defined ‘recruitment

window’?

3.2. 8 forces favoured using specific

campaigns to attract new recruits in

15/16 and 9 forces in 16/17.

3.3. 4 forces accepted new recruit

applications all year round in both

15/16 and 16/17.

3.4. No forces reported using both

methods simultaneously.

In 16/17 did your Force recruit new probationer constables?

3.5. 8 forces recruit probationer

constables using pay point 1.

3.6. 3 forces recruit probationer

constables either use between 0-1 pay

points or pay point 0.

3.7. Both the Met and

Gloucestershire use pay point 0 and

pay point 1.

3.8. West Yorkshire was the only

force to pay above point 1.

4

8

0

0

4

9

0

0

0 2 4 6 8 10

Open all year round

Specific campaigns

Combination of both

Unknown

Probationer Constable Applications in 15/16 and 16/17

16/17 15/16

0 2 4 6 8 10

Pay Point 0

Pay Point 1

Between 0 - 1

Above 1

Force by Pay Point for Probationer Constables

Merseyside Cleveland Kent

Essex MET Surrey

Hertfordshire Devon & Cornwall Leicestershire

West Yorkshire TVP Gloucestershire

West Midlands

6

In 15/16 what was the number of vacancies for probationer constables?

3.9. The number of vacancies

ranged from 0 being recruited in

Merseyside up to 2,000 vacancies in

the Met.

3.10. There were two forces who

did not provide this information and

these forces were; Hertfordshire;

Devon & Cornwall.

In 15/16 what was the number of applicants for probationer constables?

3.11. The number of applications

ranged from 0 in Merseyside up to

3,500 in West Midlands.

3.12. Interestingly, the Met and TVP

achieved less applicants than posted

vacancies.

0

36

47

61

80

100

180

220

280

300

2000

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

Merseyside

Leicestershire

Gloucestershire

West Yorkshire

Cleveland

Essex

Surrey

Kent

West Midlands

TVP

MET

Force by # of Vacancies in 15/16for Probationer Constables

0200265271275337400463

7521,611

1,721 1,929

3,500

0 1000 2000 3000 4000

MerseysideLeicestershire

TVPSurrey

Devon & CornwallGloucestershire

ClevelandHertfordshire

EssexWest Yorkshire

KentMET

West Midlands

Force by # of Applicants in 15/16 for Probationer Constables

7

In 15/16 how many probationer constables did you recruit?

3.13. The number of recruits ranged

from 36 in Leicestershire up to 1,541 in

the Met. In Gloucestershire all

probationer constables were recruited

post April 2016 and Merseyside did not

gain any new recruits.

3.14. The biggest conversion rate1

was the Met at 80% versus West

Yorkshire at 4%.

3.15. The Met, Surrey, TVP, Cleveland

and Essex achieved less probationer

constable recruits than posted vacancies.

In order to fill posts, in your opinion did you feel it was difficult and have to

complete any of the following:

3.16. 9 forces did not find it difficult to

fill posts. The Met and TVP were the only 2

forces who changed the entry standards.

3.17. 3 forces had to re-advertise to fill

posts they were Kent, Essex and TVP.

3.18. Interestingly, TVP was the only

force to do both.

1 Total number of recruits divided by the number of applicants

36

53

60

61

66

118

132

171

220

280

1,541

0 500 1000 1500 2000

Leicestershire

Essex

Cleveland

West Yorkshire

Devon & Cornwall

Hertfordshire

TVP

Surrey

Kent

West Midlands

MET

Force by # of Probationer Contable Recruits in 15/16

3

2

9

0 2 4 6 8 10

Re-advertise

Increase spend

Increase salary from 0 to 1

Change entry standards

No

Forces by Filling Posts

8

Please select how many re-advertising campaigns were needed?

3.19. It took Kent and Essex 4 attempts

to re-advertise and TVP 2 attempts to

re-advertise to fill posts.

Did you achieve your workforce plan in respect of constable recruit targets over

the last 2 financial years 15/16 and 16/17?

3.20. According to the survey returns

only 9 forces managed to achieve their

recruitment targets over the last 2 years.

However, on further investigation this

increased to 10 forces. The Met, TVP

and Surrey struggled to recruit but in the

case of the Met and TVP local

recruitment strategies/additional

requirements may be a possible factor.

Based on your opinion has recruiting new constables become more or less

challenging over the last 2 years 15/16 and 16/17?

3.21. 8 forces reported that the recruitment

market has become more challenging

whereas on 1 force said the recruitment

market has become less challenging over

the last 2 years.

9

4

Did you achieve your workforce plan

Yes No

9

In your opinion, why is policing no longer such an attractive career choice? (Please

tick all that apply)

3.22. The main reason for this was due to social

changes meaning that career for life is less

appealing. Devon & Cornwall also added a

response suggesting that the positive cultural

attitude and ongoing sense of civic duty within

section of society is another reason why policing

is no longer an attractive career choice.

4. Summary of Key Findings - Transfers and Resignations

4.1. The aim under this section was to establish the number of officers transferring out to

other forces and also the number of resignations prior to retirement. The objective was

to establish current trends and to seek opinion or evidence on the reasons for these

losses.

In 16/17 what was the number of officers to transfer to another Force?

4.2. The number of transfers ranged

from 5 in Leicestershire up to 293 in the

Met. The biggest percentage

representation of transfers was West

Midlands at 3%.

5

6

10

12

15

19

36

38

44

70

97

100

293

0 100 200 300 400

Leicestershire

Devon & Cornwall

Cleveland

Hertfordshire

Kent

Gloucestershire

Merseyside

Surrey

West Yorkshire

Essex

TVP

West Midlands

MET

Force by # of Transfers

1

1

1

4

5

5

6

6

7

0 2 4 6 8

Poor subsidised travel schemes

Recruitment campaigns not…

Other (please specify)

Differing cultural attitude e.g.…

Increased public/government…

Other job opportunities outside…

Increased personal risk

Less competitive reward and…

Social changes mean that career…

Why is policing no longer such an attractive career choice?

10

In 16/17 did the transferees represent an increase or decrease on the previous

year?

4.3. In 16/17, 10 forces had an

increase of transfers on the previous

year. The only forces which had a

decrease were; Hertfordshire, Kent and

Leicestershire.

In your opinion, out of the following options what is the main reason for

transferring?

4.4. The main reasons

found as to why officers

were transferring was due to

personal issues e.g. quality

of life, family links and

family relocation.

Merseyside added they

specifically lost Firearms

officers to for advancement

in CT world and similarly, Essex stated that the majority of transferees left the force

as a result of the Met firearms campaign. Whilst Kent believe this was linked to

aspirational advancement and the Met believe it is due to the force overall becoming

more demanding and therefore policing becoming a less attractive environment.

In 16/17 what was the number of officers to resign from your Force?

4.5. The number of resignations ranged

from 22 in Gloucestershire to 630 in the

Met. The only force who does not have

this information is West Midlands.

6

6

5

5

3

2

2

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Other (please specify)

Quality of life issues

More alternative career choices…

Greater monetary reward in…

Less competitive reward and…

Social changes mean that career for…

Final pension no longer as attractive

Increased public/government scrutiny

Increased career/personal risk

Reasons for Resignations

10

13

Forces by Transfer Increase or Decrease on PY

Increase Decrease

630737169666261

3936352622

0 200 400 600 800

METEssex

ClevelandSurrey

TVPWest Yorkshire

KentHertfordshireLeicestershire

MerseysideDevon & Cornwall

Gloucestershire

Force by # Resignations

11

4.6. The biggest percentage representation of the establishment in terms of

resignations was Cleveland at 6%.

4.7. In 16/17, 10 forces had a decrease of resignations on the previous year.

4.8. The only forces which had an increase were; Hertfordshire, Kent and

Leicestershire.

In your opinion, out of the following options what are the top three reasons for

voluntary resignations;

4.9. The top three

reasons driving

resignations are; quality

of life issues; greater

monetary reward in

alternative job and more

alternative career

choices outside of

policing. There were also

some additional comments provided around aspiration/advancement and life

choices e.g. family circumstances.

5. Summary of Key Findings - Internal Recruitment

5.1. The questions in this section were to establish to what extent certain roles

had become hard to fill and the underlying reasons. To ensure consistency a ‘hard-to

fill’ role was defined as;

5.2. “one in a particular policing discipline that has not been possible to fill from

the internal officer workforce, despite continuous advertising and/or posting

attempts, and has resulted in an ongoing and unacceptably high vacancy rate

(against the defined force establishment for the area of policing concerned) for a

continuous period 3 months or more.”

2

10

4

2

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Greater monetary reward in chosenForce

Personal issues (e.g. quality oflife/family links/family relocation)

Greater career opportunities in chosenForce

Policing in the Force area has becomemore demanding and therefore…

Reasons for Transfers

12

5.3. Again, the aim here was to establish the existing perceptions were fully

grounded and also to establish the possible reasons why forces were having difficulty

filling these roles.

5.4. There were a number of roles found to be hard to fill, based on the following

reasons;

Role Yes No Main Reasons

Firearm 7 6 Temporary skill shortage

Detective 12 1 Temporary skill shortage and stress of ongoing

case load

Custody Officer 7 6 Perceived career or personal risk

Public Protection Officer

7 6 Unpopular and stress of ongoing case load

Domestic Abuse 10 3 Stress of ongoing case load

5.5. Response and Surveillance officers were not deemed to be hard to fill,

however it was suggested that CAD, OPS1 and Contact officers and dispatches could

be considered as hard to fill.

6. Summary of Key Findings - Posting of Officers

6.1. This final section was also to test perceptions that changes in the workforce,

driven by generational attitudes, together with increased specialisation and the

associated accreditation and licensing has made the internal mandated movement of

officers more challenging. It was hoped this aspect of the survey would also highlight

why certain roles were seen to be unpopular with officers.

7 forces, found it more challenging to post officers against their will over the past 2

years.

The biggest driver causing the posting of officers to become more challenging was

due to work/life balance issues.

6 forces have not seen an increase in grievances towards unwanted moves.

It is unknown as to whether forces have seen an increase in stress related absences

towards unwanted moves.

13

6 forces believe the growing complexity and specialism of police work, the need for

niche skills, and increasing levels of accreditation made officers less interchangeable

in terms of posting. The majority believe this has caused a growing inability to move

officers around the organisation.

14

DCC Collaboration Survey Summary of Key

Findings

and

CPOSA Ltd Chief Police Officers’ Staff Association

January 2018

DCC Collaboration Survey Summary of Key

Findings

and


January 2018

15

Table of Contents 1. Purpose ..................................................................................................................................... 16

2. Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 16

3. Summary of Key Findings .......................................................................................................... 18

16

1. Purpose

1.1 Forces are increasingly entering into collaborative force arrangements at Deputy

Chief Constable (DCC) level. The remuneration system for DCCs does not currently take account of these developments and increased responsibilities. Instead pay is determined by regional rates set according to the originating force.

1.2 The purpose of this survey is to collect evidence for National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) to consider making recommendations to the Home Office to change the mechanism for applying rates of pay to take these developments into account.

1.3 The survey wanted to collect views from chief constables on their DCC role or from an equivalent level e.g. Head of Finance. The questionnaire covered;

Current force collaboration arrangements

Views on whether DCC roles should be remunerated differently This survey used a combination of closed and open ended questions.

1.4 We reviewed all responses that were received and all data will be used to form part of the appendix for this year’s Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) submission.

2. Methodology

2.1 An online tool, Survey Monkey, was used to design, collect and analyse responses.

2.2 The survey opened on the 10th October, 2017 and closed on the 24th October, 2017. The survey was distributed twofold. Firstly, an email was sent to the attention of all chief constables and the survey was also posted on the NPCC portal page to all forces. There was a 70% response rate (30/43 force).

2.3 There were 6 forces who did not respond to this survey, however they have been named as a force working in collaboration with another force, these were;

Cheshire

Dyfed Powys

Kent

Northamptonshire

Staffordshire

Suffolk

There were 7 forces who didn’t respond to this survey, these were;

Gloucestershire

Greater Manchester

Lincolnshire

South Yorkshire

Northumbria

City of London

MET

17

2.4 The largest force, the MET, did not respond because it is a large force in itself and it doesn’t collaborate with any other forces.

2.5 In the next section we summarised the key findings which were from only the forces who responded.

2.6 This survey summary was drafted by Charlotte Corbett, NPCC National Reward Consultant, if you have any queries please contact my email address; [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

18

3. Summary of Key Findings

3.1 Does your force or another force currently collaborate with your force at the level

of DCC?

According to the survey, 14 forces (47%) of the sample e.g. 14 out of 30 forces who

submitted a response, stated that they collaborate with another force at DCC level,

these were;

Bedfordshire

Cambridgeshire

Devon & Cornwall

Dorset

Essex

Hertfordshire

Leicestershire

Norfolk

North Wales

Nottinghamshire

South Wales

Surrey

Warwickshire

West Mercia

16 forces stated that they currently did not collaborate with another force at DCC

level and were not considering it going forward, these were;

Avon and Somerset

Cleveland

Cumbria

Derbyshire

Durham

Gwent

Hampshire

Humberside

Lancashire

Merseyside

North Yorkshire

Sussex

Thames Valley

West Midlands

West Yorkshire

Wiltshire

No other forces who completed this survey are considering collaborating at DCC

level.

3.2 Does the DCC in your force area have any

day to day collaborative responsibilities

that are performed

All 14 forces stated that they have

collaborate responsibilities for another

force other than their own.

The following forces perform collaborative work with 1 or more forces;

19

3.3 If yes please state which force(s) you collaborate with

Force Other forces you collaborate with

Warwickshire Staffordshire

West Mercia

West Midlands

Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire

Essex

Hertfordshire

Kent

Norfolk

Suffolk

West Mercia Warwickshire

Cambridgeshire Bedfordshire

Hertfordshire

Essex Bedfordshire

Cambridgeshire

Hertfordshire

Kent

Norfolk

Suffolk

Nottinghamshire Cheshire

Northamptonshire

Surrey Sussex

South Wales Dyfed-Powys

Gwent

North Wales

Dorset Devon & Cornwall

Hertfordshire Bedfordshire

Cambridgeshire

Leicestershire Northamptonshire

Nottinghamshire

Norfolk Suffolk

North Wales Cheshire

Dyfed-Powys

Gwent

Merseyside

South Wales

Devon & Cornwall Dorset

14 forces 22 forces listed

20

Out of the 14 forces who collaborate DCC responsibilities for another force other than their own, there are 2 forces; Essex and Bedfordshire who collaborated with the largest number of forces (6) at DCC level. Of the 22 forces listed which collaborate, there were;

4 forces listed 3 times

6 forces listed twice

12 forces listed once

3.4 If yes please state what responsibilities these are?

There were 14 responses to this question. The comments have been reviewed and

categorised into the following factors.

The responsibility is for a support function, such as; (8 responses)

Contact management

HR

Finance

ICT

Estates

Communications

Media

All remaining forces stated joint policing responsibilities, such as; (6 responses)

Firearms

Counter terrorism

Criminal justice

7 forces also described a transformational change such as; special operations and

counter terrorism, joint working across emergency services; computing and IT.

21

3.5 Is there any form of remuneration that

is given for these responsibilities

payable either within or outside of

police regulations?

Of the 14 forces who stated they

provide collaborative work for another

force, 100% said they do not receive

any form of remuneration that is given

for these collaborative responsibilities.

3.6 Please state form and amount paid, if any, and form and amount you believe

would be appropriate.


categorised into the following options. They have been ranked highest to lowest;

The role needs to commensurate with the responsibilities undertaken (3

responses)

It varies and difficult to assess (2 responses)

£125,000 annual salary (1 response)

A nominal amount for added demand and travel (1 responses)

5-10% of annual salary (1 response)

There were 6 forces who did not comment

3.7 Does a DCC in another force area have day to day collaborative responsibilities

within your own force area?

12 (86% of responses) forces stated they receive collaborative work from another

force/DCC, these were;

Derbyshire

Devon & Cornwall

Dorset

Kent

Norfolk

Northamptonshire

Nottinghamshire

Sussex

Warwickshire

West Mercia

Hertfordshire

Suffolk

Bedfordshire

Cambridgeshire

RESTRICTED[Type here] [Type here] [Type here]

3.8 If yes please state which force(s) you collaborate with:

The following forces receive collaborative work with 1 or more forces;

There are 2 forces who were listed as providing

collaborative work for another force but do not

receive collaboration for their own force, these

were North and South Wales.

Out of the 12 forces who receive DCC collaboration from another force, Essex received the most collaboration (5) from other forces at DCC level. Of the 14 forces listed as receiving collaborative work from another force, there were 2 forces who were mentioned the most, these were;

Force Receive collaborative work from

another force

Warwickshire West Mercia

Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire

Hertfordshire

West Mercia Warwickshire

Cambridgeshire Bedfordshire

Hertfordshire

Essex Bedfordshire

Cambridgeshire

Kent

Norfolk

Suffolk

Nottinghamshire Derbyshire

Surrey Sussex

Dorset Devon & Cornwall

Hertfordshire Bedfordshire

Cambridgeshire

Leicestershire Northamptonshire

Nottinghamshire

Norfolk Suffolk

Devon & Cornwall Dorset

12 forces 14 forces listed

23

Cambridgeshire listed 4 times

Bedfordshire listed 3 times

Suffolk and Hertfordshire listed twice

10 forces listed once

Interestingly, collaborative work is not automatically a two-way system e.g.

Cambridgeshire received collaborative work from 4 other forces, yet they only

provide collaborative work for 3 other forces. This is similar for Hertfordshire and

Suffolk.

3.9 What shared responsibilities does this include?

Of the 12 forces, there were two equally popular collaborative responsibilities

received from other forces. The first was a support function, such as;

HR

Procurement

Vetting

Professional Standards department

The other was joint policing, such as; protective services and specialist capabilities.

Change and transformation was also mentioned by 3 forces.

When comparing forces who provide

collaborative work, it would appear

that for all three categories of

responsibilities that have been

identified (policing, support functions

and change) forces provide far more

collaborative work, than they do

receive.

3.10 Is there any form of

remuneration that is given for these responsibilities payable either within or

outside of police regulations?

Of the 12 forces who stated they receive collaborative work from another force/DCC,

100% said they do not pay out any form of remuneration for these collaborative

responsibilities.

3.11 Please state form and amount paid, if any, and form and amount you

believe would be appropriate

24



Same pay or equal across the two collaborated forces (2 responses)

It varies and difficult to assess (2 responses)

£125,000 annual salary (1 response)

5-10% of annual salary (1 response)

Only be remunerated at the level of the host force (1 response)

Nominal amount for added responsibilities and travel (1 response)

4 no comments

3.12 If you are considering collaboration (and/or additional collaboration) do

you think collaboration roles should be rewarded and if so how?



Greater remuneration (7 responses)

Flexibility to recognise additional workload and risk (3 response)

Reward should be assessed by industry standards (1 response)

Set the salary for the regional DCC at the same rate as the SW Police DCC. The

highest rate of pay of all the Welsh DCCs (1 response)

2 no comments

Please note, there was no specific rewards described, such as bonus or car

payments.

3.13 Please add any further information which you think is relevant to this

survey


some specific quotes are highlighted below;

Collaboration should be at an Assistance Chief Constable role only and not Deputy

Chief Constable (2 responses)

Recognise increased complexity (2 responses)

“By setting the salary at the highest possible rate within current arrangements I feel

this properly rewards the role of regional DCC” Chief Constable

“I don't see the issue as only one of salary for NPCC officers, it's as much to do with

pensions, allowances, relocation, contracts etc.” Chief Constable

“Could foresee at some point in the future that we may consider a DCC position if 7

Force NE collaboration develops” Chief Constable

25

“… Police has for the last 2 years not appointed a Deputy Chief Constable” Chief

Financial Officer

“We no longer have shared DCC responsibilities as the Tri Force Strategic Alliance has

not been progressed (PCC's could agree). I have tried to share the issues we faced

whilst we were trying to set it up. the main one being a lack of flexibility to align pay

and to flex it according to the extended responsibilities they carried” Assistant Chief

Officer

12 no responses or nothing further to add

26

Chief Officer Attitude Survey Summary of Key

Findings

and


January 2018

Chief Officer Attitude Survey Summary of Key

Findings

and


January 2018

27

Table of Contents 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 28

2. Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 28


28

4. Introduction

4.1 The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) requested that a chief officer pay and morale

survey be conducted for the 2018 submission. This new survey has been carried out by the NPCC Reward Team and is based upon a similar survey which has been used historically by the Armed Forces by the Office of Manpower Economics on behalf of the SSRB for its senior personnel. However it does build upon a similar survey conducted by the College of Policing last year (Chief Officers Appointments Survey).

4.2 The survey wanted to collect views from all officer of chief officer rank from all forces, namely;

Chief Constables

Deputy Chief Constables

Assistant Chief Constables

MPS equivalent ranks, the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Assistant Commissioner and Commanders

4.3 The questionnaire covered:

Current remuneration package;

Value of increments and promotion;

Working hours and motivation The survey used a combination of closed and open ended questions. The purpose of the

survey was to find out chief officers opinions for their current pay terms and conditions.

We are interested to find if there is any direct correlation between this and recruitment

and retention challenges in these roles.

4.4 We reviewed all responses that were received and looked for differences between

rank and age. All data will be used to form part of the appendix for this year’s pay review report.

5. Methodology


5.2 The survey opened on the 24th November, 2017 until 12th December, 2017.

5.3 The survey was distributed via an email sent to the attention of all Chief Constables

with CPOSA. There was a 50% response rate (134/267 membership2). Please note, the tables and graph totals will depend on how many individuals completed that question and as a result they may vary.

2 Stephanie Maddix, NPCC CC PA, Thursday 4th January, 2018

29

5.4 This survey summary was drafted by Charlotte Corbett, NPCC National Reward Consultant, if you have any queries please contact my email address; [email protected]

30


The following set of questions are demographical to collect basic information based on the chief

officers completing the questionnaire. 3

6.1 What rank do you hold?

47 from Assistant Chief Constable (without collaboration)

27 from Chief Constable (or equivalent)

22 from Deputy Chief Constable (without collaboration)

14 from Assistant Chief Constable (with collaboration)

10 Commanders

8 Others e.g. Deputy Assistant Commissioner, temporary ACCs, Director

6.2 What is your age in years?

59 (44%) of chief police officers are aged

between 45-49 years.

49 (37%) of chief police officers are aged


6.3 How many years have you served as a

police officer?

62 (46%) of chief police officers have 25-29

years’ service.

36 (27%) of chief police officers have 20-24

years’ service.

6.4 How many years have you served in

your current rank?

Over 75% (102) of chief police officers have

less than 1 year or between 1-3 years’

service at their current rank.

3 Please note due to numbers we did not ask gender split

31

6.5 How many forces have you served in

during your career?

58 (43%) chief police officers have served

in 2 forces during their career.

6.6 How many forces have you served in

at Chief Officer level?

81 (60%) chief police officers have served

in 1 force at chief officer level.

39 out of these 81 chief police officers

were ACCs without collaboration and 33

were aged between 50-54 years.

The following questions look at chief officer’s current remuneration package, asking about

current base salary, pension and impacts on taxation.

6.7 How satisfied are you with your base

salary?

88 (68%) of chief police officers are either

very satisfied or satisfied with their base

salary.

22 out of these 88 chief police officers

were ACCs without collaboration and 27


6.8 Please provide additional thoughts and suggestions you would like to add

regarding your base salary

There were 129 responses to this question. The comments have been categorised into

7 key themes and they have been ranked highest to lowest;

Satisfied & appropriate (42 responses)

“It is appropriate to the scale & responsibilities of my role”

32

Not comparable against other sectors as roles are becoming more challenging and

carry greater risk (33 responses)

“It does not appear to be comparable with other sectors based on role and

responsibility (i.e. significantly less)”

Seen little increase (8 responses)

“Has not gone up for 5 years”

Tax implications (8 responses)

“It is being massacred by tax. I get paid less than almost every public sector Chief

Exec in the area …”

Commensurate with role (7 responses)

“Salary is commensurate to the responsibility held”

Other (10 responses)

“Salary is not a primary consideration for me. I am not sure how much I actually get

paid”

There were 21 no comments

6.9 How satisfied are you with your

pension benefits?

46 (35%) of chief police officers are

satisfied with their pension benefits.

15 of these 46 chief police officers were

ACCs without collaboration and 17


42 (33%) of chief police officers are dissatisfied with their pension benefits.

15 of these 42 chief police officers were ACCs without collaboration and 23 were

aged between 45-49 years.

6.10 Please comment on your pension benefits




“The pension benefits are now beginning to be substantially eroded through the

annual allowance threshold, i.e. a £30,000 tax bill created this year simply on the

33

basis of an incremental rise (not even a promotion). The cumulative effect of these

will likely diminish the final pension benefit significantly”

Satisfied (16 responses)

“I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be part of a final salary pension scheme”

Disincentive for career progression (8 responses)

“The annual erosion and tax liability is a disincentive to continue to serve”

Old pension scheme/fixed protection 2014/ opted out (5 responses)

“I am fortunate in that I have a fixed protection and left the pension scheme in 2013,

thus retaining a better lifetime allowance and not being subject to annual

allowance”

Reduced benefits (5 responses)

“Issue regarding annual allowances and lifetime allowances have diminished the

benefits, but compared to others I am satisfied”

Unfair (5 responses)

“The lifetime and annual allowance tax thresholds seem to unfairly impact on

officers within their last 10 years of service due to the double accrual provisions of

our pensions. It is grossly unfair that my pension reduces in real terms for simply

receiving a below inflation pay rise”

Other (3 responses) “This isn't outlined well for members, in my view” 12 no comments

6.11 What impact have changes to pension taxation had on your pension benefit

and/or career choice? (Annual allowance, Lifetime allowance)



Significant impact on taxation (56 responses)

“Both annual allowance and lifetime allowance have had a significant impact - I was

not in a position to ring-fence my pension at either £1.25m or £1m”

Impact on career progression and having to seek financial advice (36 responses)

“Significantly made me reconsider my position on promotion and seek financial

advice”

34

No impact (16 responses)

“None, because it’s not just about the pension”

Disappointed but no impact on career choice (4 responses)

“It has reduced my pension benefit, but had little effect on my career choices”

Opted out (2 responses)

“Opted out of pension at 31 years’ service”

Unsure (3 responses)

“The honest answer is that I do not know in detail. More generally I know I will get

significant tax liability from my recent and any future promotion. I will be getting

detailed advice and it may affect future career decisions. I have found letters

circulated on annual allowance and lifetime allowance rather hard to understand”

Other (7 responses)

“I am conscious of it but it doesn’t feature prominently in my decision making”

5 no comments


overall remuneration package?

69 (54%) chief police officers are either

very satisfied or satisfied with their

overall remuneration package.


ACCs without collaboration and 30 were


28 (22%) of chief police officers are dissatisfied with their overall remuneration package. 10 of these 28 chief police officers were ACCs without collaboration and 11 were aged between 45-49 years.

6.13 Please comment on your overall remuneration package?



35

Dissatisfied (27 responses)

“I receive a car as part of my remuneration package. The car I received was 2 years

old, yet I am taxed as if I received a new car. The current tax arrangements mean

that I pay tax on fuel I use for business purposes. In essence I am paying to use my

car for business purposes. This cannot be fair”

Satisfied (24 responses)

“I am content”


“I had more disposable income as a DCC!”

Comparison against other sectors (9 responses)

“As before - the base salary does not reflect the size and complexity off the role. If I

benchmark with the Fire Service, Local Authority or County Council equivalents again

I think as an ACC I am underpaid”

Vehicle (6 responses)

“With car allowance it is appropriate”

Other (11 responses)

“I have to live away from home on a regular basis and this is not factored into any

remuneration package”

31 no comments

6.14 What impact does your overall

remuneration package have on your

intention to remain in the police

service?

59 (45%) chief police officers stated it

has little impact on my decision to

remain in or leave the police.


ACCs without collaboration and 46 were aged between 45-49 years.

36

48 (37%) of chief police officers stated it encourages me to leave the police service.


chief constable or equivalent. 22 were aged between 45-49 years and 21 were aged


6.15 Please provide details of any other benefits that you receive as part of your

remuneration package (E.g. Vehicle, Vehicle allowance, Medical healthcare)



Vehicle provided (60 responses)

Vehicle plus one or more benefits such as private healthcare (27 responses)

Vehicle allowance (21 responses)

No benefits (14 responses)

Other e.g. essential mileage (7 responses)

The next two questions are looking at the value of increments and promotion.

6.16 How satisfied are you with the

value of incremental progression? (For

Assistance Chief Constables and

Commanders only)

35 (38%) of ACC and Commanders are

neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with

the value of incremental progression,

20 of these were aged between 45-49

years.

31 (34%) of ACC and Commanders are satisfied with the value of incremental

progression, 13 of these were aged between 45-49 years.

6.17 How satisfied are you with the

package available to you if you were to

be promoted?


neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with

the package if they were to be

promoted, 25 of these were aged

between 50-54 years and 23 were aged


37

41 (32%) of chief police officers were satisfied with the package if they were to be

promoted and 21 of these were aged between 45-49 years.

The next two questions ask about current chief officers working hours.


working hours?


satisfied with their working hours


ACCs without collaboration, 19 were

aged between 50-54 years and 19 were


45 (35%) of chief police officers are dissatisfied with their working hours.



6.19 How many hours a week do you

work on average? (Give best estimate)

37 (29%) of chief police officers work

between 50-54 hours a week. The

median is 55-59 hours



aged between 45-49 years. The next questions ask about chief officer’s absence and annual leave.

6.20 How many days sickness absence

have you had in the last 12 months (to

the end of September 2017)

110 (85%) of chief police officers stated

they had 0 days sickness absence in the

last 12 months.

38



6.21 How many days leave have

you taken in the last full annual leave

year?

Chief officers are entitled to 48 annual

leave days.

38 (30%) of chief police officers have

taken between 31-35 days leave in

the last full annual leave year.



6.22 Please can you confirm whether the number of days annual leave includes

days carried forward from a previous year. If so please state how many days



Yes, the number of days carried over ranged from 2-40 days and 5 was the

most frequent number of days carried over (55 responses)

No (35 responses)

None (23 responses)

15 no comments

The following questions are to discuss chief officer future plan in terms of when they expect

to leave, whether this is before or after pensionable service and why they might be

considering leaving the service early.

6.23 When do you expect to leave

the police service?

60 (47%) of chief police officers expect

to leave the police service at their

normal retirement age.


ACCs without collaboration and 36


39

6.24 Is this after achieving your full

pensionable service?

104 (81%) chief police officers stated

yes.

34 of these 104 officers were ACCs

without collaboration, 46 were aged

between 45-49 years and 43 were aged


6.25 Please detail why you are leaving early?



Changes mean have to stay working for 5+ years (10 responses)

Pension tax (5 responses)

Health reasons/tiredness (4 responses)

Pursue other challenges (2 responses)

Other, aged 55 and not planning to retire (3 comments)

The next question is to establish the current motivation levels amongst the chief officer

levels.

6.26 In relation to your current

working life, on a scale of 1 to 10 where

1 is extremely low and 10 is extremely

high, how motivated are you to do a

good job?

99% (127) chief police officers stated

they are motivated to do a good job.

50% (64) chief police are extremely

motivated. 22 of these 64 chief police officers were ACCs without collaboration and

31 were aged between 45-49 years.

The next questions are to discuss mobility and whether chief officers would consider moving

to a different force at their current or a higher rank and pay.

40

6.27 Would you consider applying to

a different force, for another chief

police officer post, at your current rank

and pay?

80 (62%) of chief police officers stated

they would not consider applying to a

different force at their current rank and

pay.

27 of these 80 chief police officers were ACCs without collaboration, 34 were aged

between 45-49 years and 32 were aged between 50-54 years.

6.28 Please provide any comments about mobility



Family life restrictions (63 responses)

“I have a young happy family and not prepared to move my family or live away from

home”

No incentive or benefit to move (15 responses)

“It is not financially sensible to move”

I am mobile (12 responses)

“More mobile now as children leave home”

No desire to move (8 responses)

“Made choice to stay in current force until retirement”

No mobility issues (6 comments)

Significant travel involved (3 comments)

“I have travelled 65/75 miles each way for past 8 years”

Other (10 comments)

41

“There wouldn't be any point moving house for a level transfer”

11 no comments

6.29 Would you consider applying to

a different force, for another chief

police officer post, with either higher

pay or a higher rank?

53 (41%) of chief police officers would

consider applying to a different force,

for another chief police officer post,

with either higher pay or a higher rank if

they could commute from their current

home.



The next two questions discuss promotions and what factors influence at chief officer level.

6.30 Would you consider applying for

a promotion or to a force that attracts a

higher salary?

73 (57%) of chief police officers would

consider applying for a promotion to a

force that attracts a higher salary.




6.31 What factors influence your decision?


listed out below into the relevant key factors;

Force location

Command team

Opportunity/scope/challenge

PCC

Distance

Package

Tax advice

42

Career progression

Length of contract

Role and responsibilities

Family stability

43

Annual Survey Return Summary of Key Findings

12th January, 2018

Annual Survey Return Summary of Key Findings

January 2018

44

Table of Contents

1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 28

2. Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 28


45

7. Introduction

7.1 The purpose of this survey is to collect information from forces on a national level. This is the second year this survey has been run.

7.2 The survey has been carried out by the national reward framework team. This team has

been established by CC Francis Habgood, the lead for officer pay and conditions, to design

and implement a new national reward framework for police officers.

7.3 We wanted to collect information from all forces, in the following 8 categories;

Recruitment

Apprenticeships

Promotion

Internal recruitment

Hard to fill roles

Leavers

Retirement

Motivation and morale The survey used a combination of closed and open ended questions.

7.4 We reviewed all responses that were received and looked for trends and information which would be useful for the Police Remuneration Review Body submission and design of a new reward framework. All data will be used to form part of the Appendix for this year’s pay review report.

8. Methodology


8.2 The survey opened on the 14th December, 2017 and closed on 12th January, 2018.

8.3 The survey was distributed via the National Police Chief Council (NPCC) portal page. There was an 88% response rate (38/43 forces).

8.4 There were 5 forces who were not in a position to respond to this survey, these were:

Dyfed-Powys Greater Manchester Hampshire Nottinghamshire Staffordshire

8.5 Due to other work priorities Surrey were only able to submit a partial response, all sections of the survey was completed apart from Recruitment. Also, North Wales did not have the data available to complete the Leavers, Retirement and Motivation/Morale sections.

46

8.6 It should be noted that the figures used in this report have come directly from forces. Not every force has answered every question, therefore the totals may not always correlate. In the next section we summarised the key findings from the forces who provided information.

8.7 The results from this report do not correlate with the findings found in the main submission due to one late response. Please note, this has not made a significant impact on findings.

8.8 This survey summary was drafted by Charlotte Corbett, NPCC National Reward Consultant. If you have any queries please contact my email address; [email protected]

47


The following set of questions ask about officer numbers that have been recruited in

the last complete financial year 1st April 2016. They cover the numbers recruited,

projected recruitment for the remainder of this financial year 1st April 2017 and where

possible for the next three years.

Q2 What was the total number of officers you wanted to recruit in the last complete financial

year and what is your forecast to complete for this financial year?

The total number of officers recruited in the last complete financial year (16/17) was 6,875. This

can be seen in blue on the chart below. Please note a logarithmic scale of 10 has been used. The

smallest number of officers required was 38 in the City of London and the highest number of

officer required was 1,909 in the Met.

23 forces were recruiting between 0-150 officers 12 forces were recruiting between 151-300 officers 2 forces were recruiting over 301 officers which were West Yorkshire and the Met The total number of officers being recruited in this financial year (17/18) is higher at 7,144 and is highlighted in red. This ranged from 0 in West Mercia/Warwickshire to 1,362 in the Met. 21 forces recruited between 0-150 officers

10 forces were recruited between 151-300 officers

6 forces were recruiting over 300 officers

Q3 Please state the number of officers you wanted to recruit at what level in the last

complete financial year?

48

The highest number of recruits wanted from the last complete financial year (16/17) is for the

constable regular entry route (3,923) and the lowest number of recruits was for the direct entry

superintendent (12).

Officer level Number of recruits required

Constable Regular Entry Route 3,923

Constable Pre Join i.e. Foundation Degree or CKP 1,909

Constable Police Now 130

Direct Entry Inspector 31

Fast Track Inspector 35

Direct Entry Superintendent 12

Transfers all levels 975

Re-joiners all levels 26

Other i.e. Detective Constable Pathway 273

Total 7,314

Q4 Please state the number of officers you wanted to recruit at what level for this financial

year?

The same pattern emerged for the number of officers required for this financial year (17/18).

However, more officer numbers are sought across all recruitment pathways apart from

constable pre join or CKP.

Officer level Number of recruits required










Total 7,605

Q5 Please state the number of applicants who applied through each recruitment route in the

last complete financial year?

There were a high number of applicants who applied through all recruitment routes, most

notably there were eight times as many applicants for constables through the regular entry

route than were required in the last complete financial year (16/17).

Officer level Number of applicants




Direct Entry Inspector 4,628

49


Direct Entry Superintendent 1,511

Transfers all levels 1,317



Total 49,784

Q6 Please state the number of applicants who applied through each recruitment route for this

financial year?

There are significant differences in the number of applicants against prior year, however please

note these figures are only part way through this financial year (17/18).

Officer level Number of applicants









Other i.e. Detective Constable Pathway 3,177

Total 31,328

Q7 Please state the number of successful recruits who entered through each recruitment

route in the last complete financial year?

The only recruit pathway to successfully recruit the numbers of officers wanted entered

through the constable regular entry route. All other pathways did not meet the number of

officers wanted in the last complete financial year (16/17).

Officer level Number of successful

recruits










Total 6,565

Q8 Please state the number of successful recruits you expect through each recruitment route

in this financial year?

50

There were 223 less successful recruits through the constable pre join route than in the prior

year. It should be noted however that these figures are only part way through this financial year

(17/18).


recruits










Total 6,811

Q9 Please state the number of successful recruits you expect through each recruitment route,

if possible, for your forecast in 2018/19?

There will be a lower number entering through the regular entry route and new recruits coming

in via the apprenticeship. Forces are projecting a higher number of successful recruits in

2018/19 (8.6% more than in 2016/17).


recruits


Constable Pre Join i.e. Foundation Degree or CKP 1896


Constable Police Apprentice 294







Total 7,300

51

Q10 Do you have a workforce plan, please select all that apply?

33 forces have a workforce plan for 2018/19, this then decreases to 31 forces in 2019/20 and 29

forces in 2020/21.

Q11 Of those who successfully secured a job offer, how many candidates did not join a force

in the last complete financial year and in this financial year?

93 candidates did not join a force after successfully securing a job offer in the last complete

financial year. This number decreased to 89 in the financial year to date.

Q12 Please select the reasons for successful candidates not joining a force, in the last

complete financial year and in this financial year (please tick all that apply)?

32 forces in the last complete financial (16/17) year and 27 forces in this financial year (17/18)

did not capture the reasons for successful candidates not then joining a force.

From the forces who have captured this information it appears the main reasons were either a

change of mind or candidates found alternative employment.

52

Q13 In respect of both these financial years, please select the main reasons for these officers

leaving (please tick all that apply)?

This question was intended to identify the reasons why officers had been recruited decided to

leave the force at the very early stage of their service. There were multiple reasons for officers

leaving once they have joined a force:

8 forces said it was due to officers finding preferable employment

7 forces said the job was not as officers expected

7 forces said it was due to the impact on officer’s family life

6 forces said officers resigned because they were unsuited to the role

2 forces said officers left because of pay

2 forces said officers left because it was not intended as a job for life

There were 28 other comments from 28 forces to this question, these have been reviewed and

categorised highest to lowest:

Joined another force (3 comments)

Personal reasons/ change in personal circumstances (3 comments)

Relationship with management (1 comment)

Relocation (1 comment)

Disillusionment with the police/work life balance/career development (1 comment)

Dismissal (1 comment)

Start dates (1 comment)

Not a job for life (1 comment)

Change of career (1 comment)


Q14 Please select the minimum entry level qualifications and/or criteria required for new

Constable recruits, in the last complete financial year and for this financial year (excluding

Police Constable Apprentices)?

Of the forces that imposed an entry level requirement for new constable recruits in the last

complete financial year and for the financial year to date, the most popular criteria was one A-

level and a residency requirement.

There were 16 other comments from 16 forces, which have been reviewed and categorised

highest to lowest:

Any level 3 qualification (3 comments)

Police constable special officer (PSCO) and/or specials (2 comments)

No minimum entry qualification required (2 comments)

GCSE Maths and English (1 comment)

GCSE grade C or above in English (1 comment)

Minimum 2 years’ experience in certain staff roles e.g. police constable special officer, call

handler etc. (1 comment)

53

Happy to accept relevant experience as a consideration other than the qualification i.e.

special constable, community service, military or other customer focused job where they

can evidence a good level of previous experience (1 comment)

Temporarily removed requirement for internal staff in 2017/18 (1 comment)


Q15 Of those successful recruits who joined your force in the last two financial years, please

state how many of these officers have left and in which year?

Out of 31 forces, 127 successful recruits left in the last complete financial year and this has

increased to 205 in this financial year to date.

Q16 What starting salary have you set for new Constable recruits in the last complete

financial year and in this financial year?

54

In the last complete financial year, 22 forces use pay point 1 and 16 forces use pay point 0 as

the starting salary for new constable recruits.

In this financial year, 21 forces are using pay point 1 and 16 forces are using pay point 0 as the

starting salary for new constable recruits.

There were 9 additional comments from 9 forces, these have been reviewed and categorised

highest to lowest:

Pay £22,896 (3 comments)

2016/17 = £23,868 including SE allowance , 2017/18 = £24,007 including SE allowance (1

comment)

Both - pay point 1 for current special constable (with independent patrol)/police constable

special officer all others pay point 0 (1 comment)

Pay point zero for those with no prior experience, pay point 1 for those with experience

(former community service officers, special constables and those with equivalent

qualifications) (1 comment)

The majority are on pay point 0 for both years (1 comment)

Those with previous police staff service/independent patrol special constables go to the

next scale point (1 comment)

Pay point one for safe & lawful special constable & independent police constable special

officer (1 comment)

Q17 Please provide the number of constable recruits in relation to their recorded ethnicity for

this financial year?

There were 4,071 constable recruits recorded by 34 forces in relation to their recorded ethnicity

for this financial year (17/18).

55

82.9% were white British, white Irish and White other

8.9% were Asian, Black, Chinese and Mixed White

8.2% were Other

Q18 Please provide the number of constable recruits in relation to their recorded gender for


Out of 4,199 constable recruits reporting, 64% were male (2,672) and 36% were female (1,527)

for this financial year (17/18).

Q19 Please provide the median (mid-point) age of new constable recruits for the last


56

11 forces stated their median age for new constable recruits was 28. The lowest median age

was 23 in Hertfordshire and the highest median age was 31 in Wiltshire.

We looked at the correlation between the number of new constable recruits and the median

age. We found there were more recruits aged 24-27 then 28-31, this can be seen on the chart

below:

In this next section we ask about the upcoming apprenticeship scheme and what

appropriate rates of base pay might look like and whether regional allowances should

be applied.

Q20 Apprenticeship salaries offered from September 2018 are likely to be in the form of

a banding between say £18,000-£21,500. Please select what annual base salary level you

would like to offer?

11 forces selected pay point 0, 2 forces selected £18,000, 1 force selected £21,000 and 1 force

selected £19,000.

There were 23 comments from 23 forces, which were also captured:

Pay point 1 - view is that we wish to attract the right individuals and from day 1 they are

appointed a police officer and therefore should accrue the same salary (1 comments

Salary in line with police special constable grade of job role (1 comment)

£18,000-£21,500 (1 comment)

Pay will not be below London Living Wage (1 comment)

Pay point 1 - same as normal constables (1 comment

17 no comments

57

Q21 If you had a high number of apprenticeship constable applicants would you consider

reducing your base pay offer?

28 forces stated they would not consider reducing the base pay offer even if they had a high

number of apprenticeship constable applicants. Only 6 forces said yes.

Q22 If you had a low number of apprenticeship constable applicants would you consider

increasing your base pay offer?

Interestingly, 22 forces stated they would not consider increasing the base pay offer if they had

a lower number of apprenticeship constables. 12 forces said yes.

58

In this next section, we ask for the number of officers who applied for promotions in

the last complete financial year 1st April 2016, what your forecasts are to complete

this financial year 1st April 2017 and what the forecasted number of promotions are

for the next 3 years.

Q25 Please state how many officers qualified to Sergeant/Inspector via OSPRE in the last


Out of 38 forces, there were 1,349 sergeants and 549 inspectors that qualified via OSPRE in the

last complete financial year (16/17).

Q26 Please state the number of officers you expect to qualify to Sergeant/Inspector via

OSPRE in this financial year?

38 forces anticipate 1,053 sergeants and 485 inspectors will qualify via OSPRE in this financial

year (17/18), lower than prior year.

59

Q27 Please state how many promotions to the ranks listed below there were for this financial

year?

38 forces have stated there were; 1,903 promotions to sergeant; 797 to inspector; 233 to chief

inspector; 157 superintendents and 36 chief superintendents in this financial year (17/18).

Q28 Please state how many officers applied for the promotion board in the last complete

financial year?

38 forces have stated there were; 4,057 application for promotion to sergeant; 1,859 to

inspector; 972 to chief inspector; 450 to superintendent and 129 to chief superintendent in the

last complete financial year (16/17).

60

Q29 Please state how many officers you expect will apply for the promotion board in this

financial year?

37 forces anticipate 3,168 sergeant will apply for the promotion board; 1,426 inspectors; 391

chief inspectors; 244 superintendents and 91 chief superintendents in this financial year

(17/18).

Q30 What are the forecasted numbers of promotions to each rank in 2018/19?

38 forces have forecasted that there will be; 1,686 promotions to sergeant; 689 to inspector;

301 to chief inspector; 95 to superintendent and 30 to chief superintendent in 2018/19.

61

Q31 Did you advertise externally for the posts below in the last complete financial year?

More forces chose not to advertise externally across all levels.

24 forces did not advertise externally for chief inspector posts

23 forces did not advertise externally for chief superintendent posts

23 forces did not advertise externally for sergeant posts

22 forces did not advertise externally for inspector posts

20 forces did not advertise externally for superintendent posts


38 forces have forecasted there will be 1,284 sergeant promotions; 506 inspector promotions;

151 chief inspector promotions; 74 superintendent promotions and 27 chief superintendents in

2019/20.

62


38 forces have forecasted there will be 1,288 sergeant promotions; 529 inspector promotions;

159 chief inspector promotions; 75 superintendent promotions and 22 chief superintendent

promotions in 2020/21.

In this next section, we are looking at the number of officers and the reasons why

these officers transferred to another force

Q34 Please state how many of your officers transferred to another force in the last complete

financial year and your forecast for this financial year?

38 forces have stated that a total of 963 officers have transferred to another force in the last

complete financial year and 889 in this financial year to date.

Q35 Please select the reasons for officers to transfer to another force in the last complete

financial year and in this financial year (please tick all that apply)?

63

The main reasons from 23 forces for officers transferring to another force was due to greater

career opportunities, closely followed by personal reasons in the last complete financial year

and in this financial year to date.

These questions look at whether there have been any ranks and roles which have

been hard to fill. Please note, the definition of hard to fill is:

“Based on roles/ranks in a particular discipline that, have not been possible to fill

from the internal officer workforce despite continuous advertising and/or posting

attempts and has resulted in an ongoing and unacceptably high vacancy rate (against

the defined force establishment for the area of policing concerned) for a continuous

period 3 months or more. A vacancy is deemed to have been filled once a successful

applicant is identified or posting agreed. Delays in the actual posting taking place do

not make a role ‘hard to fill’.”

Q36 Were there any ranks that have proved difficult to recruit into in the last complete

financial year?

17 forces started there were ranks that were difficult to recruit into in the last complete

financial year (16/17).

64

Q37 Which ranks have been difficult to recruit into in the last complete financial year. Please

tick all that apply?

10 forces identified that both the sergeant and inspector ranks were more difficult to recruit

into in the last complete financial year (16/17). This was followed by constable (6), chief

inspector (2) and superintendent (2).

Q38 Please select the reasons that have been identified for being unable to fulfil vacancies in

the last complete financial year?

The main reason identified by 9 forces for the sergeant role being unable to fulfil vacancies is

due to the required standard not being met.

7 forces stated the same reason for the inspector role being unable to fulfil vacancies.

Q39 Please state if there have been any roles that have proved difficult to recruit in the last


28 forces stated there were roles that were difficult to recruit in the last complete financial year

65

Q40 Which roles have been difficult to recruit into in the last complete financial year. Please

tick all that apply?

38 forces have identified the following as being hard to fill roles; detectives; firearm officer;

public protection officers; domestic abuse officers; response officers and surveillance officers in

the last complete financial year (16/17).

There were also 3 other comments from 3 forces:

Force incident manager

Force contact officers

Control room

Q41 For the last complete financial year please describe in more detail the individual types of

role with specific detail required i.e. ‘Borough detective’ rather than ‘detectives’?

66

There were 26 comments from 26 forces which have been reviewed and categorised highest to

lowest (please note there were 3 no comments)

Category Individual role Number of comments

Detectives

Detective constables 5

Detectives in safeguarding

2

All detectives 3

Divisional detectives 1

Specialist detectives 1

Protecting vulnerable people detectives

1

Public protection detectives

1

New trainee detective constables to start at

Borough CIDs

1

Dedicated rape unit detective constables

1

Custody Custody Sergeant 2

CID and Child Protection CID and Child Protection 2

Force Incident Manager within Control Centre

Force Incident Manager within Control Centre

1

Fraud, Cyber Crime Fraud, Cyber Crime 1

Resource Dispatchers Resource Dispatchers 1

Q42 What, if any reasons have been identified for being unable to fulfil vacancies in the last

complete financial year? Please tick all that apply?

There have been multiple reasons identified by 28 forces for being unable to fulfil vacancies in

the last complete financial year:

Nature of work (14 forces)

Stress (11 forces)

Shift pattern (11 forces)

Loss of allowances (8 forces)

Accountability (8 forces)

Increased personal and/or career risk (6 forces)

Pay (4 forces)

Risk of harm/injury (2 forces)

Q43 Were there any ranks that have proved difficult to recruit into in this financial year?

14 forces have confirmed there are ranks which have been difficult to recruit into in this

financial year (17/18).

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Q44 Which ranks have been difficult to recruit into for this financial year. Please tick all that

apply?

11 forces identified that the sergeant ranks was most difficult to recruit into in this financial

year (17/18). This was followed by inspector (9); constable (3); chief inspector (2) and

superintendent (1).

Q45 Please select the reasons that have been identified for being unable to fulfil vacancies in


The main reason identified for the sergeant, chief inspector and superintendent role being

difficult to fill is due to the required standard not being met. For the inspector role it was a

combination of the standard not being met and an insufficient number of applicants.

Q46 Please state if there have been any roles that have proved difficult to recruit in this

financial year?

28 forces have confirmed there have been roles that have proved difficult to recruit in this

financial year to date.

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Q47 Which roles have been difficult to recruit in this financial year. Please tick all that apply?

30 forces have identified the following as being hard to fill roles; detectives; firearm officers;

custody officer; public protection officers; domestic abuse officers and response officers, in this

financial year to date.

Q48 For this financial year please describe in more detail the individual types of role with

specific detail required i.e. ‘Borough detective’ rather than ‘detectives’?

There were 29 comments which have been reviewed and categorised highest to lowest, (please

note there were 2 no comments):

Category Individual role Number of comments

Detectives

All detectives roles 5

Detective constables 3

Detectives in Berkshire 1

Detectives in safeguarding

1

Divisional detectives 1

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Public protection detectives

1

New trainee detective constables to start at

borough CIDs

1

Custody sergeants Custody sergeants 3

Vulnerability investigation teams (VIT)

VIT Child, VIT Adult Protection, VIT Domestic

Abuse

3

Fraud, cybercrime Fraud, cybercrime 2

CID and child protection CID and child protection 2

Duty inspector Duty inspector 1

AFO in mobile support AFO in mobile support 1

Resource dispatchers Resource dispatchers 1

Confiscators/ financial investigators

Confiscators/ financial investigators

1

Q49 In both these financial years what, if any reasons have been identified for being unable

to fulfil vacancies? Please tick all that apply

There have been multiple reasons identified by forces for being unable to fulfil vacancies in the

both financial years:

Loss of allowances (3 forces)

Shift pattern (3 forces)

Accountability (3 forces)

Stress (2 forces)

Nature of work (2 forces)

Pay (1 force)

There was also 10 other comments made by 15 forces:

Lack of skills (1 comment)

Transferees looking for development/ promotion withdraw from the process. Either offered

a different role with current force or development opportunity elsewhere. Pay is not

competitive enough against this. (1 comment)

Accountability / shift pattern / nature of work (2 comments)

Detective constable is a specialist role that not all officers want to explore (2 comments)

Growth in specialist safeguarding detective constable roles meant that whilst force trained

in house capability, also looked at transferee options for detective constables with these

existing skills but limited numbers (1 comment)

3 forces started this information is not recorded

Q50 In both these financial years has the force needed to mandate the posting of officer to fill

vacancies in hard-to-fill roles? If so, into which roles?

16 forces stated they have needed to mandate the posting of officers to fill vacancies in hard to

fill roles.

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Q51 In both these financial years if you had any roles that are difficult to recruit, what was

the level of vacancies that you hold in relation to the agreed force establishment for that

role?

There were 37 comments which have been captured below from 36 forces, (please note there

were 16 no comments):

Also, there were inconsistencies in the way this data was collected e.g. some forces stated the

percentage or number of vacancy held only, some forces provided the percentage or number of

vacancy held and the role and some forces only stated the role.

Level of vacancy

held Role

# of comments

4% - 1

4% Custody sergeant 1

5% - 1

5% Dedicated rape unit detective

constables 1

10% - 3

10% Public protection 1

14% - 1

15% Detectives 2

1% - 18% Borough

detectives 1

32% Firearms 1

2 vacancies Safeguarding 1

6 vacancies - 1

23 vacancies

Detective constables

1

24 vacancies

- 1

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30 vacancies

- 1

40 vacancies

Detective constables

1

102 vacancies

- 1

- Specialist detectives

1

Q52 In both these financial years what action has the force taken in relation to hard-to-fill

and what action could be taken nationally?

There were 40 comments from 36 forces, in terms of what action could be taken nationally in

relation to filling hard to fill roles, which are highlighted below:

Action taken/ could be used nationally # of

comments

Marketing/ external advertisement 5

Shift review 3

Wellbeing 2

Increased training of detective constables via career pathways

2

Recruitment review of trainee investigators 1

Relocation package offered for transferees 1

Force action post conversions 1

Targeted recruitment 1

Review of allowances 1

Promotion of roles 1

Recruiting transferee detectives 1

Detective payments 1

Familiarisation days and targeted advertising 1

Information sharing 1

Consultation with other forces 1

Increased campaigns 1

Open days 1

Occupational health interventions 1

National investigators exam training 1

Local mentors 1

A detective streaming program to identify detective prospects early in training and detective direct pathway

entry route 1

Completion of a stress audit 1

Implementation of a police constable/detective constable rotation

1

Transferred detectives 1

Initiate job shadowing 1

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Proactive campaigns for conversion from police constable to detective constable and inspector to detective inspector

1

Internal advertising on intranet 1

Detective career pathway has been enhanced in force and NPPF process is currently being enhanced and more support given to ensure line managers to give them the autonomy to

ensure the right candidates go forward.

1

Talent management 1

Rolling recruitment campaigns 1

Make offer more attractive for roles 1

Review process to remove perception that no support is offered

1

Q53 In both these financial years has the force identified any particular units or departments

where the inability to recruit or retain officers is presenting an operational risk to service

delivery?

Out of 42 comments from 36 forces, there have been a number of suggestions which have been

highlighted below, (please note 14 were no comments):

Department difficult to fill # of

comments

Armed firearm officers 5

Detectives 5

Public protection 3

Custody 2

Protecting vulnerable people 2

Force incident manager 1

Force crime unit 1

Fraud 1

Cybercrime 1

Criminal Investigations Department 1

Positive action strategy 1

Safeguarding 1

Child abuse and sexual offences 1

Dedicated rape unit 1

Investigative detectives 1

Serious crime teams 1

Q54 In both these financial years have any workforce issues been identified that may

contribute to the recruitment and or retention problem (other than the nature of the role).

For example, retirement bubble in specialist posts, skills gaps, lack of remuneration,

geography etc?

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Out of 44 comments from 35 forces, there have been a number of suggestions which have been

highlighted below:

Issues identified # of

comments

Skills gaps due to new and emerging crime 9

Remuneration 7

Geography 4

Proximity to London and specialisms within the Met e.g. firearms

2

Specialist roles 2

Retirement bubble 2

Retirement for specialist posts 1

People wanting vertical progression 1

Workload and increasing demand 1

Legacy issues/ IPCC investigation 1

Accountability/ risks associated with roles 1

Lack of experience in constable ranks owing to losing so many officers through Voluntary Exit scheme

1

Service profile led to a significant number of senior officers retiring within a very short period

1

Positive action strategy 1

Criminal investigations department lack of nights so lack of unsocial hours payment & dealing with more complex and

challenging work on a regular basis 1

Perception of the nature and volume of work 1

Loss of detectives to regional secondments 1

Lack of suitable trainee detectives and there has been an increase in the number of voluntary resignations

1

Freeze in recruitment 2 years ago 1

Working patterns 1

Financial institutions headhunting detectives 1

Ability to release officers from one unit to another as decisions are made on a threat/harm/risk basis

1

Regional collaboration, meaning specialist officers may wish to work in regional unit (i.e. ROCU), rather than

remaining local 1

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The next section asks how many officers voluntarily left the service (not retirees), the

number of years’ service completed, age/role/rank of officers, the main reasons for

leaving and whether there is a noticeable increase of officers leaving.

Q55 Please state how many officers left the service voluntarily prior to completing their full

potential pensionable service in this financial year?

37 forces have stated that 2,044 officers voluntarily left the service (not including retirees) prior

to completing their full potential pensionable service in this financial year.

The Met had the most officers leave voluntarily (not including retirees) (696) and Cleveland had

the least (3), this can be seen on the graph below, please note a logarithmic scale of 10 has

been used:

Q56 Please state how many officers achieved the following years of service at the point of

leaving in the last complete financial year?

37 forces have stated the most officers leave after having achieved 11-15 years of service (912)

in the last complete financial year to date.

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Q57 Please state how many officers achieved the following years of service at the point of

leaving in this financial year?

37 forces have stated the most officers leave after having achieved 0-5 years of service (757) in

this financial year to date.

Q58 Please state how many officers left in each age group in the last complete financial year?

37 forces have stated the most officers left in the 51-55 age group (7824) in the last complete

financial year.

4 Q58 and Q59 show the most officers leaving were aged 51-55, this question should not include retirees however this needs further investigation

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Q59 Please state how many officers left in each age group in this financial year?

37 forces have also stated the most officers left in the 51-55 year age group (624) in this

financial year.

Q60 Please select the main reasons for all officers leaving in this financial year?

24 forces have stated the main reasons for officers leaving is due to resignation in this financial

year.

There were also 6 additional comments from 6 forces:

Dismissal (3 comments)

Death in service (1 comment)

Secondments (2 comments)

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Q61 Please confirm how many officers left at each rank in this financial year?

37 forces have stated 2,838 constables left, followed by; 486 sergeants; 182 inspectors; 47 chief

inspectors; 41 superintendents and 38 chief superintendents in this financial year to date.

Q62 In both these financial years, of those who left prior is there a noticeable trend based on

role, rank or reason i.e. do you have a large number of detectives resigning or firearms

officers transferring? If so please state

Only 4 forces said of those who left, there is a noticeable trend of why.

There were 6 additional comments to this question from 6 forces:

A high number of firearm officers left in 16-17 (2 comments)

Resigning or transferring to another force (1 comment)

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For both 2016/2017 & 2017/2018 there has been a higher majority of retirements

compared to leavers (1 comment)

Detective constables transferring to private financial sector (1 comment)

Detectives moving to the National Crime Agency (1 comment)

This next section asks how many officers have retired and at what rank at the point of

completing their full pensionable service.

Q63 Please state how many officers retired after completing their full pensionable service in

the last complete financial year and in this financial year?

37 forces have stated that 3,393 officers retired after completing their full pensionable service

in the last complete financial year. Based on 2,708 projection for this financial year to date, this

figure will be slightly down.

Q64 Please confirm how many officers retired left at each rank in the last complete financial

year?

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37 forces have stated 2,229 constables retired, followed by; 992 sergeants; 520 inspectors; 130

chief inspectors; 83 superintendents and 50 chief superintendents in the last complete financial

year (16/17).

Q65 Please confirm how many officers retired at each rank in this financial year?

37 forces have stated 1,815 constables retired, followed by; 748 sergeants; 355 inspectors; 80

chief inspectors; 91 superintendents and 40 chief superintendents in this financial year to date.

This next section asks about a workforce survey and who completed it

Q66 Has the force conducted a workforce survey in the last complete financial year?

27 forces stated they had completed a workforce survey in the last financial year (16/17).

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Q67 If yes, who conducted it?

Out of the 27 forces who completed a workforce survey; 15 were completed by Durham

University; 7 were completed externally and 5 were internal.

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