Britain is facing a "public safety crisis" because the streets are policed by underpaid, overworked, and under threat cops, a union warns. The Police Federation of England and Wales [PFEW], which represents more than 145,000 rank-and-file officers, laid bare the emergency on the frontline, with 25% set to quit within two years. 

The shock findings come in a survey of the thin blue line which reveals voluntary resignations have surged 142% since 2018. If this trend continues, according to the PFEW, 10,000 officers will resign every year by 2027, forcing the Government to spend £9.9billion recruiting and training replacement officers just to stand still. It claims that 35% of officers - a figure representing 50,000 of the total policing strength - have five or less year’s experience, a figure that is one third more than the total in 2020.

Last year police officer pay increased by 4.75% across all ranks - well below the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s call for a 6% rise - in a move that sparked anger as it was below other public sector workers.

The union said officers' wages have reduced by one fifth since 2010 in real terms with the paltry pay, perks and conditions branded "criminal".

PFEW Acting National Chair Tiff Lynch said: “Our members run towards danger every day before taking the burdens of that work home to their families with them. What they take home – salary cut by one fifth in real terms within a generation and more trauma and stress than virtually any other worker in the country – is criminal.

"Police officers are overworked, underpaid, and under threat. We need properly-funded urgent action to stop the mass exodus of experienced officers which is putting public safety at risk. You can’t have safe communities without enough police, and you can’t have enough police if poor pay and poor care drives them away."

The sobering reality for tens of thousands of coppers is revealed in the union’s annual pay and morale state of the nation snapshot.

Three quarters of officers responding to the survey say their pay does not reflect the dangers they face and one third struggle to afford essentials such as food, rent, or heating.

One said: "We’re expected to face down violent criminals, but we can’t afford to feed our families. We take home wages that don’t match the job - and we take home trauma that no one should have to live with.”

Today, on International Workers’ Day, the Federation is launching Copped Enough: What the Police Take Home is Criminal, a campaign exposing the crisis in policing that is endangering officers’ lives and livelihoods and threatening public safety across the country.

A spokesman said: "This is a day that celebrates the dignity of labour and the right of every worker to fair pay and safe conditions - yet police officers have faced spiralling trauma, violence and risk while losing a fifth of their pay in real terms since 2010."

PFEW figures show 32 officers are injured every day in violent assaults - a figure up nearly 50% since 2018, 81% report poor mental health - making police the UK profession with the highest rate of mental-health-related sickness - and more than 20 police officers die by suicide every year with hundreds more attempting to take their lives.

The Home Office said: “This government is prioritising our Safer Streets Mission, with total police funding up to £17.6 billion for the forces next year, a cash increase of £1.2 billion.

“We encourage the Police Federation of England and Wales to engage with the independent Pay Review Body process to put their membership’s concerns forward.”