ALMOST half of all police officers in Hampshire worry about their finances every day, new data has shown. 

Research from the Police Federation of England and Wales showed that 40 per cent of officers in the area are concerned about money. 

Meanwhile, a further 91 per cent said they do not feel respected by the government according to the 2021 Pay and Morale Survey. 

It comes after 12 years of pay caps and pay freezes for the police which has now led to 69 per cent saying they feel worse off now than they were five years ago. 

Now, Chair of Hampshire Police Federation, Zoe Wakefield, said her members "feel betrayed" by the Government.

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"They worked throughout the pandemic, keeping the public safe whilst putting themselves and their families at risk.

"They enforced the legislation implement by the Government, often at very short notice.

"To then be denied a pay rise due to interference in the ‘independent’ mechanism for determining police pay, sends the message that the Government do not respect or value police officers."

Data also showed that 12 per cent of respondents reported never having enough money to cover all their essentials with 73 per cent feeling that morale within Hampshire is currently low.

Over the past 10 years police officer pay has fallen in real terms by 18 per cent according to the federation and now 78 per cent of the 958 respondents said that they are dissatisfied with their overall remuneration.

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Ms Wakefield added: “Hampshire is a good force with a good well-being offer but that can never compete with the disrespectful treatment from the Government.

“Changes need to be made to police pay, funding, recruitment and the constant negative rhetoric from the Government.”