Over 80% of South Yorkshire police officers have experienced low mood or stress in the past year, according to the Police Federation of England. 

Pay was also highlighted as an issue as 83% said they felt financially worse off than a year ago and 17% felt they ‘never or almost never’ had the funds for essentials.

60 percent of respondents from South Yorkshire Police reported worrying about the state of their finances ‘every day’ or ‘almost every day’. 

Lauren Poultney, the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police said : ‘’While South Yorkshire Police officers hold tremendous amounts of professionalism and passion for the job, I know times are hard for everyone at the moment and this includes my workforce.

“I recognise that the ongoing cost of living crisis has impacted the lives of our officers – not just financially but also in terms of their mental health and wellbeing. I hear what they are saying and want to make sure I continue to do all I can to make a difference around this,”

Pay and morale are not the only major issues underlined by the report as 93% of respondents said they do not feel respected by the government and 73% said they do not feel valued by their own employers – South Yorkshire Police. 

The rising cost of living in the UK appears to be having a strikingly adverse effect on South Yorkshire’s police officers as 12% of officers said they intend to resign from the police service ‘within the next two years’ or ‘as soon as they can’.

The survey was conducted by the Police federation of England and Wales, 409 officers were spoken to.