MOST police officers in Wiltshire have low morale and are worried about their finances.

In a damning survey 92 per cent of those polled in the county say they do not currently feel respected by the government, with 44 per cent of them saying they worry about their finances every day.

The new figures from the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) 2021 Pay and Morale Survey come after 12 years of pay caps and pay freezes for the police.

And 68 per cent of respondents from Wiltshire Police felt that they were worse off financially than they were five years ago and 11 per cent of respondents reported never or almost never having enough money to cover all their essentials.

According to the Wiltshire Police Federation, over the past 10 years police officer pay has fallen in real terms by 18 per cent.

It is urging MPs to support its campaign for a real-terms pay increase.

Wiltshire Police Federation chairman Phil Matthews said: “For 12 years now, police officers have been at the brunt of the government’s pay caps and freezes.

“Police officers have reached breaking point, not only nationally but here in Wiltshire too. I cannot fathom how our government expect officers to do the challenging job they do whilst continually cutting and freezing their pay.

“In any part of the country, policing is a unique and challenging role. To do this role in the one of the smallest forces in the country with the fourth lowest funding makes it even more challenging.

“I challenge every one of our MPs here in Wiltshire to read and digest the shocking results of this survey and ask themselves if they have done enough to support policing.

"Consider the impact on police officers wellbeing and mental health while struggling through these difficult times.

“We have accepted the commonplace speak of the pandemic with regularly used terms like, unprecedented. Police officers left their families to go to work.

“This survey has shown that, here in Wiltshire, 92 per cent of the 281 responding officers feel they are not respected by the government. Nationally this figure is 93 per cent, This devastating figure is a true call to the government to stop their willfully neglectful attitude towards the easy targets that are police.

“I can’t help but wonder if policing is an easy target as the only emergency service forbidden by law from industrial action.”

Both of Swindons MPs, Sir Robert Buckland and Justin Tomlinson, have been approached for comment.