Bonus £5K for police over ongoing staff shortages

The Committee for Home Affairs said Guernsey Police have been working under sustained pressure for years

Guernsey Police officers, up to the rank of inspector, are set to receive a £5,000 recognition and retention payment.

The Committee for Home Affairs said staff had been operating under "sustained pressure for some years" with officers working longer hours and undertaking ever-more complex case work.

It said officers have been covering an ever-increasing number of unsociable shifts, working additional overtime, having leave and rest-days cancelled and handling heavy workloads.

The payment has been agreed by the Policy & Resources Committee and follows discussions with the Guernsey Police Association, which represents officers.

Guernsey Home Affairs Committee President Rob Prow said it was important to the island's community to maintain a resilient workforce

The committee said the one-off payment would come from its budget.

It said the payment would only include officers who have passed their probation and were employed on or before the 1st July 2024 and remain employed.

President of the Committee Rob Prow said "for some years" the police force has been "below the number of officers required in its current operating model".

He said: "This has all been while the complexity of police work has continued to grow and the number of extremely sensitive and intricate cases has increased.

Designed to retain officers

"It is also important that we reward these officers for the efforts they have put in during this protracted period."

Deputy Prow said the committee recognised how stretched public money was, and it was not a decision that was "taken lightly".

"We as a committee both feel it is an important recognition of the burden officers have born, and a necessity to ensure our force remains staffed, stable, resilient, and holds onto the levels of expertise it needs," he added.

The committee said the force's minimum target operating model would see it staffed with 151 warranted officers. It said the annual average headcount has not exceeded that number since before 2013 but has continued to "trend downwards".

The payment is designed to "retain" officers for the next 18 months with anyone leaving before that period ends having to return a proportional amount.

The committee said no payment would be made to any officer on "unsatisfactory performance procedures".