MORALE among North Yorkshire Police officers is at its lowest since records began, and most are unhappy with their pay.

Rank and file police officers in North Yorkshire Police are reporting lower levels of personal morale and higher dissatisfaction with pay than at any other time since the survey began in 2014.

The findings come from the annual Pay and Morale Survey carried out by the Police Federation of England and Wales, which saw more than 530 officers (about 38 per cent) from North Yorkshire Police complete the survey. It found 53.2 per cent had low personal morale - compared to the higher national figure of 60.2 per cent - while 81.7 per cent reported low morale in the force as a whole - compared to a national figure of 89.6 per cent.

Two thirds of local officers (66.4 per cent), were unhappy with their pay - lower than the national figure (72 per cent), 83.1 per cent of local officers said they did not feel they were paid fairly “for the stresses and strains of their job”, while just more than 60 per cent said they were “worse off financially compared to five years ago”.

While the force is attempting to restore its officer numbers to 1,400 - levels last seen in 2012 - 7.6 per cent of respondents in North Yorkshire said they planned to leave the force within the next two years, with morale and impact of the job on health and wellbeing overwhelming factors.

Rob Bowles, chairman of the North Yorkshire Police Federation: “Police officers in North Yorkshire and nationally perform a tough, demanding and increasingly difficult role. It is essential that they feel valued. Budget cuts have resulted in fewer officers, diminished resources, and nationally increasing crime. Our members are feeling the strain and want to be adequately rewarded for the professionalism, dedication and sacrifice that the role demands. This survey is an important source of evidence to help understand the impact that changes to pay and conditions have on our officers.”

Just more than 63 per cent said they would not recommend joining the police to others, and 64 per cent said they did not feel valued by the force - lower than the national average (68 per cent), but higher than in the 2016 survey (57.3 per cent).

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Phil Cain said the force took the welfare and wellbeing of staff “incredibly seriously”, and has made “significant investment over recent years in an extensive wellbeing programme to support and assist our people”.

He said: “The results of our latest staff survey have shown that the extra support and investment we have made is having the desired effects, by showing a positive change in the feeling of well-being amongst our workforce.

“Additional help and support has been made available from our occupational health team and a series of well-being roadshows have recently been undertaken on matters such as stress and mental health, to support staff in the ongoing management and improvement in both their mental and physical well-being.”