t depends on the force but I appreciate a couple of years may have been a bit optimistic, but for an officer with 10 years policing under their belt on the full scale, you can hardly say the money is rubbish, surely? I know policing in general took a hit a few years ago, seeing starting salaries as low as £19k in some forces.
To put it into perspective, ambulance staff (entry level ECA for example) are often paid a starting salary of around £19k, which with enhancements rises to the highest it ever will, at about £25k. In my opinion, that’s a rubbish salary for the job (not exactly minimum wage, but rubbish for the role they do and risks they take). Firefighters’ salaries are on a par with Police.
It’s not all about the salary, I understand that, and that’s why a lot of people see it as a vocation. As emergency workers go, the Police are paid toward the higher end of the scale.
I think the fact that most people leaving the police have between 10 and 15 years service says a lot about how policing has changed in relatively few years.