There was an unprecedented response from Police Association members to the troubled pay round negotiations this year.

For the first time, many police officers felt compelled to share their views on a pay and conditions offer they likened to a “kick in the guts”.

They responded in droves. More than 1350 emails, the most ever received on one subject, were sent to the association last month.

The catalyst for this backlash from a usually circumspect and moderate group of employees was a poorly constructed and “insulting” remuneration offer from Police.

It came late, after delays in the process, and it came on the back of tough talk from the Government about how it intends to ramp up law and order responses in New Zealand.

As association president Chris Cahill pointed out to media last month, its members had “waited patiently for months” while other first responders, nurses and teachers received salary increases, “only to get an offer that is effectively lower than the Public Service Pay Adjustment they rejected last September”.

At that time, the previous government had offered a $4000 increase backdated to April 2023, followed by a 4 per cent pay rise from April 2024. Then last month, the present Government offered $5000, but only backdated to November, followed by a 4 per cent pay rise in July 2025. Neither offer was acceptable.

Meanwhile, the dam-burst of frustration revealed just how tough life has become for some Police staff.

Several of those who contacted the association said they were struggling to pay mortgages and were having to raid their superannuation savings.

The outcome of these negotiations could have huge ramifications for individuals and the service in general.

Long-serving officers said they were shocked at examples of hardship, such as staff accessing food bank services, the low level of morale among colleagues and a rise in those considering leaving the service.

Shared stories include having to borrow money from family to pay for rent, groceries and WOFs.

“Not many of us joined Police for the money. We knew it wasn’t ever going to be great. But when you get so many of us who join because we care, because we want to make a difference, to serve, then we need a government and an executive who are protecting us, advocating for us, and ensuring we are treated fairly and with respect.”

“It’s time for us to take a stand otherwise the public can expect a depressed and ineffective police force.”

Not backdating the offer was considered “completely unacceptable and ruthless”.

“It is the date of our collective agreement renewal and is no fault of Police staff. The delay is solely the responsibility of the Police executive.”

Police staff overwhelmingly feel that their ongoing “goodwill and dedication” and their “strength and professionalism” are being taken for granted. “There is a massive feeling of being undervalued and taken advantage of across members.”

The commissioner was also in the firing line: “It may be a poignant time to remind the commissioner of his weekly blogs that repeat, week after week, how much they value staff.

I can tell you staff are not even looking at the blogs any more out of sheer frustration. And would rather
they cease.”

As members have pointed out, they didn’t join Police to get rich, but they do expect to be able to pay their bills – rent, mortgages, childcare, petrol, school uniforms – and perhaps even pay for their “children’s birthday parties”, as one email lamented.

“Once there was a time that being an officer was a noble occupation that provided a reasonable or comfortable income. However, that was some time ago.”

One member said the marketing spin from Police – seeking a diverse range of people to trade up to “better work stories” – now has a hollow ring.

“It’s a fact that a lot of recruits are taking a pay cut to join and that it only takes a few months of financial pressure to realise the mistake they have made.”

On top of that, the work – from violent domestics, serious car crashes to unsociable hours and daunting paperwork – can be overwhelming. And now, “the so-called new tough stance on crime/gangs … they need to pay us appropriately, show ‘genuine’ support and respect members”.

A dog handler had this to say: “I’m tired of the ‘back in my day, we just got on with it’ attitude. The climate has changed substantially with what we deal with now and there is a blatant disregard for us from the PRNs we deal with. My team is dealing with more firearms offending and the drugs are creating extremely dangerous people.”

“And we get offered half the inflation rate,” said another officer.

The “taking the piss” pay offer comes as Australian state police forces continue to actively seek to attract New Zealand police officers with better pay and conditions and resettlement bonuses.

In Queensland, the starting wage for a first-year constable is A$98,000 (NZD$105,543) compared with about NZ$67,000 for a graduate police officer in New Zealand.

Police is already facing a staff crisis “with low recruitment, freeze on position movement, and an ageing workforce”.

“At this rate there will be no Police constabulary left. Why would anybody currently want to join Police?”

It hasn’t happened yet, but some members are predicting a “shit storm” and the “largest exodus in Police history”. The tone of dozens of members’ emails was that leaving was definitely looking like the only option in response to the pay offer.

This is at a time when police forces around the world are struggling with recruitment. In New Zealand, the Police executive is trying to get creative about reducing workloads by cutting back on P1 responses to family harm and mental health callouts.

“The minister himself is on record that Police are overworked, understaffed, doing the work of other agencies and are having trouble with recruitment and retention. This offer from Police does nothing to address these issues.”

It has also left members pondering, in the light of the fact that they are not able to strike or work to rule, just what sort of collective action they could take – leave phones at work, don’t wear uniforms, march on Parliament, come down with a bad case of the “blue flu”.

Some feel that the Government believes it can take a particular attitude to police pay negotiations because of the long-agreed stance on industrial action.

One email summed up the general tone. “My feedback is not printable. I am disgusted at this offer. In 39 years of policing, I have never been so outraged.”

If outrage was an effective negotiating tool, a better offer might have been made earlier.