One in three SA Police employees to quit, retire in three years

A new government survey reveals SA Police is facing a mass exodus of employees – and the police commissioner admits there’s room for improvement.

More than one in three SA Police employees intend to quit or retire, or are thinking of leaving the force, within the next three years, a new state government survey has revealed.

The People Matter Employee Survey showed 37 per cent of SA Police staff, which includes police officers, police security officers and civilian staff, either did not intend to stay, or were unsure if they would remain in the force over the next three years.

The results also revealed only 42 per cent of respondents would recommend SAPOL as a “great place to work” and 26 per cent of employees had confidence in senior leaders to make the right decisions for the agency.

Almost a quarter of respondents (23 per cent) stated they had witnessed bullying or harassment in the workplace and 17 per cent had experienced it. Fifteen per cent experienced violence and aggression.

The main type of bullying reported in the survey was an unfair application of work policies (20 per cent), followed by verbal abuse (17 per cent). In 29 per cent of instances, a co-worker was responsible for the conduct while a person in a more senior position was responsible for 20 per cent of the incidents.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the survey results revealed some positive views as well as other areas of improvement. Picture: Tom Huntley

Just one quarter of staff said senior leadership showed genuine interest in the wellbeing of employees while 37 per cent believed everyone could “succeed to their full potential no matter who they are”.

The survey, organised by the Public Sector Commissioner, was completed by 3495 of the force’s 6185 staff in February and March this year.

Other results showed:

JUST 20 per cent of respondents believed there was open and honest communication within the force.

SEVENTY-NINE per cent of employees said they clearly understood what was expected on them at work.

UNDER half (47 per cent) felt comfortable discussing their mental health and wellbeing with their manager.

SIXTY-TWO per cent belt their manager valued their contributions to the agency.

Police Association of SA president Wade Burns said condemned the survey findings.

“The survey results are damning and only further confirm why SAPOL has a retention crisis on its hands,” he said.

“SAPOL sits below the SA public sector average on 22 of the 24 surveyed measurements of employee satisfaction.

“Most alarming is that 17% of the surveyed workforce plans to leave within the next three years — and a further 20% are unsure if they intend to stay.”

Mr Burns said it was critical that the causes of these issues were addressed.

“Solutions such as investing in overseas recruits are short-term fixes and don’t address the issue of so many experienced members leaving the job,” he said.

“Low morale, lack of resources and excessive workloads leading to unnecessary stress are the areas that should be SAPOL’s top priority.”

Opposition police spokesman Jack Betty said the loss of one in three SA Police employees in the next three years “could have a disastrous impact on frontline policing in the midst of a crime wave”.

“SAPOL is already severely under resourced, with a shortfall of nearly 200 police officers,” he said.

“SAPOL are crying out for help from this government, as work demands increase but resources have not kept pace.”

Mr Batty called on the government to make public its police retention plan.

Police Minister Dan Cregan said the government recognised increased workforce demand on police and was expanding its efforts to support them and attract new recruits.

“There are more officers being sworn into SAPOL than those leaving and accelerated recruitment campaigns will help build on this positive trend,” he said.

“The health and wellbeing of officers is a priority and all SAPOL employees have access to around-the-clock support with a wide range of services available.”

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the survey results revealed some positive views as well as other areas of improvement.

“We acknowledge that the issues identified are complex and solutions will take time, but we are committed to working together to address them through a comprehensive action plan,” he said.

“The challenging environment shaped by multiple social changes have resulted in significant change in our policing landscape, which have impacted employee sentiment.

“It is pleasing to see most staff feel secure and intend to remain dedicated to South Australia Police and continue their careers with our organisation.”

Originally published as One in three SA Police employees to quit, retire in three years