One in 10 officers left force after £5k bonus

About one in 10 officers left Guernsey Police after receiving a £5,000 recognition and retention payment.

Police officers, up to the rank of inspector, were offered a one off payment in a bid to ease recruitment challenges.

Out of the 120 officers eligible for the payment, announced in August 2024, 16 subsequently left or moved to other roles within the States of Guernsey, Guernsey police said.

The force said officers were required to repay a portion of the payment if they resigned or had their employment terminated by the police before December 2025.

The total amount paid out by the Committee for Home Affairs was £582,115.30 with £16,146.39 repaid.

Guernsey Police said there was "no intention to repeat this initiative in future pay talks".

At the time the bonus was announced, the force said records showed there were 19 police officer vacancies across all ranks.

In February this year, there were 16 vacancies, although the police said the service was in the middle of a recruitment campaign with the next cohort due to start in July.

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