300+ Met Police officers working as private hire drivers

It's been revealed today that more than 300 Metropolitan Police Officers have second jobs as private hire drivers or chauffeur drivers.

There are approximately 31,000 serving police officers and around 1450 PCSOs in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), according to figures procured by The Evening Standard via a Freedom of Information Act request there are 5395 serving police officers with work interests outside of the MPS, this figure equates to almost 17.5% of the entire Metropolitan Police Service.

There are around 300 officers who are working as private hire or chauffeur drivers. This equates to around 5.5% of the serving officers with outside interests, or just under 1%of the entire MPS.

Of the figure of 5395 officers with second jobs, more than 70% were at the lower end of the  policing hierarchy,  namely constables.

There is concern from the Police Federation that salaries within the MPS are too low to sustain some officers and as a result they are forced to taken on a second job.

Police Service regulations dictate that any secondary employment must not carry a conflict of interest and must be compatible with an individuals role as a serving officer.

Concerns have been highlighted due to the fact that a mere 8% of properties in the Metropolitan area of London can be afforded by a police officer on an average salary of £44,824 per annum.

There is no indication yet as to what the overall national figure may be in relation to officers with secondary employment.