He resigned as a policeman: “That was the salary”

From: TT

Published: November 22, 2020 kl. 20.39

After nearly ten years as a police officer, Micke Andersson decided to quit “the funniest job in the world.” The poor salary was what finally made him change jobs.

But the fact is that it was a very difficult decision, he says.

Four out of ten in the Police Association say they are actively planning a life outside of the police, according to a new report from the association. And even though the trend has reversed somewhat in recent years, there has been a sharp increase since 2014 in the number of police officers choosing to leave the profession prematurely.

In 2017, the vast majority left, when more than 450 police officers decided to resign prematurely. One of them was Micke Andersson.

With a policeman for a father, the idea of ​​becoming a policeman had accompanied him as a child.

TT: What was it that finally made you apply?

– I wanted a profession in which you could make a difference. And being able to make a little difference to someone made up for all the tough situations that you might end up in as a police officer as well.

Is the best job in the world

He graduated from the Police Academy in 2008, first ended up at Södermalm in Stockholm, then went on to the command center, paid a short visit to the National Police Board, and then became a professor at the Police Academy himself.

Describe the profession of police as the funniest in the world.

– You can experience more things in a week than an ordinary citizen experiences in his life. So it’s based on some life experiences and it’s always fun to deal with complex people and situations.

Despite this, he, like so many other policemen, chose to leave the profession.

– It was the salary. I ended up with some kind of pruning shears when I graduated in 2008. Right then they negotiated what was called the police assistant stairs, which meant that the salary increased according to the time you worked. This meant we ended up in a hurry and never got any real salary development, he says.

– When they later tried to get it back, the increase was not as great as it would have been if we had had the stairs from the beginning.

Common denominator

Also in the Police Association report, the issue of the salary increase is the one that most police officers state as most important to wanting to stay in the profession.

Salary and working conditions: Micke Andersson says he hardly saw his daughter in the early years of her life when she worked shifts; believed to be the most common reasons why police officers decide to resign.

– Of course, each cop who leaves has their own reasons, but they are probably the common denominators.

He replaced the police profession with a job as a work environment inspector at the Swedish Work Environment Authority, with a “significantly higher salary.” Even there, he thrives well and is driven by the very idea of ​​being able to make a difference in his work.

TT: Can you imagine returning as a policeman?

– They have called several times in their campaign for the reemployment of the policemen who resigned, but then offered the same salary as when I resigned. And I thrive too much in my current profession to be the way I was before. Should they have me back because then they work harder?

Published: November 22, 2020 kl. 20.39