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March is usually the month we leave behind the gloom associated with the cold, dark winter and look towards the cheerfulness of spring. But I’m afraid that Professor Roger Seifert’s feature in this month’s Police magazine brings little cheer about future prospects for the police service.

To further compound the issues Professor Seifert raises - force mergers, police officer cuts and greater civilianisation - there were revelations last month of a National  Policing Improvement Agency paper which looked at how a reduction of 28,000 police officers would impact on the service in the next ten years. Quite how this body dare call itself a policing improvement agency when it raises such lunacy as this is quite beyond me.

The national Police Federation chairman, Paul McKeever, was absolutely right to condemn the plans, making clear that to lose police officer numbers on such a huge scale would damage the resilience of the police to react to unplanned large scale events and have a detrimental impact on the quality of service provided to the public.

Perhaps we could be more forgiving of this misunderstanding if it was some master plan being poorly devised byWhitehall bureaucrats, but it is our policing leaders who are at the heart of these suggestions.Whether they are key modernisers operating in the name of the Association of Chief Police Officers or past and present senior officers at the National Policing Improvement Agency, they are sworn police officers nonetheless.

These individuals talk the talk about the value of the independent Office of Constable and yet seem ready to sell it off as soon as tough financial decisions need to be taken.  Then they wonder why the Police Federation views workforce modernisation with some suspicion. It’s not for fear of realising there may be benefits in changing some of the  workforce in some areas of policing, it’s the fear that you give and inch and the modernisers take a mile.

The Police Federation has long called for an independent review and public debate about policing to decide what the public want and who should be doing it. With a new government in the offing let’s finally stop skating round the edges and hope they have the courage to implement one.

Editorial

News: Federation hits out at female officer report

News: PM pledge to maintain police numbers

News: Forces should keep figures that could cut assaults

Federation Views: David Pellatt, secretary of the Inspectors’ Central Committee reflects on the past and looks at what the future could hold for the rank as some forces look to reduce senior managers

View from the Chair

Local focus: Mark Botham, chairman of North Yorkshire Police Federation, looks at the divisiveness of special priority payments

View from the sidelines: Light-hearted look at life by Clive Chamberlain who looks writes on the issue of weight gain and the more serious subject of police overtime

Police in parliament: What makes a prospective parliamentary candidate volunteer as a Special Constable? Syreeta Lund speaks to Nicola Bates, contesting Nick Clegg’s seat on why she decided to walk the beat

Future force: Could the recession be used as an excuse to downgrade police officers pay and conditions? Roger Seifert, professor of industrial relations and human resources management

Moving on up? Can you really manage to get onto the housing ladder on a police officer’s wage? Suzanne Boyce, editor of Homefocus magazine offers up some solutions

Breaking the silence: How Northumbria Police’s Public Protection Unit is trying to get women to report domestic violence which results in the murders of two women every week in the UK

A risky business: A driver training expert and psychologist writes about how the risks of driving at high speeds can be cut through brain training techniques

 

Castle Jpg

In 2009 PC's Greg Miller and Adrian Peck were part of a team of Blue Knights that completed a 2500 mile motorcycle ride from Land’s End to John O’ Groats and back again. The ride took five days and ended with a fundraising charity evening at The Marriott hotel in Bristol. The team raised £25,500 for Child Victims of Crime and was supported by Avon and Somerset Constabulary, BMW, BWOC and several other organisations.

For 2010, Greg and Adrian have planned a new event - The Castle Crusade 2010.

Between Monday 28th June and Friday 2nd July 2010, 25 teams from the UK and  HM Forces Police Units will join the organisers for a motorised tour of the UK. The event will be starting and finishing at Avon and Somerset Police HQ.

Teams of four, of which at least two persons must be serving Police Officers, will drive/ride approximately 1500 miles across the UK, visiting landmark castles and other points of interest along the way.

Participants will have to navigate between checkpoints, collect clues and objects, answer quiz questions, and win points in order to claim their place as Kings/Queens of the Castle.

Thanks to Trackaphone each team will be tracked by GPS, so we don't lose them and so family and friends can track their progress on line.

During the trip, there will even be a themed fancy dress evening, with huge point scoring potential ! The theme – Super Heroes.

SATNAV's, maps and GPS are all allowed and will be encouraged. Digital Cameras for silly photos and clue collection are mandatory.

At the end of the event, on Friday 2nd July, all participants can attend a black tie fundraising evening in central Bristol, where there will be food, live entertainment, celebrity guests, prize giving and a high class auction.

All the money raised will go directly to CVOC.

Accommodation can be as big or as small as you like. You will be bringing your own tent. Yes, we are camping in the UK in June!

The cost? £600 per team - with an undertaking to raise at least £200 in donations or sponsorship for CVOC.

Places are strictly limited to 25 teams, on a first come first served basis.

The closing date for applications to this event is Friday 30th April 2010. The full entry fee must accompany the completed application pack.

Entry fee cheques should be made payable to “Castle Crusade”

The minimum donation and sponsorship amount to be with CVOC by Friday 28th May 2010.

Donation cheques should be made payable to "Child Victims of Crime"

Come and join us, have fun, see the sights and raise money for Child Victims of Crime.

Further details can be found at http://castlecrusade.co.uk/cms/.

 

The Police Federation Looks After You

From the day you join the police service until you leave, or hopefully, you are promoted to the rank of Superintendent, you will be a member of the Police Federation. Although your membership of the Federation is automatic, your financial contribution is entirely voluntary. Well over 99 percent of your colleagues are contributors, they know that membership of our voluntary funds brings them many direct and indirect benefits.

The Police Federation does for you what a trade union seeks to do for its members, but there are important differences. The Federation is controlled entirely by serving police officers and it is not affiliated or associated with any bodies outside the service. We are completely independent of political parties. We do not have, nor do we desire, the power to call a strike or take any form of industrial action.

The Police Federation was set up in 1919 by an Act of Parliament. Our duty is to represent our members in all matters affecting their welfare and efficiency. This means that we negotiate on your behalf on matters affecting your pay, allowances, hours of duty, annual leave, pensions and other matters. We are consulted when the Police Regulations are made dealing with training and promotion, discipline, police duties and so on. So you will see that the Police Federation is able to influence not only your living standards through pay and other benefits, but also the development of professional standards. In addition, the Federation takes an active interest in a wide range of subjects that affect the police service and require us to put forward views on your behalf.

The Branch Boards

There is a branch of the Police Federation in each force in England and Wales. The members of the force in the ranks of constable, sergeant and inspector (including chief inspector) elect a 'Branch Board' for their rank. Cadets may elect a colleague to the Constables' Board, or appoint a member of that Board to look after their interests. Normally, there is one member of each rank elected in each district or department. The Constables', Sergeants' and Inspectors' Branch Boards meet regularly to consider subjects affecting their ranks. Much of their work, however, is done in unison when they meet together as the 'Joint Branch Board'.

The Branch Boards act as negotiating and consultative bodies in dealings with the chief constable, senior officers and the police authority, in matters affecting the force. This important area of local negotiation and consultation was extended, following the Report of a Committee under the chairmanship of Lord Edmund-Davies, which has examined the role of the Police Federation. A Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee was established in every force.

Each year, the Constables', Sergeants' and Inspectors' Branch Boards in each force nominate delegates to attend the Police Federation Central Conferences. Here, the delegates elect, for a three year period, a Central Committee for each rank consisting of ten members (one from each provincial region, two from the London forces, and one representative of the policewomen in the rank). The Central Committees elect their own officers. The separate Central Committees deal with national matters as they affect the rank they represent.


Most of the work of the Federation at national level, is done through the Joint Central Committee, which consists of the three separate committees sitting together to transact all the business which affects all the ranks in the Federation. The Joint Central Committee elects its national officers from amongst its members.

Of course, to do its job properly, the Federation must be properly financed and this is the main purpose of the Voluntary Funds. They are used to maintain our Headquarters, which provide a service to the national

Committees, to assist them in their negotiations and supplies information and advice to the membership. Part of your subscription is retained by your Branch Board for its local administration costs. The Federation at national level employs a number of professional staff and retains the service of specialist advisers, such as solicitors, an economist, and a Parliamentary Adviser.
All this you would expect from a modern and efficient representative body, but the funds are also used to provide direct help to individual members.

How We Negotiate

The Police Negotiating Board is the body that negotiates the rates of pay, pensions and allowances for the police services of the United Kingdom. It consists of two Sides, the Official Side and the Staff Side, which meet together with an independent chairman appointed by the Prime Minister. The Official Side is made up of members representing the Government Ministers responsible for the Police, the Home Secretary, the Scottish Secretary and the Northern Ireland Secretary, representatives of the local authorities, and magistrates. The Staff Side consists of representatives of the Police Federations of England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, the three Superintendents Associations and the Chief Officers. The board has an independent secretariat.

The Police Advisory Board meets under the chairmanship of the Home Secretary, to discuss professional subjects such as training, promotion and discipline. Representatives of the Police Federation, sit on this body. After considering the views expressed by the Police Advisory Board, the Home Secretary makes Police Regulations covering the subjects not dealt with by the Police Negotiating Board.

The Federation is also represented on other important bodies that deal with Service matters, such as the Board of Governors of the Police Staff College, and the Police Training Council. In addition, we are asked for our views on other subjects which, from time to time, are under review.
Benefits for subscribers

These are the benefits for which members of the Police Federation Funds are eligible with the prior approval of the Committee and on such terms and conditions as may be specified. (See the Police Federation Funds Rules for precise details).

  • Free legal advice and assistance to pursue claims for compensation by members who have sustained injuries on or off duty; this help is given to relations or representatives of members who have been killed on or off duty
  • Free legal advice and assistance for members charged (or have reasonable grounds for thinking that they may be) with Road Traffic Offences (other than the 'drink' or 'drugs' offences or 'taking and driving away') which arise out of the course of police duty. Members are covered whilst travelling to and from duty.
  • Free legal advice and assistance for members who, arising from police duty, may be charged with criminal proceedings for causing the death of, or injury to, any person or for any assault.
  • Free legal advice and assistance for members subject to allegations or charges under the Police Discipline Regulations.
  • Free legal advice and assistance for members wishing to take action for defamation arising out of their membership of the police service.
  • A Death Benefit is paid to the widow or dependant of a member who dies in service. This amount is updated annually.
  • Free legal and medical advice and assistance to support a member or his dependants in pension or medical appeals.
  • The Federation operates a Personal and Public Liability insurance scheme which covers all members and may provide compensation for claims for injury and damages where no other insurance applies, or meet damages awarded against members, such as by persons who sustain injury on a member's premises.
 
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