Page 10 - Bedfed Conf2016 Flip Book

10
“I believe in
blue. I believe
in you and
what you do.”
Those were the resounding words of shadow home secretary Andy Burnham as he addressed this year’s Police Federation conference.
Speaking to rank and file officers on the first day of the annual conference, he said: “I know that there are thousands of your colleagues out there right now as I speak putting themselves out to keep others safe.
“British policing remains the best in the world - of that I have no doubt .”
He said he was saddened to see the ‘bedrock of British policing that I am proud to say was built up by the last Labour Government’ being ‘slowly hollowed out’.
He quoted statistics of 18,000 police officers, 12,000 of them operational front-line officers, lost in the last Parliament and said those left have found their workloads soaring and pressure intensifying, with over a quarter now working more than 49 hours a week, beyond the legal limit.
He continued: “We are now in the sixth straight year of cuts to police budgets. These cuts come when the challenges of the job are greater than ever before and when the pressures on you are increasing all the time; at a time when crime is changing, becoming more sophisticated, and starting to rise again; when the terror threat is growing; and when the police are increasingly being left to pick up the pieces from cuts to other public services as the service of last resort.
“So your job is getting harder and, if this
wasn’t bad enough, there has been a steady stream of revelations about policing practice in the past. So morale is low and no wonder.”
Mr Burnham said he had ‘serious concerns’ about possible plans to merge with fire services and expanding the role of volunteers.
And, while he said he would challenge the Government where he disagreed with it, he also said he would say when he believed they had got it right.
Shortly, the Policing and Crime Bill will return to the Commons for its final stages and Mr Burnham announced he is proposing a package of changes that he believes will strengthen victims’ rights and police accountability.
OURREPsAYs
“He was well received by attendees
and commenced his speech by acknowledging that the last few years have been challenging due to the consequences of police cuts and the ever increasing terror threat. Despite George Osborne’s commitment to stating ‘there will be no cuts to police budgets’, Mr Burnham believed the police service is on course for more cuts without a doubt. He also recognised that morale across the police service was at an all-time low and questioned ‘where do we go from here?’ He went on to state that between us (the Government and PFEW) we need to build a common cause and, from his perspective, focus on three specific areas of policing: police funding and powers, structure and organisation, and culture and
He called for reform on the treatment of bereaved families at inquests saying: “It cannot be right that police forces are able to spend unlimited sums of public money on lawyers when families, often raw with grief, are thrown into a court room with no ability to match it.”
He is also seeking to remove the time limit on the period after leaving a force that a retired officer can be investigated for misconduct.
The third area that needs change, he said, is on strengthening the independence of the regulator and he wants to give the IPCC power to direct forces to implement findings and sanctions following investigations into officers and forces.
leadership.
“Mr Burnham intends to lobby the
Home Secretary to instigate a public inquiry into the police management and actions during the miners’ strike some 30 years ago albeit, Theresa May has failed to address this issue to date. He also said the independent whistle-blowing function needs to be improved because current PSD structures are inadequate to afford whistle-blowers the protection they needs and deserve.
“Mr Burnham ended his speech by emphasising that it’s imperative we work together to make progress despite the police service being considered the service of last resort due to the impact of other public sector cuts. He came across as genuine with a passion for leading change and learning the lessons of the past to improve both policing and standards within policing.”
Pushpa Guild
Shadow home secretary: I believe in blue