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the chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales has urged the Government ‘ask us what we think’.
Steve White gave the Home Secretary his assurance that the Federation would work with the Government to deliver improvements in policing for the public.
But he urged Theresa May to speak to the Federation about reform and invite it into the conversation.
“Policing in england and Wales needs reform, it’s crying out for reform, reform to make it more efficient, more effective and more joined up. But it might be worth asking what we think!” he said in his keynote speech on the Tuesday morning of conference week.
“Last year you stood on this stage and said ‘Join me and work with me to change policing’. We want to be part of the discussion. We would welcome a seat at the table.
“Had we been asked, I would have mentioned – as I know you all would - that problems arise when reform is confused with cost-saving and driven by short-term financial concerns. Because that leads not to strategic reform, but to under-resourcing leaving police officers vulnerable and the public unprotected.”
He opened his address by talking about the ‘Believe in Blue’ campaign which was launched earlier this year to highlight all things good about British policing.
“To remind the country, to remind politicians, to remind the media, and to remind the public, what a brilliant job the British police do every single day. And to ask them to stand up and believe in blue. To believe in our men and women in blue,” he said.
“Police officers are at the heart of our communities. We are not only single-minded crime-fighters, we are also the glue that binds communities together.
“We don’t just uphold the law, we stand for decency and fairness. We look out for the vulnerable, we stand up for the victims of injustice and we protect those who are under attack.
“On the streets and online, in our inner
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cities and rural villages, in homes and workplaces, we are the ones the public call on when they need help and we can be relied on to answer their call.
“We offer the public as much help as our resources allow. But, in all honesty, that’s a massive under-statement. We are selling ourselves short. Because we do much, much more than our resources should allow. The thin blue line runs ever-thinner, resources are at a premium but it’s the police who keep going.”
He acknowledged police must be held accountable for their actions and inactions, but that officers needed to know they would be treated fairly.
He said: “If we are to have any chance of meeting the Government’s commitment to increase the number of firearms officers by 1,500 then those volunteering to take such a huge responsibility must have confidence that they will be treated as witnesses, not suspects, when assisting with IPCC enquiries.
“Confidence that enquiries will be dealt with quickly and confidence that, should they be compelled to discharge their firearm in a split-second life or death situation, they will not automatically be arrested on suspicion of murder.”
Steve also led the tributes to the 96 families who lost loved ones at the Hillsborough disaster 27 years ago. He said the tragedy should never and will never be forgotten and led a one-minute silence to remember the victims.
But he asked that the mistakes of the past not be blamed on the new generation of police officers and said: “We must draw a distinction between the actions of a minority of senior officers decades ago and the behaviours of the majority of our members today.”
And touching on cyber-crime and terrorist incidents, he said he welcomed the decision by Chancellor George Osborne not to introduce any further police cuts and his promise to provide the tools needed to do the job.
However, he highlighted that crimes
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which are rising fastest are those that are under-reported such as online fraud and other cyber-crime and these are the kinds of crime that the police are currently least equipped to deal with.
He paid tribute to PC Sahib Lalli and PC David Phillips who both lost their lives while on duty last year and appealed to Ms May to commit to increasing the sentences of those guilty of assaulting public servants doing their job – helping and serving their communities.
Calling on the Home Secretary to issue Taser more widely, he said: “No police officer should ever go to work with an expectation that they will be injured.
“Fewer police officers means those policing are often without the quick back-up and support needed if a situation turns violent.
“Taser protects the public; it protects us. It even protects offenders.”
He urged: “Don’t make chief officers use the already depleted police budget to roll it out. Home Secretary, please give them the extra money needed to do so. Government always finds money when it’s needed. We should not put a price on public safety.”
OURREPssAY
“I think he planned to be less confrontational and to those ends he achieved his goal, I think he could have been stronger as the war is not over yet!
Members are concerned about pay and conditions of employment, I am not sure he has settled their concerns but he did ask the Home Secretary to honour the Pay Review when it’s done. The chair is not the most natural of speakers, at the end I wrote two things:
1. The speech was a bit all over the place
2. Have we sold ourselves short.” Rob Sparkes, chairman of the Bedfordshire Constables’ Branch Board
“I do believe he is passionate about policing and the Federation but he doesn’t have the presence on stage when he is delivering his message. He comes across as one dimensional and talks about attacks on the police from the media but never seems to reply to these criticisms in the press. To be fair though, he does a good job and a lot better than I could do!”
Stephen Bozward
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