Servg In The offIcerS of SouTh YorkShIre Connection - Mag... · Serving the officerS of South...

Threat of compulsory severance looms

Third time at PAT

Issue 5 / September 2013

ServIng The offIcerS of SouTh YorkShIre

A further bleak winter ahead

Copper Connection - Issue 5 - September 2013 - 1Serving the officerS of South YorkShire

Contents

Features

2

4

7

8

10

12

14

18

20

26

28

29

30

33

34

Police Insure offer exclusive discounts to save you money

When is an Adjustment reasonable?

The name HAIX stands for functionality, quality

and innovation

The right way to handle complaints

South Yorkshire Police Chaplaincy

PNB Report

The threat to the Office of Constable

Inspectors Central Conference

Lest we forget - National Police Memorial Day

Joint Central Conference of the Police Federation

of England and Wales

Sergeant’s Central Conference 2013

Home Office looks to restrict ex-police officer careers

About Copper Connection:

Editor – Jim LucasCo-Editor – Neil Bowles

Published by;South Yorkshire Police FederationMaltby Police StationByford RoadRotherhamS66 8ER

Tel: 01709 832606/7Fax: 01709 832611

Email: SouthYorks@polfed.orgwww.southyork.polfed.orgwww.sypfcopperconnection.co.uk

Facebook: South Yorkshire Police FederationTwitter: @SYPFederation

Copper Connection is Produced by:United Awareness PublishingGoss Chambers, Goss StreetChester, CH1 2BG

Tel: 01244 624022 www.uapl.co.uk

Copper Connection is the magazine of South Yorkshire Police Federation. Its purpose is to keep our members informed on all that their Federation is involved in, to stimulate debate on relevant issues and promote member services. The views expressed in the magazine are those either of its component Boards, officers or representatives, unless otherwise stated. Contributions may be sent in confidence to the Editor, (who reserves the right to amend or edit all material as necessary, where possible with the consent of the contributor) at: Copper Connection Magazine, South Yorkshire Police FederationMaltby Police Station, Byford Road, Rotherham, S66 8ER.

Chairman's Foreword

Secretary’s Update

Equality Update

2 - Copper Connection - Issue 5 - September 2013 Serving the officerS of South YorkShire

Here is the fifth edition ofCopper

Connection; we hope you find the

contents informative and enjoyable. I

would like to thank all of our carefully

selected advertisers without whom this

magazine would not be possible, they offer

great deals to members of the Policing

family. Please feel free to put pen to paper

or rather fingers to keyboard, if you have

something to say about Policing or your

hobbies that would interest your fellow

readers.

As I mentioned in the last issue we have

complemented this hard copy publication

with a monthly Ezine available on the

internet www.sypfcopperconnection.co.uk. The seventh edition has gone

online this month and so far we have

had over 9,500 page reads from nearly

6,000 unique visitors. I said that you

could leave comments on articles; sorry

that was wrong but If you do feel moved

to comment then please do so, email

[email protected] , follow us on

Twitter or like our Facebook page – details

on the front nearside cover.

What has been happening since I wrote in

March?

• Pension Contribution Rise (again)

• Police & Mental Health

• Pay Review Body to replace PNB

• PSNI & Marching Season

• Lee Rigby, EDL v UAF

• MPs to get 10% pay rise?

• G4S & Serco investigated for fraud

• More doubt cast on crime figures

• New football season before the

last finished?

• CRTP cut by a third

Neil Bowles on the issues currently effecting officers since the last edition.

By Neil Bowles, Chairman

Chairman’s Foreword

• Police and Ambulances

• PSNI & G8

• Mounted Section going, going, kept

but reduced

• NPAS

• Misuse of Leveson

• PFEW Conference

• More powers for less police officers

• Fail to agree at PNB, what’s new?

Not a lot then! All these changes and

plans cause uncertainty. Nobody likes

uncertainty and so morale drops. People

ask what they can do about low morale;

my reply is that national politicians should

stop meddling in Policing. It is and always

has been the best in the world, we can

always improve, but every new Home

Secretary has to justify their position and

promises to reform the Police. Despite all

the bad news, officers in South Yorkshire

continue to go about their job and perform

their duties to the best of their ability, in

order to provide a service to the public.

There are articles here about Conference,

Severance and the X factor. I want to

speak about Northern Ireland. We sent

Officers to Northern Ireland for the security

of the G8 conference, I can understand

the need for mutual aid for this as I was a

PSU officer for the last one at Gleneagles

and Operation Octagon in Sheffield. This

year’s G8 had been planned for over

18 months yet Officers travelled without

knowing what they were being paid. What

I cannot understand is mutual aid for

the marching season. When the Police

Service of Northern Ireland was created

out of the Royal Ulster Constabulary they

had 12,000 full time officers. With peace

breaking out it was planned that PSNI

could drop down to about 7,500; however

terrorism is still rife in the province with

active para military organisations and

sectarianism evident throughout; they now

have a dangerously low establishment of

6,900 officers. The army is not available.

They ask for our help to be able to police

an annual event. PSNI are routinely

armed, we are not, their public order

tactics have evolved to counter blast

bombs, nail bombs and gunfire, ours have

not. It is laudable that colleagues from the

mainland wish to assist fellow cops, but

this is a situation Government has created

and they need to sort it out before more

police officer lives are endangered.

There is an independent review of the Police

Federation of England and Wales being

carried out. A distinguished panel has been

appointed to make recommendations to

support the organisation achieve its goals

in the future for the best of its members

and policing in general. This panel is

supported by a secretariat – the RSA, who

have opened a period of consultation for all

members and stakeholders to contribute to.

We would encourage all members to have

their say, so if you wish to contribute their

website can be found here

www.thersa.org/action-research-centre/community-and-public-services/police-federation-independent-review.

The Chairs and Secretaries of all joint and

separate rank boards and other reps in the

north east region have met with the RSA last

week to provide them with our collective and

individual views. Consultation closes on 20

September.

Finally from me, this autumn will see all

the workplace representatives on the Joint

Branch Board up for election. A fair number

are retiring or have decided that they cannot

commit time to the role. We are therefore

looking for people to stand for election to

represent their colleagues and help make a

difference. The elections will be advertised

in General Orders at the start of September

and will be emailed to all officers. If you

are interested contact either Jim Lucas or

myself for more information, or look in the

news section of our website.


secretary’s UpdateJim Lucas on cuts to vital road policing, vehicle checks and National Police Memorial Day.

By Jim Lucas, Joint Branch Secretary

And they say cuts aren’t affecting the

front line! We have seen the headlines

on the massive cuts to policing budgets,

this saw resources and spending taken

away from roads policing and forces are

now struggling to provide dedicated patrols.

I made a comment recently in an article,

that Roads Policing officers were “as rare

as Dodos”. I think we can all agree on this.

Six men pleaded guilty in Woolwich Crown

Court to planning an attack on an English

Defence League rally with homemade

bombs, guns and knives on 30 June 2012.

They received lengthy jail terms for this

planned attack; it was a traffic officer on

routine patrol on the M1 motorway who

stopped one of the would-be terrorists,

concerned about the condition of his car.

The vehicle appeared to have no insurance,

was immediately seized and a cache of

weapons were later uncovered in the boot.

This case has opened the debate for proper

policing of the motorway network.

Criminal activity is occurring on a daily

basis; speeding, careless and dangerous

driving a regular occurrence, these roads

are dangerous. There are numerous

collisions that are fatal, many are life

changing, what do the government do

in response? They give us more powers

to deal with these offences and we do

welcome this but how do we police it?

Figures show that nationally the number of

dedicated roads police officers has fallen

by nearly 23% in five years. Three years

ago we had two Inspectors, 10 PS's, 70

PC's Traffic Patrol Officers; the target by

2015 is two Inspectors, 10 PS's and 70

PC's. That is just one area of Policing

in South Yorkshire, the big picture is far

worse, the prediction of 16000 officer posts

gone by the end of this current government

is a reality and I fear they want more.

Figures provided in a Commons written

answer by Damian Green, a home office

minister, showed the number of traffic

police officers had fallen from 6,299 in

2007-8 to 4,868 in 2011-12.

We can argue that an increase in officers

patrolling the country’s roads would support

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom

Winsor’s recent call for a focus on crime

prevention, this is not just an issue to South

Yorkshire, it is national. We have seen the

sad news headlines of road death, this is

from all the motorway networks in the UK;

cuts to front line services will see a rise in

incidents in areas that are not policed.

Let’s watch this space, we tell them time

and time again, the government are keen

to seek expert advice and change the

service on their advice, why not listen

to those who work the frontline? the real

experts.

These cuts are just one area of Policing

in South Yorkshire, I am fully aware of the

cuts to other sections, some have already

been made, and others are still under

review; can our force sustain further cuts?

We are concerned by this and feel the

impact of the coalition approach to Policing

is flawed and will see a diminished service

that will suffer.

During the autumn we are going to be

rolling out nationally to campaign to raise


officer’s awareness on the safe stopping

of vehicles. This includes pre patrol check

of all police vehicles by police drivers, we

all have a responsibility to check that the

correct equipment is in place for officers

to use.

Awareness and training on this subject will

be sought from around the country; we

need a snap shot of the level of training

that officers receive in stopping of vehicle

and equipment use at collision scenes or

any other road closure.

I gave a recent presentation to the health

and safety leaders on this subject and it

was well received. It is paramount that

officers are trained and able to deal with

these situations; due to cuts, more and

more staff will be working in situations

which would have normally been dealt with

by a Roads policing officer.

I will be sending out by email a presentation

on this subject for all to see and digest and

then where necessary make changes and

seek training on the issue.

A stark warning needs to go out to all

officers, if the patrolling officers do not use

available signalling and an incident occurs

as a result of this, they may be held liable.

Please engage with this survey when it is

promoted, do it right!

It was interesting that forces were criticised

recently for stop searches, yet here we

have a view that prevention is better

than cure, so says the HMIC. What’s

better than officers getting out there and

doing these searches when the need and

circumstances dictate? We all know that

members of the public are not searched

without reason.

We have had yet another failure to agree

at PNB, compulsory severance is not

referred to PAT, again we are at PAT,

officers on restricted duties, this was not

agreed, it also goes to PAT. The thirst to

drive through reform at this alarming rate

is sickening.

This year we have seen officers deployed

to Northern Ireland, we have seen many

brave actions of officers, we have seen a

shrinking workforce hold the line, yet we

are still treated with this sort of action, it

seems little is thought of the actions that

Officers do on a daily basis.

We have a meeting with all South

Yorkshire MP’s early September, this

meeting will give us the opportunity to

make them aware of the big picture,

what we face as officers facing cuts and

an uncertain future, the impact that we

have on morale, we will also highlight the

impact of cuts that will affect the good folk

of South Yorkshire.

Sunday 29 September 2013 marks the

tenth National Police Memorial Day, an

Above: Laura Davis and Emma Appleby.

annual event that honours police officers

throughout the United Kingdom who have

given their lives in the line of duty

National Police Memorial Day was founded

in 2004 by Sergeant Joe Holness, QPM.

He said:

“The British Police Service is renowned

worldwide and it’s unique and priceless

reputation is entirely a reflection of the

professionalism of the men and women

who proudly perform the role.

“Sadly, each year police officers give their

lives in order that we may all live in peace.

They place the safety of others above that

of their own - they do so with pride and

because they are the best.

National Police Memorial Day ensures that

our fallen colleagues are never forgotten

and their unique, proud legacy is forever

treasured.” Each year the service is held

in one of the four countries of the UK

and this years’ service will be held at St.

David’s Hall in Cardiff, at 3pm. The event

is open to everyone to attend, but you

must register in advance to receive your

invitation to the event.

This year we have two officers attending

the brave officer award in London on the

17 October 2013, the officers nominated

are Laura Davis and Emma Appleby. We

wish them well at the awards.

...the government

are keen to seek expert advice and change the service on their advice, why not listen to those who work the frontline? the real experts.


Welcome to our summer edition of

Copper Connection.

As the sun shines upon us, I hope it

is sufficient to boost our spirits and lift

morale as we await the outcome of our

negotiations which are due at the end

of July.

Undoubtedly, we are all feeling the pinch

from the latest round of cuts and following

the announcement of the Government’s

Comprehensive Spending Review, we are

not filled with optimism. As anticipated

- and despite Government protestations-

we are seeing an adverse impact on the

frontline and in turn this is causing issues

in the work place.

An area of ongoing concern which is still

prevalent is that of part-time / flexible

working. It is important to remember that

as Police Officers, the statutory Right to

Request Flexible Working Regulations DO

NOT apply to us; however, under Police

Regulations officers can apply to work

flexibly which does bring with it different

considerations.

Police Officers can be required to work

in any role or location designated by the

Chief Constable as we are obliged to

deliver 24-7 policing. Officers can also

be required to stay on after their agreed

hours and may also have their ‘rest days’

or ‘non-working days’ cancelled. Used

correctly, part-time / flexible working

can benefit both the organisation and

the individual by enabling the service to

answer to demand and facilitate better

resilience. Especially where the demand

profile illustrates such requirements

Zuleika Payne on Flexible Working in the wake of independent reviews.

By Zuleika Payne, Equality Lead

equality Update

and therefore the organisation can

demonstrate that they are matching

resources accordingly. Success depends

on balancing the needs of the organisation

and the individual in order to agree a shift

pattern which enables the force to deliver,

as it should, a 24-7 service.

There may be instances where an

individual feels that any rejection of such

an application is unfair; however, there

would only ever be a legal challenge if

the decision was unlawful i.e born out

of a protected characteristic in which

case there may potentially be a claim

for indirect discrimination, however,

each case would have to be assessed

on it’s own merits. Even though it can

be demonstrated that there may be

indirect discrimination due to a protected

characteristic, where the force can show

a proportionate means of achieving a

legitimate aim then they may be justified

in doing so. Refusal of a part-time / flexible

working arrangement is not automatically

a discriminatory act, it depends upon the

rationale used in the decision making

process.

Continuing our policy reviews in

collaboration with Humberside Police,

our Part-Time Flexible working policy has

been reviewed. This is in conjunction with

the Police Regulations and Determinations

2003, and the guidance on Flexible

Working in the Police Service, which has

been issued by the College of Policing.

Any queries in relation to these matters

may be raised via the Federation Office in

order to seek advice and if necessary an

early resolution.

Please be mindful that the employment

tribunal fees detailed in the previous

equality update will take effect from the

29 of July 2013.


I am pleased to have been asked to

produce something for this edition of

South Yorkshire Police Federations ‘Copper

Connection’ in relation to one of your

member services ‘Police Insure’.

My role within Police Insure is that of

Regional Business Development Manager

for the North East and I am extremely

grateful to the South Yorkshire Police

Federation for their endorsement of the

Police Insure product.

Having spent 30yrs in the Humberside

Police Force I became reliant on the

services that the local Police Federation

promoted to their members. In my last six

years as the Humberside Police Federation

JBB Secretary I made it part of my role

to supply to the members only those

services which proved to be exclusive

to the Policing family; Police Insure

was one such product, these exclusive

discounts are especially pertinent today

with the constant attack on officers pay

and conditions and ever dwindling pay

packets.

Police Insure, the home of which is in

Bury, Cheshire, evolved from the Cheshire

Police Federation realising what a great

deal a small local Insurance Company

Kevin Rack, Regional Business Development explains how Police Insure could save you money.

Police Insure offer exclusive discounts to save you money

was providing to a large number of its

members, negotiations took place and

Cheshire Police Federation endorsed the

company as one of their member services.

Police Insure (part of Advantage Insurance

Centres Ltd, one of the largest privately

owned intermediaries in the UK) has

grown as a business whereupon it now

works with some 39 Police Federations

throughout the country as well as having

business arrangements with the Civil

Nuclear Police Federation, SOCA, The

Police Superintendents Association, The

Police Firearms Association, The National

Black Police Association, The National

Association of Police Chaplains and The

Police Treatment Centres'.

The team consists of four Regional

Business Development Managers headed

by the Director of Business Development

Mark Faint MBE.

Police Insure prides itself on the service

it provides across the country with

specially discounted insurance products

for all serving and retired Police Officers,

Specials, Staff and Partners. Policies are

built around the needs of the serving

Police Officer which includes business,

legal and hire car cover all integrated at

no extra cost. By partnering with some of

the best insurance providers Police Insure

are able to offer you a range of quality

products which provide total peace of

mind at the very best prices. Police Insure

are renowned for providing the very best

insurance quotes that offer quality cover

for the Police family.

Police Insure are so confident about their

quotes they do not use multi- car policies

as they believe their individual policies are

priced so cumulatively they are lower than

most multi car quotes. If you have a multi-

car policy please give Police Insure a call

to discuss where savings can be made,

savings are there.

We never claim to be able to beat every

quote but we do claim to beat most and

that the service you get from us will

be second to none backed by the fact

Police Insure were recently voted the best

performing Broker at the recent National

Brokers Meeting hosted by Underwriters

Markerstudy in London.

I will be attending some events within

South Yorkshire and I hope to meet some

of you at those, should you have any

questions about Police Insure please

pop across and speak to me or contact

me through your local Federation Office.

Scan the code opposite and keep Police

Insures’ details in your phone.

There has been no more important time

to look at your finances in every aspect

and one of those should be your motor

and home insurance policies. Spend a few

minutes researching your Insurance needs

then give Police Insure a call on 0161 762

4416.

By Kevin Rack, Regional Business Development ManagerPolice Insure


When is an Adjustment reasonable?

In two recent cases in which the

Manchester Employment Team of

Slater & Gordon (formerly RJW) have

successfully represented Federation

members, the Employment Tribunal

considered the meaning of the word

‘reasonable’ in the context of duty to make

reasonable adjustments under the Equality

Act 2010.

In the first case, the Claimant suffered

from a weakened immune system and

had frequent periods of sickness and

fell foul of the sickness criteria imposed

by the Chief Constable. The Claimant

was at risk of the instigation of the

Jennifer Ainscough, Principal Lawyer, Employment Department at Slater & Gordon Lawyers, (formerly RJW) discusses Reasonable Adjustment requests.

Both cases highlight

that the question of reasonableness is unique to each individual Claimant and Police Force and blanket policies should not be applied.

By Jennifer Ainscough, Principal Lawyer, Employment

Police (Performance) Regulations 2008,

as a disabled person they were at a

disadvantage, the Claimant requested

flexibility in the sickness criteria as

a reasonable adjustment. The Chief

Constable would only agree to a small

adjustment which meant the Claimant was

still unable to comply with the adjusted

criteria. The Employment Tribunal ruled

that although the Chief Constable had

made an adjustment it was not sufficient

based on the individual facts of the case

and the level of flexibility required by

the Claimant was reasonable in all the

circumstances.

In the second case, the Claimant who

suffers from MS requested remote working

as a reasonable adjustment; as a disabled

person the Claimant was at a disadvantage

because they could not travel to the police

station every day. The Chief Constable

determined that the adjustment was not

reasonable and further the Claimant could

not be accommodated in another role.

The Claimant was retired on the grounds

of ill health. The Tribunal found that

although it would be an inconvenience

for the Chief Constable to manage the

Claimant remotely, this did not, on the

individual facts of the case, make the

adjustment requested unreasonable.

The Claimant’s ill health retirement was

subsequently ruled unlawful.

Both cases highlight that the question

of reasonableness is unique to each

individual Claimant and Police Force and

blanket policies should not be applied.

For further advice and guidance

please contact your local Federation

representative in the first instance.

However it is important to bear in mind

that specific time limits apply relating to

the lodging of any employment claim.


All Haix® shoes have one thing in

common: they are all designed for

their specific professional applications.

Practical research and creative innovations

are amongst the unmistakeable trademarks

of the footwear specialists, founded in the

Bavarian town of Mainburg 65 years ago.

In 1992 Ewald Haimerl took over

the management of his father’s boot

making with a vision in mind. The young

shoemaker wanted to place the “HAIX®"”

brand on the global market.

The former deputy brigade commander

of his hometown initialised the rise of

the company with new functional boots

for fire services, when the company CEO

promises that his products are “developed

by fire-fighters for fire-fighters,” this is

not just empty talk but a reference to

the reality of daily work at HAIX® for

professional footwear for fire services

as well as law enforcement, rescue,

and military task forces. HAIX has also

increased its presence in the forestry and

leisure/outdoor sector.

Designed for specific professional applications

Countless new products and patents

enable the trained HAIX-shoe technicians

to set worldwide standards for

functionality, quality and innovation. A part

of this strategy is defining its home based

location and to expand the development

and production at the firm’s main site in

Bavaria.

Perfect functional footwear for any purpose.

The name HAIX stands for functionality, quality and innovation

The professional shoemakers from Mainburg

are developing footwear for any situation in

which you have to rely on your boots – from

daily duty to special operations. HAIX®

service boots are optimized for real world

situations. It is no coincidence that the

HAIX® company slogan is “From practical

experience for practical use” for example

the “Ranger GSG9S” has been developed

together with SWAT-Teams under any

conditions ;“When it comes to the safety

of team members in extreme conditions,

a man must be able to rely on his shoes

100%”, says Ewald Haimerl. This is the

basic principle of his company, which

employs over 800 people worldwide and in

2012 produced approximately 650,000 pairs

of functional boots.

®


Your Federation Representative will

not get you off any wrong doing or

tell you what to say. They will use their

knowledge and experience to give you

good, sound advice and assist in obtaining

the best possible outcome for you”.

There are two questions you as a Police

Officer never wish to ask, but may have to.

• I have received a complaint, what do I

know now?

• I have been arrested, what do I do now?

I will also cover a third.

• What can I do to avoid a complaint?

The first is a common one, the second less

so but far from uncommon; nobody can

guarantee that you won’t for instance have

to defend yourself against an aggressor

who comes off worse, makes a complaint

to an officer who decides to then arrest.

So, what to do?

ComplaintIn the case of receiving a Regulation 15

complaint, firstly read it.

Then speak to a Federation Rep as soon

as possible, if you remember nothing else,

remember this.

The notice will tell you certain facts which

will give a steer as to how potentially

A comprehensive guide to dealing with complaints made against you as an officer, and how you can prevent this happening.

the right way to handle complaints


serious it has been viewed in the severity

assessment. It will outline the complaint

alleged and state if proven whether it is

initially viewed as,

• Criminal & Gross Misconduct

• Gross Misconduct

• Misconduct

Criminal investigations you are familiar

with; the difference between Gross

Misconduct and Misconduct is that

a finding against you for Gross could

cost you your job; of course the severity

assessment is subject to review and so

Misconduct could become Gross and vice-

versa.

The procedure is much the same. You

have the right under police regulations

to have a police ‘friend’ present during

interview, most will choose to have a

trained Federation Representative to

advise and reassure throughout, so I

will refer to the ‘friend’ as Federation

Representative throughout for ease. Not

all Federation Reps are trained to assist

you with misconduct, but they will know

someone who is.

You are entitled to have a solicitor present

in a Criminal interview, but not for

Misconduct or Gross Misconduct.

We use specially trained firms of solicitors

who can advise and take into account the

double jeopardy of Misconduct regulations

on top of the Criminal allegation. The

attendance of a legal advisor at a police

station is currently publicly funded, but

is likely to become means tested under

the changes to legal aid, attendance at

Magistrates & Crown Court is already

means tested.

The wise officer pays into the Federation

voluntary fund, which includes amongst

many things, legal cover for complaints

related to your duties as a police officer

(providing the complaint relates to your

being a police officer and you are thought

at the outset to have acted in good faith).

Contrary to popular belief the voluntary

fund does not pay for your Federation

Representative, we are all volunteers.

When it is time for the interview it would

be unusual to receive anything but full

disclosure. You should expect a detailed

and if necessary robust, but fair interview,

including a test of your knowledge of the

law as applicable to your actions.

Your Federation Representative will not get

you off any wrong doing or tell you what

to say. They will use their knowledge and

experience to give you good, sound advice

and assist in obtaining the best possible

outcome for you.

Your Federation Representative has a

duty of confidentiality towards you, similar

to your legal advisor (for your solicitor

it is enshrined in law, for your police

Federation Representative it is based on

the best legal advice-both may feel duty

bound to inform the investigator of a likely

future breach of the law, or if someone is

going to get hurt). Absolute confidentiality

does not exist, but your Federation

Representative should be as clear on

where the boundaries lie as you are when

submitting an NIR.

Following interview you can expect

the normal delays whilst enquiries are

finalised, a file is submitted and decisions

are made. If the IPCC are involved you

can expect a delay to outcome, substantial

if no sanction is being sought. Updates are

provided to you every 28 days, but not to

your Federation Representative.

ArrestThe probable two most likely scenarios

are:

• The arresting officer believes the arrest

is necessary in order to be able to exercise

PACE powers, such as the power to search

and seize evidence.

• The arresting officer is dealing with a

conflict situation and believes the arrest

is necessary to reduce the risk of further

offences.

You can assist the officer’s decision

making by remaining calm and objective

and by placing on record your wish to

assist by:

• Giving consent to search

• Assisting the search by pointing out

relevant material

• Attending a police station voluntarily

• Also explain your wish to avoid a PNC

record if at all possible

• Request to speak to the officers’

supervisor to explain the same if there is a

failure to agree to a PACE 9.

If there is no give, on arrival in the custody

area repeat (on camera) to the custody

sergeant your wish to assist. The custody

sergeant is likely to be better sighted on

Code G of PACE and identify that the

necessity test may not be met.

If the decision is made to authorise

detention you will of course be offered free

Criminal investigations

you are familiar with; the difference between Gross Misconduct and Misconduct is that a finding against you for Gross could cost you your job...


and independent legal advice.

Request a Federation appointed solicitor

attends (contactable via the on call

Federation Representative, who’s number

is with the FIM in every force area) If you

remember nothing else, remember this.

High street/duty solicitors usually have

no knowledge of police regulations and

can offer little or no practical advice for

the occasions where criminal allegations

are discontinued but misconduct or gross

misconduct remains, i.e. you could lose

your job through inappropriate legal advice.

You may request a Federation

Representative attends the police station

and many forces will allow that request,

South Yorkshire however are likely to

refuse. Police regulations do not stipulate

one will be allowed into a criminal interview

so forces take differing views, (which does

not stop you asking).

You are likely to have many questions of

your police friend on the hours and days

after release. If you have not been allowed

a Federation Representative and do not

know one, the investigating officer or FIM

will assist you in reaching the on call rep

outside office hours.

behaviour-otherwise you too are

misconducting yourself, you can take no

comfort or security from others behaving

in a similar manner.

Open your books-are you happy with your

current knowledge of law and procedure,

particularly PACE powers?

Spend as long as it takes writing a

competent and comprehensive statement-

then read it; if you are tired get a trusted

colleague to read it and assess content.

Ensure your supervisor reads and critiques

your paperwork before it is submitted-far

better than trying to explain shortcomings

later.

By covering all bases you may enable

Professional Standards Department to carry

out a proportionate investigation for any

complaint made and possibly negate the

need for an interview.

Use of Force

If you can’t stop a complaint being made,

you can produce quality evidence to assist a

subsequent investigation.

Pin up a copy of the National Decision

Making Model, understanding it assists

writing quality evidence.

Seek a copy of a good use of force

statement-commonly but not exclusively TSG

& FSG produce better evidence in this area.

Some common areas which are frequently

missing from statements;

• Tactical Communications-what did you say

to try and calm the situation?

• Thought processes, what did you perceive

to be the risk and why? what options did you

consider to deal with the risk at the time you

carried out each particular use of force?

• Basis in law, did you engage your powers

under

1. S117 PACE 1984

2. S3 Criminal Law Act 1967

3. S76 Criminal Justice & Immigration

Act 2008 (previously Common Law Self

Defence)

Submit a Use of force report for every

officer using force, on every occasion force

is used.

Insist on a team debrief-particularly when

somebody (anybody) has been injured or

suffered a near miss, record that it has

taken place, when, who with, what was

discussed and why, so there can be no

confusion when questions are asked later.

There should be no reason to discuss your

decision to use force, as that decision is

yours alone to justify.

AvoidGeneral

Learn to give and receive constructive

criticism-working in a blame culture should

not stop your team from embracing a

learning culture.

Challenge and report inappropriate

SupervisorsMany complaints I see are entirely

avoidable with proper robust supervision.

You have a duty under police regulations

to deal with misconduct or potential

misconduct in a timely, proportionate

& effective way, to ensure confidence

is maintained from colleagues and the

public.

Home Office Guidance allows you to

deal with misconduct yourself, when you

believe it is appropriate to do so, i.e. does

not necessitate referral to PSD.

You should point out how the behaviour

fell short of the Standards of Professional

Behaviour, make clear your expectations

for the future, action plan if appropriate

and address underlying causes.


My name is Alison Lamb and apart

from being a Vicar within the Diocese

of Sheffield I have been a chaplain

for South Yorkshire Police since I was

ordained in 2004; initially that was in a

volunteer capacity over at Doncaster but

for nearly a year now in partnership with

South Yorkshire Police and the Diocese I

have been the Lead Coordinating chaplain

for the whole force. As a member of NACP

(National Association of Chaplains to the

Police) I am also the Assistant Regional

Chaplain and we train and equip the multi

faith chaplaincies throughout the UK.

Serving in today’s police service is

increasingly complex and challenging.

More than ever, members of the police

service need to be able to draw on a range

of support and resources to help deal with

professional and personal issues.

There are approximately 550 chaplains in

the 43 forces in the UK. At the moment

there are seven within South Yorkshire

Police, three are based over at Doncaster,

one in Barnsley, two in Sheffield and then

there’s me. Recruitment of our chaplaincy

team is ongoing. We aim to provide

independent pastoral care to members of

the Police Service- officers and staff- and

their families, and help them handle the

increasingly complex and demanding

nature of their work.

Chaplaincy teams are drawn from a wide

range of faiths and denominations who

respect and care for members of staff.

Alison Lamb on the unique and important services the Police Chaplaincy offer.

South Yorkshire Police Chaplaincy

We are chaplains to those of all faiths and none and we aim to:

• Support and encourage staff and their

families.

• Respect and reflect the diversity of

belief within the service and the wider

community.

• Value each individual member.

The basic principle of all chaplains is to

provide safe, independent, confidential

support and mutual understanding to

all members of staff. Chaplains seek to

support, comfort and counsel without

prejudice.

In order to do this we endeavour to:

• Develop a clear and strong link with

operational policing.

• Get to know the people we serve

and understand the job they do.

• Build relationships on friendship

and trust.

We do this by:

• Visiting police stations

• Attending training sessions

• Spending time on duty with officers

and police staff.

• Responding to major and critical

incidents.

All our chaplains are volunteers who care

about you as individuals. The chaplains

are available to anyone who needs them,

in whatever way that might be. One way

to sum up their role is as a listening ear.

Their role is unique and they seek to

support staff in all aspects of their duties.

Information and contact details for SYP

chaplains can be found in your Health

and Well-being rooms and on the Intranet

or you can contact me on 07747765951

[email protected]


In the PNB agreement you will see

that recommendations 95, 96, 97, 98

and 99 have been given further time for

consideration. In recommendation 99 it

makes reference to table 96, this table

illustrates the roles which have been

identified by Tom Winsor for both inclusion

and exclusion of the skills threshold

payment. This is the section that refers to

the tests and eligible officers. I have taken

this from the final draft of the Winsor review.

Please look at this and the roles it mentions.

From 2016 the service as you know it will

change. I have not edited any sections,

given as printed.

Foundation Skills Threshold

Every police officer must possess and

maintain professional skills appropriate to

the rank he holds and the work he does,

or may be required to do; it is therefore

appropriate that constables who have not

yet reached the top of the pay scale are

required to be adequately knowledgeable

and skilful in the necessary areas of

policing.

The amount of training in some of the

essential skills of a police officer which is

imparted in basic training is adequate for

officers in their earliest years in the service;

however, it is necessary and in the public

interest in the efficient prevention, detection

and prosecution of crime that all officers

maintain and improve their competence

during their service; that competence

includes knowledge and understanding

PNB met on the 24 July, many items were agreed, two major outstanding items were the question of compulsory severance and restricted officers they have been remitted to PAT.

PnB Report of the fundamentals and essential details

of the criminal law, including the rules of

evidence and procedure, the constitutional

position of the police, including their

accountability, and the rights of witnesses,

victims and suspects, and other citizens.

Police officers need a better understanding

of the importance and relevance of their

parts in the criminal justice system. They

need to have a sound appreciation of how

their actions and what they have written

and recorded will be examined and may be

challenged in court, they need the ability

to understand, anticipate and predict the

course of a prosecution so that avoidable

mistakes are not made in the earliest

stages of a criminal case.

With greater competence in these and

other essential aspects of policing will

come greater confidence of officers and so

their increased efficiency and effectiveness.

Their work will be of a higher quality and

will need less supervision; as a result, the

integrity of criminal cases, their prospects

of proceeding in the hands of the Crown

Prosecution Service, and the chances of

a successful and just conviction, or a plea

of guilty to an appropriate charge, will

improve markedly.

These skills are necessary for all police

officers; however at present, after basic

training, constables receive no appreciable,

disciplined training in these matters, as

almost all police officers begin and end their

careers as constables this is unsustainable.

For these reasons, I recommend that

there is established in the constable pay

scale a threshold, called the Foundation

Skills Threshold, which every constable is

required to attempt; that threshold should

be at the fourth point in the pay scale, and

should test the constable’s knowledge and

skills in the areas specified above and such

other knowledge and skills as the Police

Professional Body recommends, only those

constables who attain the threshold by

passing the test should be able to progress

further up the pay scale.

I recommend that the Foundation Skills

Threshold for constables should be subject

to re-testing at least every five years, and

that within that five-year period constables

should be provided with appropriate briefing

material in major developments in the

areas which are the subject of the test as

and when they occur. No officer should be

ignorant of such major developments and

how they may affect the work he does, since

the subject areas of the test are all relevant

to the core job of being a police officer.

Should a lapse in reaccreditation occur, the

constable’s pay should not revert to a lower

pay point in the rank, instead the force

should take strenuous steps to ascertain

why the constable in question has not

taken and passed the re-test, and should

provide him with advice and assistance to

enable him to pass the test on a re-attempt.

If despite such advice and assistance, the

constable fails the test he should be entered

into the force’s unsatisfactory performance

procedures (UPP) and may, depending

on his individual circumstances, face

dismissal. In the absence of exceptional

circumstances, an officer of several years’


standing who lacks the knowledge and

skills necessary for the Foundation Skills

Threshold will not be a competent officer.

Specialist Skills Threshold

For the reasons already given, I also

recommend that the final point in the pay

scale for all ranks of police officer up to

and including chief superintendent and all

grades of police staff should be attainable

only by those who have acquired and retain

specified accredited skills for the work they

do. I recommend that this highest point in

the pay scale be called the ‘Specialist Skills

Threshold’.

In order to progress to the Specialist Skills

Threshold pay point, an officer should

be required to achieve accreditation in a

prescribed skill area. The types of skills in

question are discussed below.

Prescribed skill areas should be established

initially by the Home Secretary in police

regulations. The Police Professional

Body should then be remitted to set the

standards to be attained and accredit the

skills required; If and when the police pay

review body (recommended in Chapter 10)

is established, the prescribed skill areas

should be determined by that body with

the advice of the Police Professional Body,

which should, again, accredit them and set

the standards to be attained.

The skills which are accredited for the

Specialist Skills Threshold should be

in functions that require the warranted

powers or expertise of a police officer

and predominantly in aspects of policing

which are of the greatest importance

to the public – the front-line of policing

and the work which is of the highest

value in the prevention and detection

of crime. The accreditation should be

rigorous, and require those who attain the

threshold to have and use skills which are

appreciably above the levels commonly now

encountered in police officers at the top of

the existing pay scale for their rank.

The types of policing activities which

should and should not be eligible for

accreditation and, therefore, the threshold

for the Federated ranks of police officers

are set out in Table 9.6.

TABLE 9.6

SPECIALIST SKILLS THRESHoLD PoLICE ACTIvITIES

Federated ranks Criteria for eligibility

Response - including- Traffic

- Custody

- Public Order (including Dogs and mounted)

Skills accredited set by the PPB

Community Partnerships - including- Neighbourhood policing

- Burglary

- Community safety and community relations


Protective services - including- Firearms

- Surveillance

- Counter-terrorism

- Protection officers (Royalty, political figures

and the like)

- Ports protection

- Marine Protection


Investigation- including- CID

- Specialist crime unit (vice/child and adult)

- Protection/sex/domestic/drugs/immigration

- Fraud investigations

- Police service complaints and discipline

- Asset confiscation

- HOMES unit**(84)

- Crime and incident management

PIP accreditation or a similar standard by PPB

Ineligible roles- Do not routinely require the- Underwater

- Air Support

- Department heads

- Police station Enquiry desk

- Staff associations

- Training

- Staff officers

- Corporate development

- Criminal justice departments

- Control room

- Intelligence

- Scenes of crime

- Coroners officers

- Personnel/Human resources

- Information technology

- Communications

- Clerical and administrative

- Criminal records office

- Press and public relations

office of constable or the associated roles- Property

- Fingerprint/photographic

- Welfare

- Occupational health and safety

- Traffic Wardens

- Vehicle workshop

- Vehicle fleet management

- Buildings

- Finance

- Drivers (unless role is coupled with

eligible Role)

- Stores and supplies

- Catering

- Office of constable or the associated

roles

- Property

- Fingerprint/photographic

- Welfare

- Occupational health and safety


The tests should be rigorous; some

applicants should fail. I recommend that

there should be no limit to the number

of times a candidate is allowed to take a

test, passing the test will make a material

difference to earnings and some officers

and staff may, for personal or other

reasons, wish to develop their careers

and their skills later than would usually

be the case. They should be permitted

that flexibility; however the grace period

which applies to the non-use of specialist

skills (explained below) should continue to

operate to reduce pay if the accreditation

of the person in question has lapsed, even

if he is in the process of taking or re-taking

the test.

In relation to officers above the rank

of constable and for police staff in

management grades, the accreditation

of specialist skills in their pay scales

should place special emphasis on skills

which are needed in the management of

people and resources and finance and

financial planning. There should also be

considerable emphasis on leadership.

The scales of basic pay at all ranks and

qualifying police staff grades should contain

a Specialist Skills Threshold at the last

that is the highest pay point in the scale.

Those who have been at the pay point

immediately below that highest point for

at least 12 months should be eligible to

progress to the Specialist Skills Threshold.

I recommend this 12-month waiting period

because it provides sufficient time for an

officer to carry out short term deployment

duties without suffering financial detriment

resulting from his temporary deployment to

an ineligible role.

Once an officer or police staff member has

attained the Specialist Skills Threshold by

passing the necessary test, he should be

entitled to the pay corresponding to that

point. Unless promoted, he should remain

at that point. His skills should be re-tested

every three years against the accredited

standard then in effect, which may be

higher than the standard which applied

when he last took and passed the test. This

is consistent with the principle that the

police service and the skills of its members

must keep pace with the development

and advancement of the problems and

difficulties they face. For some specialisms,

such as firearms policing, it may be

appropriate for the officer in question to be

required to take the test at shorter intervals;

that is a matter on which the advice of

the Police Professional Body should be

obtained, when it has been established.

If an officer or police staff member allows

his accreditation to lapse by failing a

re-test, or if the relevant skills are not being

used in the role he presently occupies for

a period which is longer than 12 months

he should revert to the pay point on the

scale immediately below the Specialist

Skills Threshold. The skills threshold is

recommended to remunerate those who

acquire, maintain and use the skills which

are of the highest value in the prevention

and detection of crime.

An officer on restricted duties85 should

remain eligible for the Specialist Skills

Threshold if he has acquired the eligible

skills and is using those skills in his job.

The decision whether the officer has

passed the specialist threshold test should

be unconnected with the decision as to

whether he should be moved to or remain

on restricted duty.

The 12-month grace period for the non-

use of qualifying accredited skills has

been included in order to protect the pay

of officers who are temporarily deployed

to roles that do not require or use the

skills which qualify for the higher level of

payment. Such a grace period would give

chief officers appropriate flexibility to deploy

a specialist skills officer to a non-specialist

role temporarily, if he is needed elsewhere,

without the difficulty of requiring the officer

in question to sustain a reduction in his pay

for that period.

By way of illustration a response officer at

the rank of constable, once he has reached

pay point 6 on the new pay scale should

be able to progress to earn a maximum

basic pay of £36,519 at pay point 7 by

achieving the level of skills accreditation

specific to and for utilisation in his role as

a response officer. If the officer chooses to

transfer to or is redeployed to an ineligible

role such as a criminal justice unit his basic

pay would stay at that level for 12 months;

however in order to continue to be entitled

to receive the Specialist Skills Threshold

payment the officer must subsequently

return to an eligible post for which he is

appropriately skilled; If he fails to do so,

his basic pay would be reset to the highest

non-threshold pay point, in this case point

6 (£31,032) of the new pay scale. For

those constables on the existing pay scale,

the pay point below the Specialist Skills

Threshold would be point 5 (£31,032) this

is to ensure that both new and existing

officers are financially affected in the same

manner, this will also ensure that the

Specialist Skills Threshold does not have

an adverse effect on officers with protected

characteristics under the Equality Act 2010

because new officers are more likely to be

female or of black or minority ethnic origin

than existing officers.

Unlike the Foundation Skills Threshold,

the unsatisfactory performance procedures

should not apply in the case of any

failure to progress to the Specialist Skills

Threshold. The sanction for failure in this

case is the inability to attain the highest

point on the pay scale.

Table 9.7 provides an example of how

the skills thresholds should apply

to constables on the recommended

constables’ pay scale:

TABLE 9.7

CoNSTABLE RANK PAy SALARy

0 £19.000

1 £21.000

2 £22.000

3 £23.000

4 £25.500

5 £27.700

6 £31.032

7 £36.519

Achieving and maintaining prerequisite

skills accreditation will allow the great

majority of officers to continue to receive

the same levels of pay as they do now. A

regime of the kind I have recommended

will direct the focus of the office of

constable to the areas of policing for which

it was intended. Once it has been fully

established, the Police Professional Body


will be best placed to determine whether

there is a requirement or the capacity to

expand the recommended accreditation

systems further.

Implementation of the new model

In recommending this model, I am mindful

that an officer can be posted to any role

by his Chief Constable. Whilst 12 months’

of protection for police officers does exist

within this structure, Chief Constables

should be sensitive to the long-term

effects of redeployment. Redeployment

of any officer in receipt of Specialist Skills

Threshold payment should be undertaken

sensitively and for the purpose of meeting

short to medium term force requirements

only. However, the policy also aims to

act as a longer term incentive to improve

workforce planning. Police forces should

not post officers into roles where their

police powers and expertise are not

required. Other than in exceptional cases,

such actions are a waste of money and a

source of resentment for police staff.

If an officer requests redeployment

into an ineligible role, he has chosen

the redeployment and is fully aware of

the consequent reduction in his basic

pay. This policy is consistent with the

recommendations in Chapters 5**(85) and

7 for the deployment aspect of the X-factor

to be removed if an officer cannot be

flexibly deployed. In such circumstances,

a long-service constable on restricted

duties and working in a control room could

see his earnings fall from £36,519 to

£31,032 by virtue of his ineligibility for the

Specialist Skills Threshold, and then down

by a further eight per cent by virtue of the

removal of the deployment X-factor; at

this rate such an officer would be earning

closer to the pay of police staff doing the

same work, that is fair; as explained in

Chapter 5 the force should in due course

consider the dismissal of such an officer

with the offer of a police staff role where

one exists.

It is likely that the phased approach

of threshold payments could have

varied implications for new and existing

police officers and staff. The following

paragraphs address some of these

implications.

An individual who is working in a policing

role which is eligible for a Specialist Skills

Threshold payment and whose basic

pay is equal to the maximum pay point

recommended by this review should have

his existing level of basic pay protected for

three years; it should be assumed in this

instance that despite no specialist skills

accreditation the individual has already

reached the highest rate of pay based

on his experience in the role. He should

however take the specialist skills test in

three years and if he fails his pay should

be reduced to the level immediately below

the Specialist Skills Threshold.

If an individual has already reached the

maximum pay point recommended by this

review, but later moves into a new role at

the same rank or grade which requires

specialist skills accreditation he should be

required to take the applicable specialist

skills test. If he fails to achieve the

necessary accreditation within 12 months

of moving into the new role his basic pay

should be reduced to the maximum pay

point below the Specialist Skills Threshold.

An individual who is working in a policing

role which is not eligible for a Specialist

Skills Threshold payment and whose basic

pay is equal to the maximum pay point

recommended by this review, should have

his existing level of pay protected for

three years.

In the case of Federated officers already at

the top of their pay scales, the Specialist

Skills Threshold should be introduced by

April 2016 and the Police Professional

Body should be remitted to devise the

appropriate training and accreditation

courses as a matter of urgency.

On this recommendation officers in

ineligible roles will have three years’

advance notice to transfer and retrain in a

policing function that is eligible; therefore,

any officer who has not taken advantage of

this advance notice by April 2016 should

immediately revert to the highest non-

threshold pay point.

An individual who is already in service but

who has not yet reached the maximum

pay point in his rank or grade will, upon

satisfying eligibility criteria, be able to

progress to the Specialist Skills Threshold.

This applies to all police officer ranks and

police staff grades.

84**The ‘Home Office Large Major

Enquiry System’ (HOLMES) Unit has

been in place since 1986. HOLMES is

the provision of ‘Major Incident Room’

(MIR) support to large or widescale police

incidents, so that multi-source information

can be gathered from the public and

inquiry officers, and managed within a

single administrative system. HOLMES

allows the senior investigation officer

to direct and control the course of his

investigative enquiry in a manner that is

consistent and protects information.

85** Chapter 5 part 1 page 211

Winsor Final Report: Agreements reached in PNB – 24 July 2013Recommendation 55

Pay points 6, 7, and 9 should be removed

from the existing constables’ pay scale in

April 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Police forces should not

post officers into roles where their police powers and expertise are not required;other than in exceptional cases, such actions are a waste of money and a source of resentment for police staff.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


This will allow constables to move to the

maximum more quickly and ensure that

the current and new pay scales merge

in 2016.

Staff Side has agreed Recommendation 55

on condition that work is done to ensure

that there is no leapfrogging of officers by

those with shorter lengths of service. This

would require an additional investment of

£8.1 million, to which the Official Side

has agreed.

Recommendation 84

Pay progression for officers in the

Federated ranks should be subject to a

satisfactory box marking in the annual

appraisal. Those officers who receive a

box marking of ‘satisfactory contribution’

or above should advance by one pay

increment; those who receive an

‘unsatisfactory contribution ‘ box marking

should remain on the same pay point for a

further year. This should be introduced for

sergeants, inspectors and chief inspectors

in 2014/15 and for constables in 2015/16.

Staff Side has agreed to this

recommendation, on the following

conditions:

• Training for managers in order to be able

to properly assess performance is essential

and that Recommendation 81 of the

Winsor Final Report must, therefore, be

fully implemented alongside

Recommendation 84

• There must also be a national

PDR process as set out in Winsor

Recommendations 79 and 80.

• In the absence of a PDR there would

have to be an assumption of competence.

• The withholding of a pay increment

however, has to be part of the formal

Unsatisfactory Performance Procedures

(UPP) process.

Recommendation 101

A Public Order Allowance (POA) should be

established when the EPAA is removed.

It should be paid to those officers who

have attained Level 1 or 2 public order

accreditation and who have been deployed

to at least six public order operations

during a 12-month period in which the

‘Gold, Silver, Bronze’ Command Structure

was activated. The POA should be £600

per annum.

The PNB agreed to reject this

recommendation and refer the principle

of reward related to role to the wider

work being undertaken by the College of

Policing on Specialist Skills Thresholds.

Recommendation 103

The Police Regulations 2003 should be

amended to provide the Commissioner of

the Metropolitan Police with the authority

to determine an appropriate level of buy-

out of the casual overtime of specialist

protection officers.

This has been rejected by the PNB.

It has been agreed that discussions

may continue at a local level within the

Metropolitan Police Service. During those

discussion, the status quo remains in

place for Specialist Protection officers

in SO1. Staff Side has also reserved the

right to re-table a claim at a future date

for officers in Royalty Protection Officers

in SO14 to be aid in accordance with

Regulations and Determinations.

Additional recommendations

The Home Secretary has extended the

deadline for considering the following

recommendations until July 2014 in order to

allow the College of Policing to develop: the

necessary skills threshold procedures:

Recommendation 95

A Foundation Skills Threshold should

be introduced at the fourth point of the

constables’ pay scale by 2016 at the

latest. It should test the officer’s knowledge

and understanding of the fundamentals

and essential details of the criminal

law, including the rules of evidence and

procedure, the constitutional position of the

police, including their accountability, and the

rights of witnesses, victims and suspects,

and other citizens. The Police Professional

Body should be remitted to devise the test.

Recommendation 96

Every constable should attempt the

Foundation Skills Threshold, and only those

who pass the test should be allowed to move

up the pay scale. Constables should be

re-tested every five years. Repeated failures

to pass the test should lead to the constable

being entered into the force’s unsatisfactory

performance procedures.

Recommendation 97

A Specialist Skills Threshold should be

introduced at the final pay point of all police

officer pay scales up to and including chief

superintendent, by 2016 at the latest. It

should consist of a rigorous test of the

specialist knowledge and skills required in

each role and rank. The Police Professional

Body should be remitted to devise the test.

Recommendation 98

Officers who pass the Specialist Skills

Threshold test should move up to the pay

maximum for their rank, and receive an

accredited qualification. The test should

be re-taken every three years. Failure to

pass the re-test should result in the officer

reverting to the highest non-threshold pay

point.

Recommendation 99

The Specialist Skills Threshold should

apply only to those roles that require the

warranted powers or expertise of a police

officer. A suggested list for the Federated

ranks is provided in Table 9.6. The Police

Professional Body should be remitted

to determine which roles are eligible for

the Specialist Skills Threshold. When

established, the prescribed skill areas should

be determined by the police pay review body

with the advice of the Police Professional

Body, which should accredit them and set

the standards to be attained.


We have now seen another section of

Winsor come under the spotlight with

regards to a whole raft of further changes,

reform if you like to use buzz words.

Constables face the brunt of it all again,

cuts, cuts and further cuts, change and

more change, the past two years have been

horrendous.

Again going forward we have seen a failure

to agree, the Police negating board, PNB,

another PAT to go through. You will look

and think what a joke, its year on year

now. There is wonder why morale is low…I

think we can see why it is; as usual officers

are working hard to achieve their best in

demanding times, fewer resources and an

increased workload. I do wonder what the

government actually know about the role of

the police officer, clearly from what they say

and the actions they have done, nothing!

Here are just two of the agreements

reached:

Recommendation 55

Pay points 6, 7, and 9 should be removed

from the existing constables’ pay scale in

April 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.

This will allow constables to move to the

maximum more quickly and ensure that the

current and new pay scales merge in 2016.

Staff Side has agreed Recommendation 55

on condition that work is done to ensure

that there is no leapfrogging of officers by

those with shorter lengths of service. This

would require an additional investment of

£8.1 million, to which the Official Side has

agreed.

Jim Lucas Constable Secretary, on cuts, austerity and the future of Constables.

The threat to the office of Constable

Recommendation 84

Pay progression for officers in the

Federated ranks should be subject to a

satisfactory box marking in the annual

appraisal. Those officers who receive a

box marking of ‘satisfactory contribution’

or above should advance by one pay

increment; those who receive an

‘unsatisfactory contribution ‘ box marking

should remain on the same pay point for a

further year. This should be introduced for

sergeants, inspectors and chief inspectors

in 2014/15 and for constables in 2015/16.

When I have more clarity on this I will

publish it for all.

The issue of compulsory severance has

been referred; it is now left in the hands

of PAT to give their judgement, this is

the biggest change in the history of the

service, I know from the many calls and

emails that I have had, that this concerns

you all; It is a concern and I would hope

that the PAT look at the impact of this if

they chose to accept it.

It goes without saying that if compulsory

severance is introduced that we look at

how it could be applied and how it may

work.

As you know we have regulation A19

already in place, Regulation A19 of

the Police Pensions Regulations 1987

provides for the compulsory retirement

of a police officer, (up to and including


the rank of Chief Superintendent), on

the grounds of efficiency of the Force,

where the officer has accrued full pension

entitlement.

This will typically be after 30 years’

service, but may be prior to this where

an officer has transferred benefits from a

previous pension scheme; it also applies

to those on the 30+ and 30++ schemes,

not that there are many of these about

these days.

If a Police Authority determines that

the retention in the Force of a regular

policeman to whom this regulation applies

would not be in the general interests of

efficiency he may be required to retire

on such a date as the police authority

determine.

Voluntary severance, this is now catered

for; however not all forces are yet at a

stage where they are implementing this, to

consider in the future this would need to

be in place should compulsory severance

be adopted.

So to put a picture to with severance on

what we know, there is a process of doing

this; A19 offer voluntary severance and

one would hope the last one would be

compulsory.

Many representations are on-going with

this; there is no fixed date at the time of

going to press on the PAT hearing date.

The office of Constable is under real

threat, the wholesale changes to working

conditions are not providing us with a

healthy outcome, we are to meet with

all our South Yorkshire MPs in early

September to pass on our fears over the

changes, we will also drive home the what

the consequences of having officers who

can be removed from service as nothing

more than a cost cutting exercise that will

in the long term have a detrimental effect

on the service provided to the public of

South Yorkshire.

In a recent report by the HMIC our force

was one which featured in relation to the

future cuts.

HMIC considers that five forces will find

it especially difficult to cope with further

budget cuts after March 2015. This is

either because they have already made

significant cuts, and have few options

left (Bedfordshire Police and Lincolnshire

Police); because they have chosen to take

the (relatively) easy option in this spending

review period, and rely on short-term

savings, rather than transforming their

efficiency (West Yorkshire Police, South

Yorkshire Police).

The report makes a number of

recommendations for the police service,

PCCs, the Home Office, and the College of

Policing.

HM Inspector of Constabulary, Zoë

Billingham, said:

“Overall, the response to the financial

challenge by police forces has been good,

and we recognise the hard work of police

officers, PCSOs and staff which underpins

this success; however, we have found a

considerable variation in the approaches

taken by forces – and in some cases, this

leaves us with concerns about how some

forces will manage in the face of further

cuts.

We also have some concerns that

neighbourhood policing risks being

eroded as forces change how they deliver

local policing. Finally, there are missed

opportunities, the overall progress on

collaboration, which is driving major

efficiencies in some forces, is deeply

disappointing.

The Government, College of Policing,

HMIC, PCCs and chief constables must all

work together to ensure that the police are

in the best possible position to grasp these

opportunities, and to continue providing a

high standard of service to the people of

England and Wales.”

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Tom

Winsor, said:

“In these times of austerity and

considerable financial challenges, it is

to the credit of the police service that so

many forces have shown themselves able

to protect the front line and make the

necessary savings.

“In the longer term, however, the

police will need to achieve even greater

efficiencies to be able to provide a sound

and sustainable service with reduced

resources. Working smarter – doing things

in different ways – will be necessary.

That will include greater measures of

collaboration between forces and with

the private sector and other parts of the

public sector. It will also mean using

modern technology to make the very best

use of police time, keeping officers on

the streets, making people safe, and not

spending time in the police station using

outdated technology in inefficient working

practices.”

All this is well, but the run of the mill

criminal does not always move forward

with the times and will not change their

way of breaking into your house to suit the

needs of the government, the drunk who

wants to fight all on Saturday night will

still be there, the drink driver will still want

to drive rather than walk, investigations

still need to be done, to do this you need

resources, the resources need to be

valued, not treated as if they are pigs at

the trough wanting all they can get for

nothing in return.

In 2014 the borders open further from the

EU, many more people will both visit and

live in the UK, the population increases,

the police service reduces, I’m not the best

at maths, but I can see that these sums

will not add up.

Officers face more and more uncertainty,

the way of the world now sees officers

cancelled leave to police events locally,

we also find officers deployed to work in

Northern Ireland. The Constable rank has

had to evolve, but the terms in which you

evolve reduced.

Please visit www.policeconstables.org to

register and found out more about what is

happening in the world of policing for the

Constable rank.

Jim Lucas Constable Secretary.

A quote from Thomas A. Edison

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.

The most certain way to succeed is always

to try just one more time”


Inspectors Central Conference

on Tuesday 14 May a large number

of officers of Inspecting rank filed

into the Inspectors central committee

auditorium. The mood was definitely

more sombre than previous years and it

was clear the cuts that have affected the

police service were taking a toll on the

confidence of the Inspecting ranks. Unlike

previous years when the conference was

opened by South Yorkshire’s very own

Alan Jones, who used a light approach

and injected appropriate humour, the

current ICC chair Alan Ogg delivered a

stark warning to his colleagues. He began

by quoting David Cameron from his 2006

key note speech when he clearly warned

the police they were going to be reformed

when the conservatives came into power.

Then he gave us the delivery of that

promise.

Pension reform, the increase in

subscriptions and the less than perfect

new pension system.

Did you know that when this was

discussed in Parliament only 20 MPs were

present? The other 630 had something

better to do.

Winsor 1 and 2 and the attacks on

conditions of service of the rank and file.

The new Police and Crime Commissioners

brought in on a trickle like 15% mandate

from the people. Has anyone actually

seen any difference in delivery? Were they

not brought in to save money yet many

are now costing more than the old police

authorities?

The 20% cuts to the policing budget

Richard Batty sums up the key issues discussed at the Inspectors Central Conference.

By Richard Batty, Secretary of the Inspectors branch Board.

that now means this government spends

more on foreign aid than it does on the

policing of its own country; isn’t the first

duty of any government the protection

of its citizens? It would appear the first

duty of this government is the protection

of itself and their friends; the palace of

Westminster being one of very few places

that have not seen the loss of policing

numbers nor a cut to MPs pensions

similar to ours.

The demise of the NPIA and the new

College of Policing to replace it, heavy on

ACPO and government representation but

light on those that actually deliver and

effect change: the federated ranks. The

greatest proportionate loss to the service

has been from Inspecting ranks. The

officers who deliver the link between the

operational and strategic world, how this

manifests itself over time will be crucial

but already we are seeing excessive hours

being worked by our Inspecting ranks. I

shall expand on this later.

Other speakers continued with the theme

of the police service being the band aid for

all other ills. How many times are we going

to have to pick up the shortfalls in other

agencies delivery? It often appears we, the

police are the first port of call for mental

health patients who are let down by badly

funded health care providers and our

never say no attitude is being abused.

Professor Peter Turnbull gave a very

pointed presentation on how Inspecting

ranks are performing excessive hours.

The 1994 overtime buyout was never

intended to increase the working hours of

Inspectors. We must all accurately record

our working hours, forces have a duty

to ensure we do but do they do it? Many

feel ‘On call’ is just an abuse to cover

shortfalls in resilience. The impact of sleep

deprivation was discussed with reference

to work carried out by Professor Bryan

Vila, how many Inspectors and Chief

inspectors are getting the required amount

of sleep? We still see many performing on

call duties through the night and returning

within hours during the day, how can

decisions be made with so little sleep and

rest? The Inspectors Branch Board here in

South Yorkshire have undertaken a review

of our own Inspecting ranks and these

results have been forwarded to Cardiff

University for analysis. What is clear

though is excessive hours appearing to be

the norm and not every officer is recording

them accurately.

A discussion on PACE reviews was another

lively issue. The College of Policing

acknowledge themselves the risk of

telephone reviews. The floor was adamant

that reviews should be done face to face;

it is a risk assessment on the condition

and treatment of someone in our care.

One colleague described the need to

'smell a prisoner', look in their eyes; many

see this creeping of telephone reviews as

a means to combat a lack of resilience at

inspecting rank level, with senior officers

cutting the availability of inspectors they

are seeking to cover this with a telephone

chat; let’s be clear, you the Inspector is

responsible for the review and who do we

think is in trouble if something happens

to the prisoner during detention? The

college of policing talked of video style

conferencing (like this will happen any

time soon in a cash strapped force). It

puts you, the prisoner and the public at

risk when reviews are not done as PACE

intended. A show of hands was clear,

PACE reviews should be face to face.

Those were the main talking points for

the session and were the cause of some

concern. Clearly the recording of hours

and telephone reviews will have an impact

in South Yorkshire and hopefully the

federation can be instrumental in looking

after your interests in these matters.


Lest we forget - National Police Memorial Day

In remembrance of the fallen officers

in our force I have listed those who

gave their lives serving the public of this

county. The force was formed in 1974,

as a merger of the previous Sheffield

and Rotherham Constabulary along with

part of the West Yorkshire Constabulary

area (to which Barnsley Borough Police

and Doncaster Borough Police had been

merged into on 1 October 1968).

Through history you will see that not much

has changed in terms of what the police deal

with on a daily basis. Some will be friends of

yours, some you will have known by name.

I know that two officers were friends and

colleagues that I worked with, many on this

list will be forgotten by time.

Lest we forget those who gave service

in a selfless manner serving this county,

they went leaving loved ones and friends

behind, their loss touching many. May you

rest in peace.

Role of Honour

Alfred Austwick PC, West Riding of Yorkshire

Constabulary, 1 August 1886 (aged 30)

Shot and fatally wounded by a man he had

warned about his conduct.

William Beardshaw PC, Sheffield Borough

Police.23 July 1855 (aged 26) Struck on

head by a stone during a street disturbance

and died next day.

Arthur Tyler Bull Special Constable,

Rotherham Borough Police 2 October 1916

(aged 46) Collapsed of heart failure whilst on

duty in the early hours.

Archie Cornish Insp, Sheffield Police Fire

Brigade,18 February 1931 (aged 47)

Burns sustained fighting a fire at a hospital

On the 29 September the National police Memorial Day will be held in Cardiff, it will honour many officers killed on duty.

in November 1930.

Sandra Jane Edwards PC, South Yorkshire

Police, 10 May 1995 (aged 28) Traffic car

crashed while pursuing a stolen car.

Samuel Pidd Gibson PC, Sheffield Borough

Police, 24 February 1872 (aged 33) A

fractured skull received during an arrest in a

hostile crowd.

Harold Grainger PC, South Yorkshire Police,

26 October 1974 (aged 35) Police vehicle

accident while on prisoner escort to Paisley.

Glen Howe PC, South Yorkshire Police, 24

October 2008 (aged 48) Police motorcycle

accident attending an emergency in

Sheffield.

Thomas Andrew Jackson PC, South

Yorkshire Police, 13 December 2003 (aged

46) Collapsed dispersing rival football crowds

with his police dog.

William Jackson PS, Sheffield City Police,

26 November 1914 (aged 41) accidentally

killed by a train while crossing the line on

patrol at night.

John William Kew PC, West Riding of

Yorkshire Constabulary, 11 July 1900 (aged

29) Fatally shot challenging two armed

suspects who had threatened him.

Harry Marriott PC, Sheffield City Police, 8

June 1961 (aged 31) Accidental collision

with a van while on motorcycle patrol.

Lot Moor PC, West Riding of Yorkshire

Constabulary, 16 June 1900 (aged 58)

Found dead on his beat in the early morning

believed from heart failure.

Frank Hides Munks, Police War Reserve

Constable, Sheffield City Police, 13

December 1940 (aged 52) Enemy air raid.

John Pollard, Chief Constable, Rotherham

Borough Police, 30 June 1888 (aged 41)

Collapsed while running to the scene of a fire

late at night.

Edwin Pryor PC, Sheffield Borough Police, 8

April 1857 Struck on head by a stone during

a street disturbance and died next day.

Rex Webster Robinson PS, Doncaster

Borough Police, 9 December 1961 (aged

52) Collapsed while briefing traffic officers on

shift changeover.

Gina Corin Rutherford PC, South Yorkshire

Police, 7 February 1994 (aged 25) Drowned

in a patrol car which left an icy road and

crashed into a river.

Barry Saunders PC, South Yorkshire Police,

24 November 1989 (aged 31) Fell through a

roof while checking burgled factory premises.

James Slee PC, Sheffield City Police,

September 1940 (aged 30) Road accident

on patrol in a police motorcycle combination.

Kenneth South PC, Sheffield City Police, 30

March 1960 (aged 25) Motorcycle accident

after finishing an extended tour of duty.

Frederick Parkes Spencer, Police Fireman

Sheffield Police Fire Brigade, 12 December

1940 (aged 36) Killed fighting a fire at the

Empire Theatre after an enemy air raid.

George William Watson Insp, West Riding of

Yorkshire Constabulary, 5 November 1953

(aged 48) collapsed soon after leading a

police funeral escort.

** List compiled from an external source


Women’s Eve of Conference Meeting

More than a third of Police Forces have

no women in their top ranks, according

to figures announced at the Federation’s

conference looking at the role of female

officers in the service. Home Office figures

on the number of female officers in senior

ranks from March 2012 found that there

are no women in ACPO ranks in 17 of the

43 forces in England and Wales (SYP is no

longer one of these, with the appointment

of Jo Byrne this month – Ed); the figure

is higher for chief superintendents, with

21 forces with no female representation at

that rank; 11 forces had one or no female

superintendents.

Jayne Monkhouse, equality advisor to the

Federation highlighted a number of factors

including occupational segregation, where

roles more likely to be carried out by

men, such as firearms, are more likely to

attract additional payments. She also told

delegates they could expect to earn 93.4p

as a female constable compared to every

pound a male constable earns because of

the current gender pay gap in the service.

Irene Curtis, president of the

Superintendents’ Association, who recently

spoke to Police magazine about a need

for ‘culture change’ in the service for

it to become more representative, said

although the figures are not for 2013

they demonstrate the fragile nature of

A brief summary of the Joint Central Conference in May. Edited by Neil Bowles from the ‘Police’ Magazine and the PFEW website.

Joint Central Conference of the Police Federation of England and Wales

representation in the rank; “We haven’t

got a sustainable way of improving the

representation of women at the moment.”

Shadow Home Secretary – yvette Cooper

“When I

first

addressed

your

Conference,

two years

ago, I said we supported your calls for a

Royal Commission or proper review of

policing in this country, on how we could

work together to prepare a police service

truly fit for the 21st century. When the

Government did not agree, we set up the

Independent Review into the Future of

Policing, chaired by Lord John Stevens.

That review is now in its final stages, and

it will report in the coming months.

The Review has reached out to over

30,000 officers and staff; With surveys

of staff, evidence from officers, partners,

local communities, businesses, members

of the public and academia. I can't pre-

empt the conclusions that they reach. But

I want to say a bit about why it matters

given the challenges policing faces:

• Plummeting morale.

• Scale of cuts.

• Chaotic reforms and fragmentation.

• Policies which risk making it harder not

easier to do the job.

• And that crucial lack of vision to tackle

the challenges of the future.

For a start I think it is serious that policing

morale has plummeted in the last few

years. You will have seen some of the

review research. Over half of officers and

40 per cent of police staff say they are

considering leaving policing. Officers

feeling they could not influence decisions

or unhappy about the structure of career

progression, or under pressure over pay

or pension changes. Over 90 per cent

responding, feeling they were not valued

by the Government.That matters.”

The Industrial Rights Ballot

Ian Rennie the

general

secretary of the

Police

Federation of

England and

Wales has

defended the

Federation’s

handling of the

‘industrial

rights’ ballot after coming under fire from


delegates at their annual conference in

Bournemouth.

A number of angry Met officers accused

the Federation of ‘deliberately sabotaging’

the vote and argued the process was

‘undemocratic’ their comments follow a

ballot held earlier this year which invited

officers from all the federated ranks to vote

on the question ‘Do you wish for PFEW to

seek the right for the police officers to take

industrial action?’

“I accept a large number of Met officers

voted yes,” Mr Rennie told delegates.

“Without that majority it would leave us

open to criticism from inside and outside

the organisation... I believe the JCC made

the right decision in the circumstances.”

He pointed out the ballot result showed

just how strongly many members felt

about the way they had been treated by

the government and described those who

voted ‘yes’ as holding a ‘legitimate point

of view’; “We must find ways of reflecting

that view in our work going forward,” he

said.

However, he reiterated that more than half

the membership – 58 per cent – did not

vote.

Privatisation

Rachel Robinson, policy officer at Liberty,

raised concerns around how private

companies would be accountable for their

actions. She told delegates: “If we contract

out services we have no guarantee about

the professionalism of individuals.”

She added that the privatisation of

policing could impact on the nature of

policing by consent of the people and that

officers should be able to serve without

‘fear or favour’ but were seeing increasing

politicisation of roles and accountability

lines, such as the advent of police and

crime commissioners. “What we are

seeing is a patchwork... different forces

implementing privatisation to different

degrees, that is really problematic to the

service as a whole,” she warned.

Nick Gargan,

chief constable

of Avon and

Somerset

Police, said

people had

been

conditioned to

react against

privatisation –

comparing them

to ‘Pavlov’s dogs’. He added that forces

already spent three billion a year on outside

services. “I think private sector involvement

is neither always wrong, as some would

have us believe, nor always right.”

He added that the service does many

things well, like managing the complex

investigations, but other things not so

well, like exploiting technology and

collaboration.

Paul Nowak, assistant general secretary at

the TUC, said the risks of privatisation “are

clear for all to see” and quoted figures

from a poll by the IPPR think tank and

PricewaterhouseCoopers, which found that

93% of the British people believe that the

job of keeping our streets safe should be

done by the public sector; “Conference,

all of this represents a fundamental shift

in the way policing is delivered – and a

departure from the traditional foundations

on which British policing has been built.

So it’s hardly a surprise that the vast

majority of the public are opposed to

privatisation.”

Steve Williams PFEW ChairThe Police

Federation

should ’unite

together’ for

the good of

its members,

came the

message after

a majority

of constables’ representatives voted to

support national chair Steve Williams.

The overwhelming feeling from delegates

at the Federation’s constables’ conference

this month was for the organisation to

stay united to face challenges in the

year ahead, following an emergency

motion for a vote of no confidence in

the Police Federation chair. Of the

303 delegates who voted, more than

half, 168 voted against the motion, 120

for and 15 abstained. West Midlands

Police Federation put forward the

motion following internal rankles over

the announcement of a root-and-branch

independent review into the Federation.

Sarah Stevens-Burns, speaking on behalf

of the West Midlands Federation, said Mr

Williams had acted like ‘an emperor’ by

announcing the independent review and

felt he was going ahead ‘with or without

us’.

Because the motion was put forward

in the constables’ rank committee

conference alone – it would not have

been carried through even if the majority

had voted in favour because both the

sergeant and inspector ranks did

not vote.

Over half of officers

and 40 per cent of police staff say they are considering leaving policing. Officers feeling they could not influence decisions or unhappy about the structure of career progression, or under pressure over pay or pension changes. Over 90 per cent responding, feeling they were not valued by the Government.That matters.


A number of delegates stood up and

spoke against the motion. Steve Smith,

deputy general secretary of the Police

Federation, said all key aspects of the

independent review had been agreed

democratically and too much time had

been spent ‘navel gazing’ with internal

‘petty politics’. Members would be more

concerned with external issues like reform

and questions over their integrity.

In his keynote speech Mr Williams, who

won a standing ovation from colleagues,

said: “I want to stop fighting with ourselves

and start fighting for the good of the

British police service.”

Home Secretary – Teresa May

Home secretary

Theresa May

received her

first applause

for some time

from a police

audience as

she announced

that life will

mean life for

those who

murder officers. The Home Secretary said:

“The murder of a police officer is a

particularly appalling crime. To attack and

kill a police officer is to attack the

fundamental basis of our society.

“We ask police officers to keep us safe by

confronting and stopping violent criminals

for us. We ask you to take the risks so that

we don’t have to. And sometimes you are

targeted by criminals because of what you

represent. We are clear: life should mean

life for anyone convicted of killing a police

officer.”

HMCIC Tom Winsor

Newly appointed Chief of HMIC pledged

to overhaul the ‘patchy’ and ‘antiquated’

police IT systems and vowed to examine

how cuts to other parts of the public sector

are increasing the burden on officers.

Mr Winsor also promised to work with

other agencies to establish how public

sector cuts are adversely affecting the

service, and referred to a soon to be

published joint report with Her Majesty’s

Inspectorate of the CPS on the use

of Section 136 of the Mental Health

Act 1983. “Officers have told me and

my fellow inspectors repeatedly that

helping people with mental health needs

consumes a vast amount of officers’ time,”

he said. “Health professionals must fulfil

their role in this regard particularly as

undiagnosed or untreated mental illness

can lead to... serious violent crime.

The other HMIs and I will work on your

behalf on this issue to ensure that each

service fully and properly discharges its

responsibilities.”

Despite the attack on Officers pay and

conditions his reports have led to, he

received applause at the end of his

speech.

Independent Review of PFEW

Sir David

Normington,

(picture) chair

of the review

panel,

addressed

delegates. Sir

David, a former

Home Office

permanent

secretary, said:

“There’s no hidden agenda; the report is

not already written. I’m not a government

stooge despite my background…It’s all

about ensuring the Police Federation is an

even more powerful voice for its

members.” PFEW Chair Mr Williams said

the Federation’s structure had barely

changed since 1919. “We need to

maintain our credibility and influence in a

world that’s rapidly changing.”

Miscellaneous Sessions & AGM

Conference was also addressed by

Alex Marshall the CEO of the College of

Policing who stressed that the college

was not interested in taking over Staff

Association roles, but would not be drawn

on the question of future financing of his

organisation. We had a misconduct update

or rather how the government plan to further

weaken the protection Officers are entitled to

re vexatious complaints, and the compelling

of Police Witnesses to be interviewed. There

was an input on Stalking which did not

appear to be directed at the right audience.

The Annual General Meeting was held. Two

emergency motions were passed to the

effect that all the recommendations of the

Independent Review of PFEW should be

debated at the next conference, and not

accepted as policy by the JCC (kicking it into

the long grass! Secondly those subscriptions

for Student Officers should be reduced.

Conclusion

I attended this year’s conference with a

sense of foreboding with the internal fighting

about the review and the feelings about

the ballot could easily have harmed the

organisation. However after the first day and

the confidence vote was defeated, everyone

seemed to come together and unite.

Even Teresa May and Tom Winsor were

applauded. Delegates left in a better mood.

Whether it’s a false dawn or not only time

will tell. (The severance question and the

Independent Review may also play a part).

Home Office permanent

secretary, said: “There’s no hidden agenda; the report is not already written. I’m not a government stooge despite my background…It’s all about ensuring the Police Federation is an even more powerful voice for its members.


We believe that the

knock-on-effect of the reduction could be a lack of direction when police units are called to critical incidents.

Sergeant’s Central Conference 2013

The Sergeant’s central conference this

year opened with a moving tribute to

Sgt Paul McKeever who sadly passed away.

As Chairman for the federation, he led us

through tumultuous times and was much

admired; he will be missed.

The Rt Hon Damian Green, minister of

policing then addressed conference and

it’s fair to say, he said nothing new. It

was the same government spin around

unavoidable cuts and asking those left to

'work smarter'. Nothing better than a good

old motivational speech to get you fired up

for conference week!

The general theme this year was around

Sergeants increasing workloads and the

potential implications for the rank given

the raft of changes about to be thrust

upon us. Debate centered on Winsor's

recommendations relating to restricted

duties, x factor, fitness tests, threshold

payments and incremental pay progression

linked to PDR process. All these changes

will mean extra work for the rank of sergeant

at a time when there is less off us, being

paid less than we were before.

Our national chair, John Giblin, illustrated

the issue in his speech and I have provided

a relevant extract below:

“The rank of sergeant is not immune

from all this change and upheaval to the

policing landscape and environment that is

taking place. Our numbers are decreasing

SBB Secretary Dean Hague on the Sergeants Central Conference 2013

By Dean Hague, SBB Secretary

significantly and those that are left are being

overstretched to breaking point. As forces

come to terms with funding cuts many of

those able to recruit are opting to axe higher

ranks in a bid to free up cash to take on

extra constables.”

As we know, the sergeant rank represents

the first tier of management within the police

service structure. We are able to draw on our

experiences as a constable when managing

operations and are therefore crucial and

indispensable in supporting and bolstering

the front line of operational policing in the

fight against crime. We are the ones who

ensure the highest standards in policing

are delivered to the public on a daily basis

irrespective of postcode 24/7. We have done

the job, and we are doing the job.

Sergeants are the first line managers

within the police service that provide the

front line supervision to officer teams that

they lead. We are the ‘golden thread’ to

the success of the British policing model

that has served this country well since its

beginning. However, our numbers are falling

but the job is still there to be done and we

are expected to provide the same level of

service. Something has to give and there will

be consequences.

We believe that the knock-on-effect of the

reduction could be a lack of direction when

police units are called to critical incidents.

It is fair to say that both locally and nationally

your reps are fighting to secure the best deal

available. The Federation can only negotiate

and we have to be the voice of reason in the

ever-changing landscape of policing.

Upon conclusion of the Sgt's conference our

force Custody rep, Sgt John Fox attended a

Custody fringe meeting. Stress in the custody

suite and the Impact from mental ill health

detainees was discussed and John got a

free sandwich. At the meeting a presentation

around stress and burnout of custody

sergeants was given, which highlighted the

difficult and unique job of a custody officer.

One of the main contributory factors leading

to stress was a lack of a designated meal

break away from the work place. This right is

provided by law and custody officers should

seek to negotiate with managers in order to

obtain such vital breaks.

If any of our force custody officers require

any further information then Sgt Fox is

always available for advice and guidance. If

not with custody matters, then with which

real ale should be drunk with any given

meal. A personal favourite of his (if you’re

buying) is Badgers Hopping hare!

Your local reps are listed on the SYPF

website and I encourage you to get

in-touch about any issues that you feel are

affecting our rank.

Keep fighting the good fight!


Neil Bowles, chairman of South

Yorkshire Police Federation, said:

“Where is the evidence this is needed for

a small number of public servants?”

The Home Office gave no timeline for the

possible introduction of any restrictions.

In a written response to Home Affairs

Select Committee, the Home Office said:

“We are currently considering whether

it would be appropriate for members of

the police to have formal restrictions on

employment after leaving the service, and

what such measures might entail.”

Mr Bowles said he agreed that

“procurement decision makers” in a force

should have certain post retirement work

restrictions “for a certain amount of time

to be clear there are no integrity issues.”

He added: “It is totally out of order for

Federated officers. There are enough

restrictions on police officers and a code

of conduct to adhere to – and officers

are not adequately recompensed as it

is. They do not need this after they have

retired.”

According to PoliceOracle.com, a

proposed national register of officers’

second jobs, hospitality and gifts – another

landmark reform in professional standards

– could be in place by the autumn.

National guidance on business interests

held by serving officers and staff includes

a “suggested” list of second jobs that

conflict with being in the Police Service

The Home Office is considering trying to implement “formal restrictions” on police officers’ employment after they leave the service.

Home office looks to restrict ex-police officer careers

and this includes private investigators.

But the Home Office added it was “not

possible to provide a definitive list of

occupations incompatible with the role of

police officer”.

MPs on HASC also said that any contact

serving officers have with private

investigators should be recorded.

The Home Office said: “The government

will consider very carefully the

recommendation that any contact between

police officers and private investigators be

recorded.

“Furthermore, the government will also

consider whether any such restrictions or

requirements that are placed on the police

should be extended to other agencies

with investigative or covert powers and

with the potential for contact with private

investigators.”

Home Secretary Theresa May has also

announced new legislation that will see the

Security Industry Authority license private

investigators once they have achieved a

government-recognised qualification and

undergone a criminal records check.

Those with convictions for offences under

the Data Protection Act will be barred from

receiving a licence.

Operating without one will become an

offence punishable by up to six months in

prison and a £5,000 fine.


Chairman Neil BowlesTreasurer Ext-722609Mobile No. 07919300375

Janet Fairman - office manager Ext-722606

Secretary Jim LucasExt-722610Mobile No. 07774760520

Dave Baines - ChairmanSNA Rotherham Ext-722364

Dean HagueResponse Sheffield Ext-713084

vacantOSS RPG Ext-712939

vacantCID Representative

Alan JarvisSNT Sheffield Ext-714803

Amanda DempseyCID PPU Sheffield Ext- 714579

Simon DixonOSS USU Ext-712989

Steve ButlerSNT Doncaster Ext-745567

John FoxCJAD Rotherham Ext-722241

Sean McbrideBarnsley Ext-736205

Discipline Leader Paul AspinallExt-722608Mobile No. 07855251527

Tim Mitchell - Chairman vice TreasurerOSS FSG Ext-745708

Richard BattyResponse Barnsley Ext-736016

Adrian SmithCJAD Barnsley Ext-736095

Ian HillResponse Rotherham Ext-722028

Tony Brookes ChairmanCID Sheffield Ext-724168

Phil ShawPartnerships Inspector, Sheffield Ext-717353

Craig JacksonDI Sheffield Ext-722606

Brian HucksteppResponse Sheffield Ext-714304

Andrew McFarlaneSNA Doncaster Ext-745491

Andrea CowlingSNA Doncaster Ext-745450

Ian RobertsSNA Sheffield Ext-713031

Jane Gee - Administrator Ext-722607

south Yorkshire Police FederationJoint Branch Board Representatives

INSPECToRS

office Staff

SERGEANTSCoNSTABLES

DoNCASTER

BARNSLEy

RoTHERHAM

CID

SHEFFIELD

HQ TRAINING CoNSTABLE

oSS

FEMALES

36 - Copper Connection - Issue 5 -September 2013 SERvING THE OFFICERS OF SOUTH YORkSHIRE

Simon PocklingtonCID 01302385855

Zuleika Smith - Equality Leadervice ChairmanRotherham Ext-722721

vacantResponse Doncaster Ext-745421

Iain ChorltonOSS TSG Ext-712906

Lisa KramerPIP Team, Rotherham Ext-723492

John TaylorSNA Sheffield Ext-713431

Dave WebbResponse, Sheffield Ext-724131

Wayne ventourResponse Sheffield Ext-714131

Simon KitchenOSS RPG Ext-712946

Andrew JohnsonHQ Training Ext-723665

Mark FretwellSNA Barnsley Ext-736516

Murtaza Ahmad AwanSNA Sheffield Ext-713684

Servg In The offIcerS of SouTh YorkShIre Connection - Mag... · Serving the officerS of South...

Documents

Transcript of Servg In The offIcerS of SouTh YorkShIre Connection - Mag... · Serving the officerS of South...