The words you are searching are inside this book. To get more targeted content, please make full-text search by clicking here.

October2008 inthisissue 20 NationalPoliceMemorialDay– pictures of the day to honour fallen officers 22 Frontlineforce Officers face the frontline with a new

Discover the best professional documents and content resources in AnyFlip Document Base.
Search
Published by , 2016-03-15 03:24:03

ThePoliceFederationofEngland&Wales POLICE October2008 ...

October2008 inthisissue 20 NationalPoliceMemorialDay– pictures of the day to honour fallen officers 22 Frontlineforce Officers face the frontline with a new

The Police Federation of England & Wales www.polfed.org

POLICE
October 2008

Driving force

Federation delivers pay message to MPs

•Chairman slams Pay Review Body

National Police Memorial Day: page 20 View from the chair: page 12

October 2008

in this issue

EDITORIAL 5 20 National Police Memorial Day –

NEWS pictures of the day to honour fallen
officers
Campaign for CJS workers 6
22 Frontline force
Pay Review Body imposed 7
Officers face the frontline with a new
Police are not ‘rude’ 8 training course designed to put bobbies
back out on the beat. Tina Orr
REGULARS Munro writes

Dogberry 9 24 Revolving doors

Federation focus 11 Could the Drug Intervention Programme
break the cycle of drug addiction?
The Inspector’s Central Committee write John Dean reports
about the work they do behind the scenes
Cover Photography: Police Federation
Local focus 15

A look at the local federations and the issues
facing officers in their area

Crossword 28

Judgement: Opinion 29

Tony Judge, former editor of
Police magazine gives his personal

views on policing issues

Letters page 30

Pay special

FEATURES

View from the chair 12

Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police
Federation, writes on why a Pay Review
Body is set to diminish relations with the

Home Secretary

The untouchables? 16

How can a gang member be turned around
to a different way of life? Syreeta Lund
reports on the SOS Project

Federation House

Make a weekend of it in & around Federation House!

G Exclusive weekend accommodation rates at Federation House
G £60 B&B single/double occupancy G Fantastic on-site leisure facilities

G Special 2 night weekend promotion Fri/Sat or Sat/Sun B&B £95

Only 45 minutes by train to central London!

(prices subject to change from Jan 1st 2009)

For Police Federation member offers and discounts, visit www.federationhouse.co.uk

Hampton Court Palace

Windsor Castle Wimbledon LEGO, the LEGO logo and LEGOLAND are
© The Royal Collection/John Freeman trademarks of the LEGO Group.

5

Ed it ori al

Metin Enver, Managing Editor Editorial -
October 2008
Managing Editor: Metin Enver
Editor: Syreeta Lund Jacqui’s Tiff
Art Editor: Lisa Ryszkowska
Contact: Federation House, Highbury Drive Like a toddler protesting against the actions of their
Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7UY parents, last month the Home Secretary demonstrated a
childish retaliation in the way she churlishly introduced
Tel: 01372 352000 the Police Officer Pay Review Body consultation
E-mail: [email protected] document. And the timing, just weeks ahead of the Police
Subscriptions: [email protected] Arbitration Tribunal which has yet to make a
recommendation on this year's pay award to her and
Advertising Agent: whilst two key stakeholders – official side and staff side of
Landmark Services the Police Negotiating Board – are busy preparing evidence
Contact: Sharon Davies to present to the arbiters.
2 Windmill Street, London, W1T 2HX The Ministerial statement made very clear that a Pay
Review Body could have been avoided at this stage if Staff
Tel: 0207 692 9292 Side of the Police Negotiating Board had signed up to the
Fax: 0207 692 9393 government's three-year pay deal.
Print: Wyndeham Heron Limited, Maldon, Essex Well, silly me for thinking that true negotiation means
Every care is taken to ensure that advertisements are either side is at liberty to take it or leave whatever is on the
accepted only from bona fide advertisers. The Police table. Clearly, this government will lash out at those who
Federation cannot accept any liability for losses do not take the Home Secretary’s shilling.
incurred by any person as a result of a default on the part Conscious that the government seem intent on
of an advertiser. railroading through their plans irrespective of majority
The views expressed within the magazine are not opinion or what's best for the police service, the Police
necessarily the views of the Joint Central Committee of Federation last month set out its stall for pursuing
the Police Federation of England and Wales. industrial rights; a mandate given by the membership poll
earlier this year if arbitration decisions are not binding on
Chairman: Paul McKeever the government.
General Secretary: Ian Rennie In a letter to the Home Secretary, the chairman of the
Treasurer: David Moore Federation, Paul McKeever, made clear that plans to
Vice-Chairman: Simon Reed introduce binding arbitration in law must be announced
Deputy General Secretary: Steve Smith by the time of the Queen's Speech in early December or
Deputy Treasurer: Martyn Mordecai action to introduce industrial rights will commence.
So, are we heading into 2009 with new pay negotiating
© The Police Federation 2008 machinery and a campaign for industrial rights?
Reproduction strictly forbidden unless by prior Well, the answer to both questions rests with one person,
arrangement with the publishers. the Home Secretary.
It's not too late to defer the introduction of a pay review
body and secure future settlements using the current pay
machinery and binding arbitration in statute will stop
pushing police officers down a road many regrettably feel
forced down.
So come on Home Secretary, put your toys back in the
pram and sort this mess out before it’s too late.

6

News

Campaign for Shop security guards
CJS workers manage sex offenders

Organisations representing workers across the criminal Security guards are being drafted in to monitor sex
justice system pledged to lobby the government over cuts offenders in accommodation for serious offenders under
to services. supervision - because of a funding shortage leaving
The Police Federation joined organisations representing communities vulnerable to them carrying out further
prison officers, probation workers and a number of others ‘horrific offences’.
from across the CJS at the TUC Conference Matthew Lay, chairman of the national probation
held last month in Bournemouth. committee in Unison and a Labour councillor, said a
The organisations aim to lobby the government to get a lack of funding was putting communities at potential
fair deal for workers in the justice sector during Justice risk of more offences being committed by
Week set to be held from December 8 to December 12. serious offenders.
During the justice forum at the TUC’s conference the Mr Lay told the justice forum at the TUC's Conference:
groups hit out at the cuts being made to services by the “Managers are not getting the funding so they are
government. removing skilled and experienced workers. They are
Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of Napo, the going in much below that by bringing in shop security
probation and court staff union, said there are cuts across guards to provide frontline cover. One of their key roles
the whole justice system and the government was taking is observation to identify if the risks [of them
away the rights of workers. committing further crimes] are increasing.
He added that workloads in probation have reached “In the community, our intelligence is critical. Staffing is
unprecedented levels and where officers may have been degraded and that impacts on the quality of the
working on 30 to 40 cases they have now seen workloads competence of the people working there, the
double 70 or 80 cases. consequence is that they are just residential units with
Mr Fletcher said this had meant a knock-on effect with no significant work going on and no proper supervision
waiting times of around six months for community or intelligence gathering, working with the police to keep
programmes aimed at ending domestic violence and drug the community safe. A lot of these places are in
abuse. residential areas. Potentially they could commit further
Simon Reed, vice-chairman of the Police Federation, said offences and the offences can be quite horrific.”
that the police service was being dismantled and all the He said that there are 101 approved premises up and
organisations within the criminal justice sector were down the country and ‘frankly they are in a mess’.
working within a crisis situation. Mr Lay added that the maintenance work on such
He added that the reoffending rate stood at 70 per cent for premises is being contracted out, with one company
young men and it was a ‘national scandal’ that no one was literally threatening to take away toilet paper and food
dealing with it. He added that the government is ‘chipping because they had not been paid for it.
away’ at police powers and giving them away to people “The justice system cannot take anymore. The
who are not fully accountable. He made reference to the resourcing has put the justice system under so much
Police Federation’s ongoing pay dispute and that police stress it’s about to break.”
officers were not asking for generosity, just fair pay for the He added ‘we are telling them [the government] they
job they do. will have a problem and communities are being
let down’.
The criminal justice system is working in a 'crisis'
Shop security staff are working in frontline roles

Photography: Shutterstock Inc.
Photography: © Paul Doyle / Alamy

7

News

Pay Review Federation back
Body imposed conferring on
notes

News in focus! Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is ‘out of touch’ with police The Federation is backing firearms
officers and anyone who believes a Pay Review Body officers being allowed to confer on
Photography: Andrew Carruthimposed by the government would offer a fair pay deal their notes following traumatic
are ‘deluding themselves’, Mr McKeever told a senior incidents after police watchdogs called
officers’ conference. for an end to the practice.
Speaking at the Superintendents’ Association The Independent Police Complaints
Conference he told delegates that the Federation has Commission (IPCC) argued that the
‘major reservations’ about a Pay Review Body replacing practice was unacceptable following
the Police Negotiating Board which has served to the shooting of Jean Charles
hammer out deals on police pay for more than de Menezes.
three decades. However, Paul McKeever, chairman
He added: “The Pay Review Body will be made up of a of the Police Federation, said that it is
chairman appointed by the Prime Minister and four perfectly legal for officers to do so.
members appointed by the Home Secretary. If anyone He spoke at the Superintendents’
trusts them to deliver independent and fair pay in future Association Conference, held in
you are deluding yourselves.” Chester last month, arguing that it is
He also hit out at comments made by Tony McNulty, deeply unfair to expect police officers
police minister, that the Federation ‘need to learn some to go through an ‘extraordinarily
lessons about how they represent their members’. traumatic incident’ such as a shooting
He said the remarks were ‘disingenuous at the very least’ and not be able to confer with
and the Home Secretary commenting that the pay award their colleagues.
offered to police officers was ‘generous’ showed how ‘out HM Inspector Kate Flannery said
of touch’ she is with officers on the ground. that the language of firearms officers
Ian Johnston, president of the Superintendents’ ‘colluding’ on their notes had negative
Association, said that the organisation and the whole of connotations, and it was important
the service was angry the Pay Review Body was set to be for officers to make a full account of
imposed on the service. their own vision of events but that to
He said the link the Home Secretary had made to get a more accurate picture of what
inflation being a reason why police officers had not had happened, officers would need
received the pay deal they expected was ‘hollow’ as other to ‘confer’.
public sector workers were getting a decent deal. Ian Johnston, president of the
He also warned that there could be a problem with Superintendents’ Association, added
recruitment and retention in the police service if the that officers are open to ‘trial by
government failed to address the fair pay issue. media’ during such incidents as
shootings.

Raw deal: the Federation does not trust the government Firearms officers should be supported

8

News

Police are not Tory’s claim to
‘rude’ back police

The public do have a good relationship with the public The public should ‘sympathise’ with police as the
despite reports by the Independent Police Complaints government fail to back them to do their jobs, claims the
Commission that nearly half of complaints relate to ‘neglect shadow Home Secretary at the Conservative Party
of duty or rudeness’. Conference.
Steve Evans, secretary of the Federation’s professional Dominic Grieve hit out at the government for not
standards subcommittee, said the number of complaints supporting police officers when he spoke to delegates at the
against officers was not high considering the number of conference, held in Birmingham last month.
confrontational situations officers have to deal with He said that ‘micro-management’ of the police officers by
every day. central government is the ‘single biggest drain on police
His comments follow a report by the IPCC on the number time, officer morale and public confidence’.
of complaints against the police in England and Wales for Mr Grieve added that police officers don’t sign up to spend
2007/08, which states that last year 28,963 complaint cases half a day processing a single arrest and proposed that the
were recorded by police forces in the year ending March Conservative Party would ‘dramatically cut back the form-
2008, with six out of ten complaints alleging either neglect filling that drives a wedge between the police and public’.
of duty, rudeness and intolerance or The Labour Party has already scrapped the vast stop and
common assault. search forms for officers but Mr Grieve said they would take
Nick Hardwick, chairman of the IPCC, said: “It is it further by removing all the paperwork connected to stop
unacceptable that nearly half of all complaints involve and search.
neglect or rudeness.” He also pledged they would get rid of the bureaucracy
One in eight complaint cases involve an appeal to the police attached to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
watchdog – with 28 percent being upheld, a figure Mr Evans [RIPA] saying he could not see why RIPA authorisation is
believes is not particularly high. needed for police officers to patrol in plain-clothes, watch a
He added: this shows around two thirds of complaints are house or identify a subject.
not substantiated and argues that police officers on the The party has claimed they will cut targets and shave
ground do have a generally positive relationship with excessive checks on forces which led one force to undergo 15
the public. different inspections in a single year.
He said: “We always see people at their worst; we are He told delegates: “Backing officers means trusting them,
arresting them or getting involved in a domestic situation or their professional discretion, and their common sense.”
even stopping them to give them a ticket. When you think
that there are 140,000 officers working 24/7, 365 days a year,
the number of complaints is relatively low.
“When officers get things wrong they should be investigated,
the public have to have confidence but given the nature of
policing the number of complaints is not particularly high.

The police and public do still have a good relationship Dominic Grieve: police should be trusted

Photography:Police Federation
Photography: Fiona Hanson/PA Wire/PA Photos

Dogberry 9

Dogberry

A Tayside dog handler found A police officer in Humberside

himself ‘woofing it' when his Airwave radio was was on patrol on the M62 in the early hours of the
left on all night and his car failed to start. He then morning when she came across two stray dogs
tried to bump start the car down a hill when the running in the eastbound carriageway. She was
power suddenly leapt to life just long enough to quickly able to capture the smaller of the two, and
activate the central locking. As he reached the placed it in the Volvo patrol car as she set off in
bottom of the hill, locked inside, he realised he had determined pursuit of the second. After a
a handheld Airwave radio and promptly called his fruitless chase she returned to the patrol car to see
control room for help. He was eventually rescued the Jack Russell with paws each side the steering
via the dog's emergency escape hatch at the rear of wheel, and the windscreen wipers going madly at
the car. full speed. The humour of the situation rapidly
turned sour when she realised that as well as
Unbeknown to the divisional staff at switching on the wipers her four-footed friend had
also trodden on the central locking button and
Hastings, officers from Sussex Police's locked the keys inside the car. Her blushes were
surveillance unit were on a night duty on their spared when the clever canine accidentally
patch. Shortly after midnight, the control room activated the release and duly unlocked the car
called up for units to attend a report of a for her.
suspicious male armed with a torch, who had been
witnessed looking into a car parked by a local park. A drunken man was taken into
Two divisional units and a dog handler were
assigned to the job and after a description of the custody in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where the
potential offender, the units tracked the man down custody sergeant asked the man how much he had
and he was found in possession of a torch in his had to drink?
rear pocket. “17 pints", replied the male.
When asked to account for his actions the male The sergeant, based in Rawmarsh, then asked, “On
stated that he lived on the other side of the park and a scale of one to ten, one being completely sober and
the car was in fact his. At this point he produced a ten being as drunk as you can be, where would you
set of keys and promptly opened the vehicle. Being say you are?"
efficient, the young officers in attendance duly “Rawmarsh I think", replied the male.
undertook PNC checks and completed the stop
form. The male, obviously fearing that the officers Please send your dogberry entries to:
may not believe his account, then said, “If you want Dogberry@p ol fed .org
to check who I am, you could always ask one of the
officers who are watching the park from my spare
be d room .”

Nick O’Time Colin Whittock

11

Federation

focus

Federation views Paul Ginger, chairman of the Inspectors’ Central Committee can only be fair that inspectors and chief
inspectors know what hours they will be
Breaking ranks working in advance and can plan their
home lives around that. Having their rest
The Police Federation Conference 2008 saw the publication days cancelled with no, or very little
of the Well Being at Work survey for the inspecting ranks. advance warning, should be
The survey raised many issues, some anticipated and some recompensed in some way by the very
not, for example, a lack of recognition and support from early notification as to when that rest day
senior managers. is reallocated.
The Inspectors’ Central Committee have been encouraging The Olympic Games in 2012 are going
individual boards to raise the issues with their own chief to pose some significant challenges for
officer groups, as the survey reports were broken down into the police service as a whole. Resilience,
each forces response. This has raised some interesting results training and reward are issues that will
with some forces already engaging with the branch boards be relevant to all ranks involved. Whilst
to address some of the issues, and they are to be applauded. the other federated ranks have
However, some forces have quite clearly chosen to ignore the protections in place in terms of overtime,
findings with different forces facing different issues. Those etc, these are not available to the
forces will be named and shamed at conference 2009 and we inspecting ranks and there are concerns
believe that the failure to respond to the report speaks over the potential abuses of our
volumes about those chief officer groups. We have also been members during this and similar events.
working with the Superintendents’ Association nationally Work is currently being undertaken to
who have been very supportive. ensure that there is some form of
There are reports of some forces reducing the numbers of recognition for those members of the
inspecting ranks, this at a time when it is proposed in the inspecting ranks involved, in terms of
latest PACE review to delegate yet more powers and being away from home and overtime.
responsibilities from the superintending ranks to the The inspecting ranks are required more
inspecting ranks. The new misconduct regulations coming and more to undertake those roles that
into force at the end of the year also contribute to more until very recent times were carried out
work, in that investigations at the lower levels will be by superintendents. We are aware that
designated to inspectors. We are aware that some forces many of our members now carry out
have not considered this when planning their numbers. silver cadre roles and there are inherent
Increasing workloads, responsibilities and reducing numbers dangers involved in this, particularly
is a recipe for disaster, and this will be raised with politicians around personal liabilities. The
and Ministers at every available opportunity. committee is exploring what protections
The Inspectors’ Central Committee is currently working to are available to ensure that no member is
improve the position of the chief inspecting ranks, as it is put in the position of having to find the
generally accepted that there is insufficient recognition in funds to pay a civil claim against them
the pay packets of those promoted to the rank. It cannot be when carrying out these roles.
right that their salary effectively stands still for two years. Finally, we urge you to make your voices
Whilst regulations allow for chief constables to promote to a heard to ensure that you are not abused
higher pay point, not all do this. We do recognise those in terms of workload or working hours,
chief officers who take advantage of this to demonstrate that and that there are enough of you to
their staff do truly matter to them. provide resilience, leadership and
There are long standing issues around time off in lieu and operational effectiveness.
work is ongoing to clarify the position of the inspecting
ranks, such as pushing for duty rosters to be published. It

12

Feature

View from the chair

Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation, writes
on why he intends to fight for negotiating rights on police
officers’ pay as a Pay Review Body is set to be imposed

“With a stroke of the pen,
a Home Secretary in what

purports to be a Labour
government, intends to

abolish the rights of
140,000 police officers in

England and Wales to
negotiate freely with their

employers, as befits a
democratic society.”

Photography: Anderson Photography

Not since Kenneth Clarke tried to destroy the living Photography: Jeff Moore/Empics Entertainment/Jeff Moore 13
standards of police officers through his ‘independent’
Sheehy Inquiry has a Home Secretary proposed to do Feature
identical damage. But this is exactly what Jacqui Smith has
done with her declared intention to abolish our to appoint a pay review body. It was obvious to the staff
negotiating machinery and replace it with a pay review side negotiators that the Home Secretary was determined
body (PRB), nominated entirely by her. The implications to avoid a situation in which the PNB came to an
for our members are so serious that, unless wiser counsels agreement, or the Police Arbitration Tribunal, awarded us
prevail, we are heading for a confrontation with this an increase above the government’s declared norm. Her
government as serious as the bitter arguments that raged decision calls into question the continuation of the
in the mid 1970s. These were resolved eventually by the current reference of the 2008 pay award to the tribunal.
government handing the dispute to the independent Ms Smith, in her lame attempt to justify her actions,
Edmund-Davies Inquiry, which set new and hugely better relies on the report by Sir Clive Booth of his review on
pay and conditions, and crucially, led to the establishment police pay arrangements. Sir Clive was required by the
of the Police Negotiating Board. government to consider the option of a pay review body
to replace the PNB. He argues that such a body ‘improves
Home Secretary: a bitter dispute over pay could be on the horizon industrial relations’. This view is hardly borne out by the
recent experiences of the teachers and NHS employees,
It is no coincidence that the current Home Secretary has including doctors and dentists, nor is the prison service
declared her intentions shortly after the unhappy saga of showing any signs of harmonious relations brought about
last year’s pay negotiations, and her indefensible decision to by its PRB. Just about the only area in which a review
stage the arbitration award. When it became clear that, in body appears to be benefiting the employees, is the Senior
this year’s negotiations, the staff side was in no mood to toe Salaries Review Body, where pay rates are in the
the government’s restrictive pay policy, and accept a stratosphere, compared with the rest of the public sector.
derisory increase once again, she announced her intention The review bodies do not make the decisions; they make
recommendations to Ministers. There is nothing to
Thousands of officers march as part of pay campaign prevent Ms Smith from treating a generous proposal from
a PRB with the same contempt that she showed for the
arbitration award. This nullifies the view of Sir Clive that
a PRB for the police would have to provide safeguards and
take account of the inability of police officers to take strike
action. Ms Smith will have the last word.
With a stroke of the pen, a Home Secretary in what
purports to be a Labour government, intends to abolish
the rights of 140,000 police officers in England and Wales
to negotiate freely with their employers, as befits a
democratic society. This after all, is the party that swiftly
restored full representation and negotiating rights to the
staff of government communications headquarters
(GCHQ). But then, the unions pay for the party.
It will be interesting to see what happens in Scotland,
where the Nationalist Government cocked a snook at
Whitehall by conceding the 2007 arbitration award in full.
Ms Smith proposes a PRB for the United Kingdom, but
with the flexibility to recommend different approaches in
areas “should the requirements of devolution demand it”.
This means, in practice, that a UK wide pay review could
result in different outcomes in the four countries.
Early this year, our federation members gave a splendid
demonstration of their solidarity and their anger. Now we
are faced with a far greater challenge. It took the Police
Federation 50 years to secure our negotiating rights. This
Labour government intends to take those rights away with
the stroke of a pen. The first task of a Police Pay Review
Body would be to make wholesale changes to pay and
allowances and the entire structure of rewards. The police
PRB, whose members will be chosen by Ms Smith, will
rubber-stamp the proposals emanating from the Home
Office and the Treasury. Our only legal weapon is the
force of persuasion. In the coming months, we have
work to do.

15

Local

focus

Federation views Tony Rayner, chairman of Essex Police Federation dressed identically, who has exactly the
same powers despite only a few
Uniform weekends’ training. The Specials have
behaviour no marking on their uniform to
differentiate them from regulars. They
Across England and Wales, workforce modernisation now drive police vehicles on routine
means one thing: less omnicompetent warranted officers patrol. Incident commanders and
and more single-issue civilians - but not in Essex. In the radio operators have no way of telling
last three years, the Essex establishment has grown by 200 Specials apart from regulars, and in
police posts. On September 8, our police authority agreed the dark even CSOs merge. Specials
to finance a further 600 officers within five years, more should be easily recognisable as such,
than 100 by the end of this financial year. and CSOs ought to be dressed
For a decade, Essex has been through the whole process completely differently to sworn staff,
of efficiency savings and value for money exercises, and just as Tony McNulty indicated at
we have a low government grant. We have the second the Constables’ Central Conference
lowest precept of all the shire counties. However, we still this year.
found £6 million to pay for the first 200 and £27 million The Special Constabulary and CSOs
to pay for the extra 600. are dedicated people and they are a
Why then, is virtually every other force reducing police source of recruits to the regulars.
officer numbers in an effort to balance their books? The Nevertheless, we must ensure that they
public want to see more officers on their streets and they are seen to be different – for their own
are not stupid. They see through the introduction of safety and for the integrity of the
community support officers (CSOs). They can tell the service. Finally, all these new officers
difference, no matter how carefully chief officers dress and Specials will not prevent the
CSOs to look like police officers. seasonal myopia that afflicts police
Essex has another target: an establishment of 1,000 managers. By the time you read this, it
Special Constables by 2010. Regulars do not always look will be around Halloween or bonfire
kindly on Specials. In the past, we have seen them as night - apparently unforeseeable
policing on the cheap and taking away overtime evenings. No doubt rest days are being
opportunities from real police officers. However, recent cancelled all over the country. When
experience is that our members are more interested in will someone spot Christmas Eve
work/life balance than money these days. They do not approaching? ‘Quick, cancel some rest
want their rest days cancelled, or compulsory overtime days because we couldn’t be bothered
after their shift would have ended; they just want to go to plan. Let’s mess up the officers’
home. Specials boosting the numbers on a Saturday lives (again)’.
night, particularly when there will be hundreds of new
regular colleagues to ease the pressure of work, ought to What do you think?
be a good thing. Are you losing police officers in
However, there is a down side and it is part of the same your force?
con job perpetrated on the public by the government. email: [email protected]
Special Constables will never have the training and
experience of regular police officers. It is bizarre that
student officers spend 20 weeks in the classroom, and
weeks more with tutors, only to patrol with someone

16

Feature

The untouchables?

As newspapers carry increasing reports of gang
violence and teenage murders associated with gang
culture, Syreeta Lund speaks to a former gang
member trying to halt the trend through an
innovative project.

How did one man go from being a
gang member, instilling fear into those
he met, to mentoring those who took
the same path in order to steer away
from a life of gang violence and crime?
Former gang member Junior Smart’s
world began to crumble the day he was
arrested. He was sentenced to more
than a decade in prison for his crimes
and his prospects didn’t look good. He
is still on licence so we cannot go into
the details of his crimes but he has
since turned his life around and is
helping to do the same for others.
A mixture of his own tenacity and
support from the St Giles Trust, a
charity who work with ex-prisoners, led
to the 33-year-old setting up the
Southwark Gangs Project, known as the
SOS Project under the umbrella
of the Trust.
Junior concedes that many Police
officers will see the same faces time and
again when it comes to gangs and
related crimes and have a pretty cynical
perspective. But he tells Police that if
there is one thing he has learned from
the project, it is to treat people as
individuals.
“The SOS Project is the first project of
its kind to engage with serious repeat
offenders and prolific offenders. It’s the
first project that is ex-offender led.
When I was in prison this project did
not exist, people thought we would not
make good employees or be able to
mentor people but here I am,” says
Junior, who was involved in a gang
himself back in 2001 and now works
intensively one-to-one with gang

17

Feature

Junior Smart: making a difference involved in the programme. Nationally, provided by Southwark’s
Nacro, the crime reduction charity, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund,
members to give them options to reports that 67 per cent of offenders go part of the Vulnerable Young
change their lives. on to reoffend when they leave prison. Adults programme.
He is the sole main project worker The project is currently targeted at The service supports offenders while
who deals directly with active gang those completing sentences at Kent they are still in prison, helping them
members, and has worked with more Prisons with a Southwark connection reintegrate into the community, often
than 60 ex-offenders in the last two and provides a bespoke service for involving the person’s family within the
years. The ages of his clients range clients. They identify young people process and providing awareness of
between 16 and 30 and they are based already in prison who are involved in how the victims of their crimes are
in the Southwark area and are gang-related crime or at risk of affected as well as their communities.
vulnerable to going back into gang life becoming involved. Funding is They aim to reduce reoffending and
and committing crime. Only five of provide a more positive future for
those have reoffended since getting those involved.
When Junior himself was in prison he
found out about a project called The
Listeners connected to The Samaritans
but run by trained offenders inside the
prison who could speak to other
inmates about some of the issues they
were facing.

“Junior recalls his
experiences:“When you are
in a gang surrounded by
negative people saying,
‘J, you are untouchable, we’ve
never seen anyone like you,
the police will never catch
you’, you start to believe it.
But that phrase rings in my
head quite a lot.”

Photography: Getty Images “I became a listener myself within the
space of a week,” he says. Junior then
Gang life: many members see their peers as 'family' moved on to helping to teach other
inmates to read and write and then
became a class mentor. His sentence
was reduced to ten years on appeal and
he was moved to an open prison where
an opportunity came up to mentor at
Rochester Young
Offenders’ Institution.
“That was strange because I was
travelling from an open prison to a
closed one really. I was talking to them
about issues such as what it would be
like to be a father returning home after
being away and I remember the penny
really dropped with one kid. It felt like
I was making a difference.”

Continues on page 19

Police Federation Member Discounts

Are you a member of the Police Federation?

If so, you’re eligible for over

160 instant discounts.

Log on and register by
visiting www.polfed.org and

clicking on member
discounts or log onto

www.forcesdiscounts-police.co.uk

Illustration: Christopher Burke

19

Feature

Junior meets a client the park and I still made mistakes.” factors as excuses, just contributors to
Junior recalls his experiences: “When taking a different path.
He looked at projects working with ex- you are in a gang surrounded by “Everyone joins [gangs] for different
offenders and found little on offer negative people saying, ‘J, you are reasons. It could have been the need for
so when the St Giles Trust began an untouchable, we’ve never seen anyone financial gain or simply to create fear. I
advisory service at Rochester he said he like you, the police will never catch did have lots of angst and a
simply kept ‘pestering them to believe you’, you start to believe it. But that background of being bullied and need
the project would work’. phrase rings in my head quite a lot.” for approval. For some people it’s
He believes the holistic approach is not Then in his early 20s, Junior had his exclusion, for some people it’s the need
a ‘soft touch’, that the path to changing own reasons for getting drawn into for support.
your life completely is never easy, gang life, things took a down turn “I can relate to young people and
particularly for those who are often when his mother died and he suffered where they are coming from. This is
already vulnerable and have grown up from sickle cell which made him prone one of reasons why the project is quite
with gangs who can be like family to to sickness and slight in build, a target successful but across St Giles there are
them. But what changes one man may for bullies. He does not use these lots of ex-offenders that bring their
not work for another and Junior experiences in, that’s why we are so
reiterates that it is down to the unique – the client is at the centre of
individual making the decision to everything.”
change their own life; his programme He says that there are a number of
can only help empower them and factors, highlighting the ‘four a’s’ which
provide options out of gang life. increase the likelihood of young people
The project provides support, advice being more at risk of becoming
and guidance and works alongside the involved in gang violence: arguments,
Criminal Justice System, Youth alcohol, armourments, such as a knives
Offending Teams, Social Services, or guns and associations with gang
probation and parents. On a practical members.
level this can involve advice and help He adds: “It’s like a fire needed
with housing and jobs etc. different elements to keep burning, like
“To address the issues you have to find oxygen. If someone is drunk carrying a
out why they [the client] joined a gang weapon such as a knife then things can
and finding sustainable change isn’t get exacerbated. You can get called in to
always easy. I have moved back to the protect someone during an argument
same area, for example, and for some and that’s where associations with gang
clients this is catastrophic because of members or friends can draw you in. I
their associations.” do have compassion but you also have
He says he needed support to change to take responsibility for your actions
his life and adds, “It wasn’t a walk in and to turn it around.”

Parents who are worried their kids may be involved in gang violence often need
advice about how to read the signs:
G Gang symbols or tags on schoolbooks, bags, bedroom posters and personal

possessions
G Clothing - sometimes young people wear clothing to align themselves to

specific groups.
G Postcodes and unsafe areas - this is harder to spot but sometimes young people

align themselves to postcodes and have no-go areas.
G Truancy - have you spotted anything or has the school raised any concerns? If

they are not at school, the question is where are they?
G Police - is your child getting into trouble with the police? Be ready to challenge

any signs of unnecessary or unacceptable behaviour. Make a compact and have
consequences if it is broken.
G Other organisations which offer help:
From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation -. www.usatfbmf.com
Eternal Life Support Centre - provides a wide range of support to young people
and parents including one-to-one mentoring, counselling, and life skills
training. www.elscuk.com

20

Feature

National Police Memorial Day

Hundreds of relatives, friends and collegues of fallen
police officers gathered to honour their memory at the
fifth National Police Memorial Day.
The annual event, held at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
on September 28, saw more than 1,500 people come together
to honour the courage of those who died while on duty.

Photography: Anderson Photography



22

Feature

Frontline force

Devon and Cornwall Constabulary plan to return 200
officers to the frontline. Tina Orr Munro reports on a new
training course designed to make the transition easier

The Home Office defines workforce modernisation as The quality needs to be there. They need to be able to do the
‘putting the right person in the right job’. For 200 police job the public wants them to do. We recognise the
officers in Devon and Cornwall, that means leaving their importance of that,” says Supt Iain Grafton, head of the
current roles to return to 24/7 response policing, traffic force’s training college.
patrols and the neighbourhood policing teams. But for To prepare them for the demands of policing the frontline
some of them, the frontline is a dim and distant memory. in the 21st century, the force has developed a Policing Skills
One of the returning officers, for example, has not seen Course. The four-week course will run three times between
frontline service for nearly 18 years, yet by next March he now and the end of March when the transfer of officers is
will be pounding the streets once more. expected to be completed. Three weeks will be dedicated to
The officers come from a wide variety of roles, including law and procedure suitable for both officers and staff. The
major incident rooms, control rooms, project work and final week will concentrate on officer safety, first aid,
strategic development. Many of them are specialists in their Airwave and IT training. The modular course has been
own right. But, despite their wealth of police experience, the designed to take into account half-term holidays, the
force has recognised that it is not simply a case of Christmas break, as well as those staff members who may be
parachuting 200 additional police officers on to the frontline working part-time or on flexible working.
and expecting them to get on with the job. “It appears on paper as a four-week long course, but we fully
“They need to be fit for purpose. It’s not just about quantity. expect officers and staff to not require all the modules. Our
aim was to make the course as flexible as possible. Delegates
Frontline: officers back on the beat will be able to mix and match which modules they attend.
They may do one module on the October course and then
Photography: Devon and Cornwall Police return to do another on the January course,” says
Supt Grafton.
Trainers at Devon and Cornwall have worked to ensure the
course is appropriate to those attending. It is open not only
to officers transferring to the frontline, but also to police
staff members that may be backfilling their roles. It is also
not compulsory, although Supt Grafton, says officers will be
‘strongly advised’ to consider it. He hopes that through
individual interviews with their own line manager and a
learning co-ordinator, officers will identify their own
training needs.
“The interviews are an important part of the process. We
don’t want a sheep-dip approach to training these officers.
The one-to-one interviews will include a questionnaire
which will allow the officer to recognise what training they
may need. Hopefully it will act as a reality check for them.
“It is entirely possible that some won’t need any refresher
training. We may even find that only one person needs a
specific type of training in which case we will offer them
one-to-one tuition. Conversely, we may find that we need to
front-load some of the legal procedures and we can do that
via a lecture hall that seats up to a100.”
Consultation, says Supt Grafton, has played a significant
part in the development of the training programme which

Officers out in the community 23

Feature

was sent to all BCU commanders, all department heads as
well as the staff associations. He says it was a worthwhile
process that led them to include some modules to the
course, but to drop others.
“We wanted as many people as possible to comment on it
and we wanted to make sure it was operationally relevant.
One comment in particular that seemed to reoccur was a
need for training on vulnerable adults and missing people.
There was also a request for critical incident training which
we have now incorporated into the programme.”
However, Supt Grafton says the greatest challenge will be a
cultural one. These officers, who have decades of policing
experience between them, are now being asked to return to
the classroom.
“We have been very careful to use supportive language. For
some, it has been a blow to be moved from their current
roles, another blow to go back to the frontline and now they
are going back to the class room. These are very experienced
officers who have very specialist skills. They are not students,
which is a term that would be very undermining for them,
so we refer to them as delegates who are coming to us for
refresher training. That’s why it is called a policing
skills programme.”
The course was developed specifically to smooth the
transition for officers returning to frontline duties, but Supt
Grafton believes it has a wider purpose.
“Years ago there used to be a refresher course for officers
with more than five years service. Unfortunately, it used to
be known as the backward bobby course, but many people
have asked why there isn’t refresher training for officers.
“Even though it’s been designed for a specific purpose, I
believe this course needs to be perpetual. Once we have
trained those returning to the front line, I’d like to see it run
twice a year in March and September so we can avoid
abstractions over the summer months which are busy times
in Devon and Cornwall. Our target group would be officers
who have between five years and ten years service.”
Supt John Jacobs, who is a representative from the local
Police Federation who is involved the business change for
force’s modernisation agenda has welcomed the
introduction of the course.
“We know it’s going to be difficult for some, but I feel this
course really values the officers going back to the frontline.
They don’t fear the frontline, policing hasn’t changed that
much. What they are worried about is where they are going
to be sent, but also making sure they know the procedural
changes that have taken place over the years. This course will
help. It is a case of re-programming the officers with the
skills they are going to need so they have the confidence to
do the job.”
Sgt Jacobs says his only area of concern is the enormity of
the task the force has set itself as the officers must be trained
and in post by March 31.
“The only issue is whether the force has the capacity to train
a large number of officers, but the force reassures me it is
aware of this so we will have to wait and see.”

24

Feature

Revolving doors

Police officers are used to seeing the same faces
coming through custody suites but the Drugs
Intervention Programme aims to break the cycle of
drug addiction. John Dean reports on the scheme in
North Yorkshire

Every police officer in the land is Probation Service and Drug and Alcohol into the criminal justice system. Police
familiar with the ‘revolving door’ Action Teams (DAATs). are keen to make clear that DIP is not a
syndrome when it comes to drug users. For the drugs workers, the support of soft option and that it does not replace
They arrest a user one day then do the the police is absolutely crucial because police cautions and court appearances.
same the next. Custody officers, in experienced officers are able to identify However, officers can see the benefits of
particular, grow accustomed to the same those offenders who would benefit trying wean users off drugs.
faces time and time again. from help. Insp Angela Carroll, administration of
Now, a national project, the Drugs That has certainly been the case in the justice inspector at Fulford Road, whose
Intervention Programme (DIP), backed biggest of the communities, the city of job includes running the custody suite,
by a range of agencies including the York. Behind the tourist image of said: “Offenders’ involvement with DIP
police, is trying to change that by stunning architecture, medieval streets begins with police officers. In the
guiding users brought into police and the spectacular York Minster, the custody suite, they are able to identify
stations toward experts who can help city has another, seedier side, one which those individuals coming before them
them break the cycle of drug-taking and embroils a significant number of who they believe have drugs issues and
reoffending. people in the abuse of drugs, who they feel are appropriate to be
The project was launched with £447m particularly heroin. referred to the programme.
of government funding in 2003 for three “It is important that custody officers
years, it was extended beyond that “Appearing in court does not can recognise the people they believe
period with the amount invested now necessarily address the would benefit from this approach. What
having topped £600m. long-term issues behind we are trying to do is make a difference
A recently published Home Office their offending. This to these people’s behaviour and break
report Tackling Drugs Changing Lives programme can do that.” the cycle of their offending.
showed that research into 7,727 “Appearing in court does not necessarily
offenders revealed that DIP brought The Fulford Road station in the city is a address the long-term issues behind
about a 26 per cent reduction in drug- major supporter of the DIP their offending. This programme can
related offending. More than half DIP programme, operating two schemes do that.”
participants recorded a drop in when offenders are brought into the Other officers can see the worth in the
offending of 79 per cent. busy custody suite. programme as well Former custody
One of the places where the On the first occasion, the offenders are sergeant Colin Taylor, currently an
programme is proving a success is North offered a voluntary scheme, whereby administrative officer, said: “We have
Yorkshire Police’s area, its results they can opt to take part in DIP, which found that, although the custody officer
reflecting the national figures in the city allows them access to a trained drugs mentions the person to the drug
of York and the towns of Harrogate, worker and a service involving worker, it helps if the drug workers
Scarborough, Skipton, Northallerton counselling and practical support as actually make the approach to the
and Selby. they try to wean themselves off drugs. offender themselves. It is one step
More than 800 drug users have been For someone who does not take the removed from a uniform.
helped since the programme opened in option, and who is brought back for “A lot of the offenders will willingly
2005, with 180 new offenders signed on another offence, involvement becomes volunteer to talk to a drug worker
in the year to May alone. Supporters mandatory, a condition of their entry because they recognise that they have a
include North Yorkshire Police, the problem that is affecting their lives. No
courts, the Prison Service, the National one wants to be a heroin addict.”

25

Feature

And colleague PC John Ayres, a Photography: KJB Photography PC John Ayres at Clifford's Tower with Liz Laughton
response officer at Fulford Road, said: Below: Drugs worker Liz Laughton with client
“We do tend to see the same people and
the intervention gives them a chance of
rehabilitation. If you can catch them
early, and get some intervention and
education in there, you can give them a
chance of breaking the habit.”
According to the government, greater
investment in treatment services and
other support for people with drug
issues has seen the treatment workforce
double to 9,000 since 2002.
Martin Weblin, criminal justice
manager for the Drugs and Alcohol
Team in North Yorkshire and the City
of York, said: “The figures show that
DIP reduces offending and for a
significant number of people the
reduction was 79 per cent.
“It is about getting drug users to engage
with us and we very much appreciate
the role played by the police in
identifying those people who could
benefit. There has been a lot of
co-operation.
“One of the benefits of identifying
people in the custody suite is it helps if
you engage offenders early on. If you
engage them early on, there are
tremendous benefits for society.”
Criminal Justice worker Liz Laughton,
who specialises in dealing with drugs
offenders, agrees. She is one of three
drugs workers who spend a lot of their
time seeing offenders brought into
Fulford Road’s custody suite - offenders
on DIP are spoken to in booths close to
the custody desk itself.
“Being there is useful because drug
users tend always to be dashing around,
rushing from offending to fund their
habit, perhaps through crimes such as
shoplifting, to selling the items to make
the money to buy the drugs and then
taking the drugs. It is a chaotic lifestyle.
“Having them in the custody suite gives
us an opportunity to see them when
they are more attentive. Also, they are
often quite happy to come and talk to
us because it gets them out from the
four walls of a cell,” she says.
Away from getting people off drugs,
another important part of the
programme is approaching potential
employers on behalf of rehabilitated
offenders which, she says, is crucial.

28 £25 BOOK VOUCHER PRIZE CROSSWORD

Crossword POLICE CROSSWORD Alice COMPILED BY BERNARD O’BRIEN

12345 67 8 Clues across Clues Down

9 1. Digital device could cause pain 1. Parasite the French may find
(10) laughter-making (6)
10
6. Large scale Hollywood 2. As orphans remaining in care so
11 12 production (4) the local council ......ignores the
road (9)
13 17 18 19 14 10. Bumping into a person need not
15 19 20 be physical (6,9) 3. Essential equipment for sea-side
16 construction (6,3,5)
11. African Queen? (7)
21 22 23 12. Uttering bad language in a bus 4. Family emblemincorporating two
points and an iron-work .....fire
24 I've to catch (7) basket (7)
13. Credit crunch bringing narrowed
25 26 5. Shackle and fetter (7)
circumstances (10) 7. Chubby little boys the painter
August crossword - £25 Book Voucher 14. Rodent informer (3)
Crossword Winner - Fred Landray, Scarborough 16. Study top part of Euclid for puts wings on (5)
Answers - August Crossword 8. Ship. Guardian of convoys at sea
answer (3)
Across:- 1 Magnetism. 9 Colour. 10 Activator. 11 Bemuse. 17. Turf I'd ride over for possible (8)
12 Disengage. 13 Rabbit. 17 Spy. 19 Article. 20 Extinct. 9. Legally apprehend (3,5,6)
21 Ten. 23 Lead-in. 27 Equipment. 28 Tagged. 29 Silk cake ingredients (5,5) 14. Terrorise - might change to some-
purse. 30 Nurser. 31 Defecting. 21. Mountain around policeman
Down:- 2 Arctic. 3 Nailed. 4 Twangy. 5 Stop-gap. 6 one having a noisy time (9)
Foretaste. 7 Columbine. 8 Orientate. 14 Hailstone. 15 with nothing to make a drink (7) 15. Neat incision has distinctive
Strangers. 16 Scrivener. 17 Set. 18 Yen. 22 Enquire. 24 23. Mal cuddles Rita - it's the nature
Pickle. 25 A mount. 26 Unison. features (5,3)
of their marriage (7) 18. The position of the ruling classes
24. End of astronauts flight of fancy?
(2,5)
(4,4,2,5) 19. Losing rank and status! (7)
25. Lean over the awning (4) 20. Greetings and Farewells in
26. Clue marred - stet. Reconvene for
Hawaii (6)
business proposition (5,5) 22. "The Ship of the Desert" (5)

Send entries to: ‘Crossword’ POLICE, Federation House, Highbury Drive, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7UY Closing date: December 17
Name:

Address:

Please not: Only one entry per person accepted.

DOGBERRY MEMORABILIA
KEYRING

Dogberry is the key to personal security.
Get the ring of confidence for as little as £3.50
+ 95p postage and packing. Don’t be fobbed off!

Name:
Address:

Postcode:
Telephone:

All prices inclusive of VAT
Send your Cheque/Postal Order, made payable to:“The Police Federation (Joint Fund)”

for the attention of: Debbie Crawt, Police Federation,
Federation House, Highbury Drive, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7UY.

29

Judgement

Opi n i on

Judgement Tony Judge with the largest party, there would be a
purge of under-performing senior
The party officers. Actually, New Labour’s record
poopers for getting rid of failing chief and senior
officers is quite impressive, thanks largely
It was bad luck for all three party conferences that this to the introduction, under the Tories, of
annual opportunity to showcase the goodies in store for the fixed-term contracts.
electorate was eclipsed in the media by the global mayhem The interesting part of the speech was
in the financial markets. With banks collapsing overnight, Mr Huhne’s agenda for dealing with
thousands of job-losses, house values crashing, mortgages in crime. He distanced the party from
turmoil, and inflation going through the roof, the only Labour and the Tories by promising to
people likely to be watching our Ministers and wannabes get rid of the “tough on crime” penal
claiming to have the right answers (“if only you will trust policies which have been enacted under
us”) would be those seeking to cut themselves off from Labour, but with few signs of being
harsh reality, whilst waiting for Murder She Wrote to take applied in the courts. For a start, he
their minds off their worries. would scrap prison sentences for first-
The Liberal Democrats kicked off in Bournemouth. The time burglars and muggers. He said that
curtain-raiser featured the MP for Torbay pushing another criminals sentenced to less than six-
delegate headlong over a wall for saying on his blog that the months were highly likely to re-offend
said Honourable Member was for the chop come the next because our prisons are “colleges of
election. As this took place in full view of TV cameras, the crime” Mr Huhne appears to confuse
irate assailant issued an immediate and grovelling public ‘first-time’ burglars and assailants as
apology. The only other MP to attract media attention was ‘first-time’ offenders. No way. The long
the party’s eccentric-in-residence; Lembit Opik, who insisted line of statutory disposals of offenders
on riding his electricity-powered skateboard up and down coming to police notice has
the promenade, apparently to gain support for his bid to be “imprisonment” at the end of a long
the party’s president. avenue of misdemeanours.
The political hacks seemed to be impressed by the speech The Tory Conference took place in
from Chris Huhne, the party’s shadow Home Secretary, a Birmingham. I am impressed by the
title that distinguishes him from the shady current early performance of shadow Home
incumbent of the Home Office, the delectable but presently Secretary Dominic Grieve. He eschews
unelectable Jacqui Smith. Mr Huhne devoted part of his the simplistic populism of his
address to a scathing attack on the efficiency of the predecessor and seems, to quote a
Metropolitan Police. He must have been chatting to the Thatcherism, “a man we can do business
party’s failed would-be Mayor of London, Brian Paddick, with”. The problem with the present-day
who used to be a close friend of Sir Ian Blair until their Tory law and order platform is that they
spectacular fall-out. Mr Huhne seems to think that the Met have signed-up to a set of promises that
is suffering from having many highly promising middle- at first sight look innovative but need to
ranking officers who are being held back by the be revisited by a party that may form
incompetents just above them. He told delegates that it was, the next government, especially the daft
“no good for an ambitious young officer to see dead wood notion of elected chief officers.
prosper above him”. Mr Huhne hinted that if, thanks to a
Lib-Dem landslide at the next election, or a post-poll deal Tony Judge has been involved with the Police
Federation for 50 years. He was the youngest
police officer on the Joint Central Committee
and founded Police magazine in 1968.

30

Letters

Will frustration our fate every year and that way at least we
pay off? would get our pathetic pay rise on time!

I am writing in response to the appeal for Det Sgt Dave Pankhurst, West Mercia
views in the latest issue of Police magazine. Constabulary
My colleagues and I are becoming
increasingly frustrated in relation to the Pay is denting pride
pay issue and it is very tiresome listening
to the same flaccid arguments from the Whilst I only have seven years service, I
government each year. I feel for those never envisaged when I joined the police that
representing the Federation. I have come my pay increase would be questioned. The
to the conclusion that, however much we job we do is worth more than our current pay
believe we're valued by both our employers scales reflect and in a time when we are
and those we serve, the reality is entering a recession our role will become
somewhat different - years of persecution even more important as an increase in crime
of the motorist has turned most right has been predicted .
thinking people against us and successive The police officers job is being de-valued by
government ministers have spouted their the actions of the government and I am slowly
undying support, whilst sticking the becoming disheartened with the job that I
knife in, safe in the knowledge that we do once told people I did with a sense of pride.
not and never will have the support of the
public to strike. Det Con Rob Miles , West Mercia
We do not want to and never will strike or Constabulary
work to rule - maybe we should just accept

Giving pay dispute Roosevelt, “Speak softly, but carry a
some ‘stick’ big stick”. We need that stick

Photography: Joe Atlas, Brand X Pictures It is nice to see that once again the Sergeant, North Yorkshire Police
official side (Home Office) seem intent
ost or email your letters to: Syreeta Lund on, to put it bluntly, shafting police Pay is a joke
15 Langley Road, Surbiton, Surrey, KT6 6LP officers with this year’s pay settlement.
Email: [email protected] The Federation, by its own admittance I would just like you to contact the
We reserve the right to sub-edit letters in this magazine, have stated officers Home Office to say what a good job that
need a double figure settlement to take Jacqui Smith did of keeping inflation
us back to where we were just two down this past year when she kept our
years ago. Now, when you look at what pay award low. I am so grateful to her, in
the RMT have just negotiated for its retrospect, because otherwise we might
members on the London Underground, have been paying more for food, fuel,
you can clearly see the strength that electric, gas, and many of life’s other
having muscle behind your little essentials.
negotiating stance gives. Well done Jacqui. Hope she does exactly
Ever since the Sheehy Inquiry in the same this year, because otherwise
1994, police pay and conditions of inflation may run away with us all.
service have been eroded and the Office I would also like to thank the
of Constable diminished. The government as there are more
Federation wants to keep the moral ‘community punishment’ sentences than
high ground, but what good is this ever, mainly because these idiots have
when dealing with a government and its let the jails get full because they have
civil servants who are completely not built enough of them. Could we not
devoid of morals? Federation members suggest to the powers that be at the
have voted overwhelmingly for it to Home Office that at least some of this
seek full industrial rights, it is about community sentence time should be
time it actively sought them. I spent actually making the criminals do
remember the words of Theodore something, for example making the


Click to View FlipBook Version