Page 33 - WMPF Federation Oct-Nov2017 Final_Neat

Appearance standards: National chair

announces
College issues national plans to resign

guidance Steve White.

ew national guidance on them for medical reasons or because they
appearance standards have been are prescription sunglasses.”
N put in place prompted by forces It also covers hair, glasses, make-up and
having differing stances on officers with jewellery.
tattoos. Last year, hundreds of officers took part
The new guidance was prompted after in a PFEW survey about the inconsistent
the Police Federation of England and Wales approach to tattoos across all forces. The
(PFEW) called for national standardisation wider issue of variable dress codes was
of appearance standards, rather than local then taken up by Leicestershire Chief
interpretation, which meant some forces Constable Simon Cole through the College’s
had automatic bans on tattoos while Professional Committee, in partnership
others had different policies. with police staff associations and UNISON.
The new guidance has been developed Former PFEW interim national board
by the College of Policing and accepted as member, Chief Inspector Victoria Martin,
best practice and provides both police who led on the work, said: “We need to
officers and staff with clear direction on reflect the communities we serve and the
their appearance, so they present a fact that we are a modern police service.
professional image while also being We had a lot of passionate feedback from National Police Federation chair Steve White
allowed some self-expression. our members on this issue, demonstrating has announced his intention to resign at the
It states: “Independent research that some force dress policies are very end of this year.
conducted by Ipsos Mori on behalf of the out-dated, so we set about gathering the The announcement came as it appeared a
Police Federation of England and Wales in evidence we needed to push for a new vote of no confidence in his leadership was
2016 found that members of the public are national standard. about to be tabled.
largely accepting of police officers and staff “One of the biggest issues we faced is He said: “I have been proud to lead the
with visible tattoos. Visible tattoos are the way some forces view officers and organisation during a period of significant
unacceptable if they could reasonably be potential new recruits with tattoos - some change but feel it is time for the next stage of
interpreted as discriminatory or offensive forces will not accept a person with a our continuing reform to progress under new
and/or indicate attitudes or views tattoo that cannot be covered by uniform. leadership.
inconsistent with the College of Policing’s “This approach is significantly “I am proud of what we have been able to
Code of Ethics and the Standards of restricting the pool of potential talent, as achieve for the benefit of those that are at
Professional Behaviour. one in five 18 to 29-year-olds has a tattoo. the heart of everything we do, our members.
“Careful consideration will be given by In 30 to 39-year-olds it’s one in four, while This includes new financial governance,
the organisation to any tattoo on the neck, according to our survey 48 per cent of improved engagement with Government and
face or hands in deciding if it is acceptable. officers have a tattoo. Just as important is the strengthening of relationships with
This includes considering the size, nature the fact that it shouldn’t be mandatory for stakeholders including the National Police
and prominence of the tattoo. Keep this officers with tattoos to wear long-sleeved Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), College of Policing and
guidance in mind when deciding whether tops, particularly during the summer when HMIC who now use our evidence base to help
to have such a tattoo.” they have to wear a lot of kit. It is a health guide national policies and processes.”
The new guidance also covers and safety issue.” The chair has led the Police Federation
sunglasses, telling officers and staff to She added: “All force policy should be since May 2014 when he and fellow
“Remove your sunglasses when talking to a based on national guidance – to step away candidate Will Riches received an equal
member of the public and inside a building from that guidance, there must be more number of votes and the ultimate decision
unless it is necessary to continue wearing justification than simple intolerance.” was made on the toss of a coin. He will step
down before the end of the year with
members of the Interim National Board (INB)
electing a successor from their midst in
November.
This will mean that one of the favourites
to take over as chair will not be allowed to be
considered. John Apter, currently chair at
Hampshire Police Federation and widely
respected for his work on officer assaults, is
not a member of the INB and therefore
cannot stand for election.
Updated Police Federation regulations,
which will allow the final stages of the
Federation’s reform agenda to go ahead and
change election procedures, will be laid
before Parliament on 31 December.
www.westmidspolfed.com federation October/November 2017 33