Page 5 - Here For You 2013

These findings were further backed up when a Freedom of Information request led to figures being released showing that the number of sick days taken off by our officers due to mental health illness had increased by 20 per cent in the past year. We have been working closely with the Force’s Health and Safety Committee to address our concerns at a strategic level, and the Force is now developing supervisory training incorporating findings from our studies while we plan our third yearly survey. Meanwhile, another cause of stress has been the increase in debt problems, perhaps as officers struggle to make ends meet while their pay is hit by budget cuts, and while living costs have continued to increase. Working with the Force, we have set up Money Mondays giving members the chance to come to the office and talk to our trained reps or our Money Expert, Caroline Harris, who offers free consultations. We have also launched a budget planner on our website – www. westmidspolfed.com/money-matters - to give members easy access to support. Alongside these projects, the day to day work has continued. We carried out a lot of work around the introduction of compulsory fitness tests in September, supported officers deployed to the G8 summit in Northern Ireland and also liaised with those involved in policing EDL protests while also attending national Federation meetings, making sure our members’ voices were heard, and also in Force meetings across the full spectrum of policing work. Away from operational policing, many of our members also took part in the consultation programme for the Independent Review of the Police Federation of England and Wales over the summer of 2013. The review team’s findings were published in January this year and included 36 recommendations for reforming and improving the Federation. West Midlands Police Federation has taken a very positive approach to the report and, while accepting the review needs to be discussed by the membership at the annual conference in Bournemouth in May, is keen to see progress on the reform programme, and has already begun work to implement some of the recommendations; this document being just one example of that work to improve communication and accountability within the Federation. As a final note, I would like to thank everyone involved in the organisation of the Chief Constable’s annual charity dinner organised in conjunction with West Midlands Police Federation. The 2013 dinner raised a total of £10,000 for the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) and will help treat injured servicemen and women. Chris Jones Secretary West Midlands Police Federation