Page 7 - Federation magazine: October / November 2016

“The need to transition to
new operating
arrangements is driven
both by a desire to
create a more modern
organisation able to
focus on prevention but
also to address a
substantial reduction in
staffing which makes
current operating
arrangements
unsustainable.
Chief Constable Dave Thompson
move quickly to make suitable
arrangements.”
In his blog, Mr Thompson explained:
“While we have not finalised the precise
implementation across all projects, we are
running an event on 29 September to agree
this. Deferral is not the right option. It does
not solve the resilience issues.
“We will keep the discussion going as
we finalise the implementation plan. There
is, of course, an awful lot still to do and as
always there is the usual final few months
where we are tightening up the end
product.”
Referring to recent temporary
recruitments and to a new phase of
recruitment, he said: “It is important to
note this will not increase the number of
police officer posts in the Force, we are able
instead to stabilise the staffing in
operational functions. Our establishment
will settle at around 6,800 officers (where
we generally are now) for the next two
years.”
And he added: “November is starting off
by helping us organise ourselves better for
the future. Change will not end then. The
next phases of WMP2020 will be how we
work very differently.”
While the transition planning continues,
officers are still subject to an annual leave
embargo for the Christmas period and this
is expected to stay in place until the middle
of October at the earliest. Since the
www.westmidspolfed.com
“ Force to
exchange of letters between the
Federation and the Chief, it has also
become apparent that the total number
of officers allocated to fulfil the response
function will not be in place on Day 1
with many gaps at all ranks.
“This will have an adverse effect on
officers making it difficult to book leave,
obtain adequate refreshment breaks and
meet the demand of the public with very
little in place to reduce the workload,”
says Steve.
“Supervisors have yet to be told who
is in their teams so they can’t start to
make plans for the change to TS1. What is
apparent is that many officers who have
been posted to roles within the TS1 build
for one reason or another will not be
available to fulfil that function on Day 1.
For this reason, it is still our strongly held West Midlands Police Federation
view that the implementation date
should be delayed until the start of the
New Year.”
The Federation will be taking part in
the day long review of the elements of
Transition Stage 1, an event being chaired
by the Chef Constable on 29 September.
federation October/November 2016 07
consider
allowing officers
to wear burkas
Practical considerations need to be
taken into account if officers and staff
are to be permitted to wear a burka
while carrying out their duties,
according to Tom Cuddeford, interim
chairman of West Midlands Police
Federation.
Tom was speaking after the Chief
Constable said the matter would be
discussed as part of efforts to increase
the number of black and minority ethnic
people employed by the Force.
“It is essential that forces are
representative of the communities they
serve,” says Tom, “Some forces are
already employing women who wear
the hijab and others employ Sikh men
who wear a turban. However, there are
some practical matters that need to be
considered. All police uniforms need to
be fit for purpose and not get in the way
of an officer, or a member of staff,
carrying out their duties. There are also
health and safety issues to take into
account.”
Federation reps
provide conference
support
representatives will be on hand to offer
advice and support to members
working on Operation Pelkin during
the Conservative Party conference next
month.
While the conference runs from 2
to 5 October at the ICC, officers will be
deployed from 30 September until the
end of the event.
The Federation’s Teapot 1 van will
be available at its usual location near
the conference centre providing
refreshments with the Force providing
a police staff driver.
Federation reps will be available at
Teapot 1 24/7.
“This is a major event in the
region,” says Tom Cuddeford, interim
chairman of West Midlands Police
Federation, “The policing and security
operation around the Tory Party
conference has been many months in
the planning and the Federation has
been part of that. We will now make
sure we are on hand to offer not just
refreshments but also advice and
support should officers have any
concerns.”