Page 4 - WMPF Federation Feb-Mar 2020-flip_Neat

Chair’s introduction

Representing and

supporting officers

My primary objective, in a nutshell, is to we also need the Force to consider some of
represent and support Federation members the issues that are affecting officer
in all that I do, and that is an objective retention.
shared by all our branch officials, workplace For example, we all know officer morale
representatives and staff. has been low due to the effects of the
While we will keep this at the heart of all funding cuts, with fewer and fewer officers
our activities, we are also putting the seemingly expected to do more and more
emphasis on three main streams of work work resulting in record levels of officers
– issues around officer recruitment and reporting stress and mental ill-health. But
retention with the clear link to pay and what is being done to tackle this?
conditions, assaults and officer safety and We are hearing stories of young in
the wellbeing of officers. service officers transferring to other forces
In terms of officer recruitment and almost as soon as they come out of their
retention, we are, to a certain extent, in the training period. This represents a wasted
hands of both the Government and the investment in my opinion. Do we know why
Force. this is happening? And how can we tackle
We have concerns over whether the this?
Force will be able to recruit the number of We have started 2020 as we mean to go
new officers it has been allocated under the on, raising a number of issues of concern at
By Jon Nott, chair of West Midlands Police first year of the Government’s three-year the first Force assaults meeting of the year
Federation plan to boost officer numbers nationwide by (see Page 12) and we welcome the Force’s
20,000. response; a sign that officer wellbeing is
he start of any new year gives us all a It has a target of taking on 366 and, being taken very seriously at chief officer
chance to set ourselves a few while the allocation, which was the second level.
Tobjectives and, of course, this has highest in the country behind only the Met, This then links in with the wider issue of
been particularly important for me this year was welcomed it will not take the Force back officer wellbeing. Officers are currently
since I am only a few months into my role as to the establishment figures pre-budget under enormous pressure with the reduction
chair of West Midlands Police Federation. cuts. in numbers meaning there are less to
Moving into my full-time Federation The new recruits will eventually help respond to the public demand and we also
position was delayed a little as, at the time officers currently struggling with a high have investigators carrying a far bigger
of taking on this role, I was tied up in court workload that has taken its toll on them, but workload. This has an effect on both their
as a result of a criminal case I was involved in this is not going to happen overnight and physical and emotional health, and we will
with my previous post. throughout the three years that we are continue to push the Force to properly
So, with that now concluded, I have taking on these new officers we will, of support officers who are both off work and
welcomed the opportunity to start to get course, still be losing current officers those who have remained at work.
fully to grips with the responsibilities through retirement, resignation, dismissal or Before signing off, I would just like to
involved with being the Federation chair. transferral to another force. give an assurance that we are monitoring
I had already noticed that my diary had We need the Government to devise a developments around police pensions and
quickly filled up with various meetings Force- long-term funding strategy that allows will be pushing the Federation’s National
wide and also with Federation training forces to properly plan (see Page 6) and Board to ensure the best possible outcome
courses and meetings, both regionally and recruit to respond to identified demand but for all officers.
the meetings I attend and, for that reason, I “ We have started 2020 as we mean to go on,
nationally.

But, for me, the most important
meetings have been with Federation
raising a number of issues of concern at the
members. Face to face contact and
telephone conversations with members are
first Force assaults meeting of the year and
critical if I am to represent your views at all
want to get out around the Force as much as
possible to encourage officers to talk to me, officer wellbeing is being taken very
share their concerns and suggest areas
where they feel the Federation could help. seriously at chief officer level.

04 federation February/March 2020 www.polfed.org/westmids
we welcome the Force’s response; a sign that “