Officers need more than ‘warm words’ from Home Secretary

SAJID Javid’s address to the PFEW Annual Conference has been praised – but officers are looking for much more than nice family stories and warm words from their Home Secretary.

Lancashire Police Federation Vice-Chairman Steve Rothwell thought the new Minister came across as being ‘very knowledgeable’ and he’s confident he will do what he can to support the service.

In his keynote address to conference, Mr Javid – whose brother is a police officer – said he ‘got’ the issues policing were facing and that properly resourcing the police was going to be a priority for him.

“It was one of the best ones we’ve heard, and I think for someone who has only been in the job for three weeks he came across very well and was very knowledgeable,” Steve said.

“He made admissions about his skill level in the role at the moment and clearly he had to make some concessions on behalf of the Government.

“He said that times have got to change, and he mentioned he will support us to get those changes through,” he added.

“Of course, the test for him will be, if he’s still in the role next year, is that he’s made a start to getting new resources in place.”

Steve agreed with Mr Javid’s stance that degrees should not be a necessary qualification for new officers.

“I don’t think they are necessary for everybody,” he said.

“Maybe for those wanting to take particular avenues in the police they are useful but not everyone wants that.

“Some join to be a frontline operational cop for as long as they can, and you don’t need a degree for that, so he was quite right in that respect.”

Fatigue and officer welfare set against the backdrop of cuts and austerity was perhaps not surprisingly a hot topic at the Annual Conference, held over two days in Birmingham.

“Looking after officers’ mental health has been overdue and we seem to think that stress in police officers’ lives is relatively new, but it’s not,” Steve said.

“The only new thing is that the powers that be and Chief Officer teams are acknowledging it as an issue and that they’ve managed to secure funding to put that resource back into their staff.”

For Steve’s members, the rest day issue is a key problem.

“It’s a frustration officers across the country will share,” he said. “Every time there’s a major incident or a shooting or a burst of violent crime the media announce that ‘extra’ police are on the streets.

“No, they’re not, they are not extra police. It’s these sorts of incidents where rest days and leave get cancelled, tours of duty get extended and officers spend more time away from their families.

“It’s not right.”