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Police Federation

Police Federation loses High Court case against home secretary for staging
2008-06-10 13:50:00
Home secretary Jacqui Smith's decision to stage the latest police pay rise was lawful, the High Court ruled today. The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, took Smith to court in February after she i
Police and Prison Officers voice concerns over public safety.
2008-06-03 12:14:00
The Prison Population has reached an all time high of 83,000 and concern is again being levelled at the Government for the lack of investment in the prison system over the last ten years.Colin Moses, National Chairman of the POA said; ?There has been a significant lack of investment in our prisons for many years and the problems are stacking up. We currently have serious staff shortfalls throughout the service and as new places become available they are immediately filled, this is placing the staff and prisoners alike under tremendous pressure. I often ask myself, how many custodial warrants are outstanding because as a prison place is available a prisoner appears. So are the public really safe or are the police only executing warrants dependant on prison and police cell spaces? We are aware that the Ministry of Justice have instructed all Governors to send prisoners to open prisons. It is believed that all open prisons will be operating at around 95% capacity. To the POA that can o...
Jan Berry slaps down Jacqui Smith - Police Federation Conference.
2008-05-21 18:02:00
Ever since I started blogging I have followed the speeches and press releases from the Police Federation. The one thing that always makes them interesting is the honest and straightforward opinion of their Chairman for the last six years: Jan Berry. Jan steps down as Chairman on completion of the police conference being held in Bournemouth this week. I will miss reading Jan's press releases and I can only hope that whoever steps into well worn shoes does the job to Jan's high standards. Jan did not disappoint when she made her key note speech at the conference today - She stuck the boot into Jacqui Smith good and hard:At my first conference, I introduced the opportunity to ask questions of the Home Secretary. Although some Home Secretaries have subsequently regretted it – the session has been an important and healthy exchange of views. Home Secretary - I admire your courage. You didn’t have to come here today and I know conference will treat your office with the respect it war...
Police Federation grills home secretary on pensions and pay
2008-05-21 17:21:00
Home secretary Jacqui Smith has attempted to defuse the row over police pensions by offering changes to the service's scheme. Officers will now get higher lump sums on retiring, although this will mean lower pension paymen
Police majority vote to lobby for full industrial rights.
2008-05-20 17:35:00
Press release from the Police Federation:20 May 2008This afternoon in the Opening Speech to conference (available on the website) Jan Berry announced the results of the Police Federation/Ipsos MORI poll of the membership on binding arbitration and full industrial rights.They are:A total of 60,572 responses were received.Q1. Do you think decisions made by the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal should or should not be binding on the Government?Yes, should be binding = 93%No, should not be binding = 3%No opinion/don't know/not stated = 4%Q2. In the current absence of binding arbitration on the Government, do you wish the Police Federation of England and Wales to start to lobby for a change in legislation to allow police officers full industrial rights?Yes = 86%No = 11%No opinion/don't know/not stated = 3%Chairman of the Police Federation, Jan Berry says:" I do not see this as a vote for strike action; it's a vote for binding independent arbitration." This is a wake up call for ...
50% of "On the spot" fines are not being paid.
2008-05-19 10:40:00
The Daily Mail are reporting that a Freedom of information request uncovered the fact that 50 per cent of "On the spot" fines (Penalty Notices for Disorder) are going unpaid. Some areas are reporting a payment rate of only 32 per cent. With an estimated 95,000 fines going unpaid the courts are struggling to recover the outstanding £7.7million. Jan Berry, chairman of the Police Federation, said:?The government must restrict the use of Penalty Notices for Disorder to the most minor of offences. The reality is they don?t deter crime and a lot are never paid. ?It?s high time we were allowed to get back to some common sense policing, using our discretion, and putting these persistent offenders before the courts. Otherwise they are just laughing in the face of the law and feel confident to go on to bigger and more serious criminal activity.? Of course the main flaw in the "brilliant idea" is that yobs being yobs, they tend to give false identities when they are being fined. Who'd have th...
Five years for gun crime - What does mandatory mean?
2008-03-25 20:23:00
Chief Constable Hogan-Howe has criticised judges for failing to impose mandatory five year sentences in gun crime cases. When I was in the armed forces, mandatory meant, well err, mandatory. It didn't mean "If you feel like it".Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales says:"Despite the year on year increase in gun crime and the legislation introduced in 2003 allowing judges to give mandatory five year sentences, lenient decisions by the courts are failing to protect society from the menace of firearms.Chief Constable Hogan-Howe is right to highlight this issue because not only are judges playing with the safety of the public, but some of the ludicrous sentences are hugely demoralising for front line officers doing their very best to protect the communities they serve.Understandably there are a few exceptions when circumstances dictate it is not suitable to hand out the mandatory five year sentences; but they should be the exception not the rule as they appe...
Police Federation - Poll for full industrial action rights.
2008-03-17 16:31:00
The Police Federation of England and Wales are not going to let Jacqui Smith get away with welching on their pay arbitration. She may think it's over, but the Federation have other ideas. 140,000 Police Officers are to be polled on whether they wish the Federation to begin to lobby for full industrial rights for them.The following is taken from a Federation press release :Two questions will appear on the poll, which will be undertaken by independent research company Ipsos MORI:1.Do you think the decision of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal should be binding on the government? 2.In the absence of binding arbitration on the government, do you wish the Police Federation of England and Wales to start to lobby for a change in legislation to allow police officers full industrial rights?The survey will be conducted both online and via paper questionnaires. Police Federation members will be able to access the online survey via www.polfed.org and Local Federation Branch Boards wi...
Police Federation respond to Labour gimmick number 25.
2008-02-23 13:27:00
No 25 on the list of Labour gimmicks:Responding to the launch today of the Government?s plan to tackle violent action, Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:?Police officers remain dedicated to tackling violent crime and violent offenders, but I fear that much of today?s announcement is nothing more than sticking plaster solutions that do nothing to actually address the root of the problem, and the growing lawlessness and loutish behaviour we are experiencing on the streets. ?We welcome the presumption to prosecute those who are found carrying a knife, and agree there needs to be tougher sentences to deter anyone from considering such action. This is certainly better than the option being considered by the government just a year ago which would have seen those carrying knives merely getting a fixed penalty notice and not the possibility of a custodial sentence. We also congratulate Sarah Payne for her persistence to ensure changes to the law to prot...
The Police Federation respond to the Flanagan Report.
2008-02-08 17:02:00
The following is a press release from the Chairman of the Police Federation, Jan Berry, in response to the publishing of the Flanagan Report:"There is much in the report to be welcomed, as collectively many of the recommendations have the potential to release significant numbers of police officers back onto the street, and return some healthy common sense into policing."The recommendations would also help restore police officers' discretion; something this government has been eroding through the imposition of nationally set targets."Whilst we must be accountable for our actions, recommendations to overhaul crime recording, stop and account, RIPA and rationalise stop and search bureaucracy is to be applauded."Cutting central targets will also allow police officers to deliver the type of policing that local communities want, and will eliminate the ridiculous arrests that officers are often compelled to make to satisfy Home Office diktats."Rationalising the governance process will als...
Police Federation - High Court challenge over pay.
2008-02-04 19:17:00
The following is a press release from the Police Federation:Police Federation given permission to launch High Court challenge on pay decision 04.02.08 This afternoon the Police Federation has been successful and been granted permission to launch a High Court challenge to a government decision not to honour in full the decision of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal. A judge said he had "no hesitation" in ruling there was an arguable case to apply for judicial review. We have issued the following statement to the media: Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says: "This is a positive step for the 140,000 police officers across England and Wales in their fight for fair pay. The fact that our application for a judicial review has been successful adds weight to what we have been saying all along ? that the Home Secretary betrayed police officers by failing to honour the decision of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal." The two-day hearing will...
Jan Berry comments on the fall in police numbers.
2008-01-31 22:47:00
In my earlier post about yesterday's PMQs, I asked readers to listen to Gordon Brown and then to asks themselves if they believed the answers he gave. For instance he said that we have more police officers than ever before. With that in mind please read the following:Reacting to publication of the police service strength report published today, Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:?We are bitterly disappointed that, despite assurances of record numbers, we saw a fall of 647 police officers in England and Wales during the six months to September 2007.This at a time when ring fenced funding for CSO?s was extended for another year, and we saw an 80% increase in CSOs between October 2006 and September 2007. We had predicted this, but take no pleasure being proved right.?However the real kick in the stomach comes from our chief officers, who instead of demanding no decline in police officer numbers, trumpet an increase in police personnel. They may be ...
Jan Berry's police rally speech: Gordon Brown's price.
2008-01-26 21:31:00
I always like to visit the Police Federation website every so often to view their press releases. Today I came across Jan Berry's (the chairman of the Police Federation) speech at the police march and rally last week. Overall the speech was up to Jan's usual high standard of emotive communication. There was however, one section that I found moving and particularly poignant and I would like to share it with you:What after all did you (Gordon Brown) consider to be the fair political price for your decision.... A Home Secretary hung out to dry, defending an untenable position? A Cabinet embarrassed by the inconsistency of public sector pay and how the friends of the PM seem to get the best deals? These are significant, but they, like you Prime Minister are political, and no doubt you will overcome them. So let me tell you what you should consider to be the real ?price? ? You have broken your word to the police service. You have irrevocably undermined the established structure and pro...
Today: Police march and rally in London for fair pay.
2008-01-23 10:43:00
The Police Federation are taking part in a march and a rally today. An estimated 15,000 officers are thought to be taking part in a one hour march from Park Lane to the Home office where petitions will be handed in by one representative from every force in England and Wales. I wish them good luck and hope that the media give this rally the publicity it deserves. If Jacqui Smith was hoping this was going die down, then I think she is very mistaken.The news that police support staff and PCSOs have accepted a 2.5% pay deal will no doubt further infuriate front line police officers. The reason police staff and PCSOs got a better pay deal than police officers? - Their pay was negotiated by the union Unison. It seems clear that if you have the ability to strike, you stand a better chance of fair pay. No wonder the police federation are balloting members on the ability to take industrial action:From the Police federeation website:Why is the Police Federation voting on whether officers want...
Police Federation angered by pay rise for support staff and PCSOs
2008-01-18 16:58:00
Police support staff and police community support officers (PCSOs) have accepted a 2.5% pay deal today ? 0.6% above that offered to police officers. The 70,000 police support staff and 11,500 PCS
Police get shafted - If you can strike, you can get fair pay.
2008-01-18 16:41:00
The news that police support staff and PCSOs have accepted a 2.5% pay deal today will no doubt further infuriate front line police officers. The reason police staff and PCSOs got a better pay deal than police officers? - Their pay was negotiated by the union Unison. It seems clear that if you have the ability to strike, you stand a better chance of fair pay. No wonder the police federation are balloting members on the ability to take industrial action:From the Police Federation Website:Why is the Police Federation voting on whether officers want the right to strike? It is illegal for police officers to take any form of industrial action. For nearly a century that is what has set officers apart from all other workers in the public sector. Many officers have said if the government wish to treat us like all other workers, then perhaps we should have the same employment rights. It was therefore decided that the Police Federation will hold a ballot of the 140,000 members to ask the quest...
Teachers get above inflation (CPI) three year pay deal.
2008-01-15 18:08:00
Teachers are to receive an above inflation three year pay deal. 2.45% in the first year and 2.3% for the following two years. How can this have happened? Gordon Brown has been saying that he would not risk the economy by awarding this level of pay rise in the public sector. Many teachers are not at all happy with the pay deal, but I'm damned sure the police federation are spitting tacks over the news seeing as their members received 1.9%, despite arbitration setting the level at 2.5%.Of course the fact that the government are using the CPI (2.1%) as a measure of inflation means that everyone receiving anything bellow 4.3% (RPI) is in reality worse off this year than last year. RPI takes into account rent and mortgages, the CPI does not. I assume that all public sector workers live in some kind of dwelling which they have to pay for. The government however, believe the RPI is suitable for working out how much MP's allowances should be increased by.One rule for them, and one rule fo...
A second Chief Constable tells Jacqui Smith to Shove her Christmas message.
2007-12-22 19:28:00
Cambridgeshire's Chief Constable, Julie Spence, today joined the chief of Essex Police, Roger Baker, by refusing to pass on Jacqui Smith's Christmas message to her officers.A spokesman said:?We received an eight-paragraph letter sent to all forces thanking them for their work in 2007, praising them for their bravery and dedication and wishing them a happy Christmas. ?The letter arrived two days after news of the pay dispute emerged. ?Normally, the letter would be published on our force website but the chief constable felt it would be inappropriate to do that this year.?Roger Baker said: ?While I have been happy to publish this in previous years, I feel that this year her message is not consistent with the decision she has taken over police officers? pay.?I like it:Merry Christmas and thanks for all your hard work. In way of gratitude Gordon and I have decided not to honour that silly little pay arbitration thingy. I'm sure you won't mind.Happy New Year.HugsJacqui XXX.
Chief Constables attack dishonourable Jacqui Smith.
2007-12-15 10:04:00
Some of the UK's top police chiefs have spoken out against the government?s decision not to honour the police pay arbitration. The Police Federation have called for the Home Secretary to resign, and they are to ballot their members on the right to strike. It's good to see 160 MPs are backing the police in their call for fair pay by calling on the government to reconsider its shameful decision.The Chief Constables from Kent, North Wales, Devon & Cornwall and Cumbria have used words like: Cheated, mean, unnecessary, shabby, dishonourable and untrustworthy to describe the government?s behaviour. In fact the head copper in Cumbria, Craig Mackey refused to pass on Jacqui Smiths Christmas message to his officers. Personally I can't believe the cheeky cow has the neck to wish the police a merry Christmas. Talk about rubbing salt into the wound.This is a showdown that will end in tears. Jacqui Smith will probably carry the can, but I have no doubt that she is only following Gordon Br...
Three months of misery and cock-ups for Gordon Brown. Continued.
2007-12-14 20:00:00
Click on the dates to read the story.25/09/07D'oh! - Greatest threat since WW2 - The sun publish an excellent graphic depicting Gordon Brown giving the British people the two fingered salute over the EU Treaty.28/09/07 D'oh! - The number of prisoners in England and Wales has reached a record high.Official figures suggest there were 81,135 people locked up in jails and in police stations.06/10/07 D'oh! - According to Nick Robinson the BBC's political editor, Gordon Brown is to announce very shortly that he WILL NOT be calling an Autumn Election.07/10/07D'oh! - Gordon Brown's week is just not getting any better. It turns out that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Robert Mugabe is entitled to attend a Europe-Africa summit.09/10/07D'oh! - European Scrutiny Committee report that they are not confident that Gordon Brown's EU Treaty red lines cannot be eroded over time.09/10/07D'oh! - Alistair Darling's Pre Budget Report receives massive criticism for stealing Tory po...
UK police officers call on Home Secretary to resign
2007-12-13 16:49:00
The following is a press release from the Police Federation:UK police officers call on Home Secretary to resign 12.12.07 At an emergency meeting held today (12th December) about the police pay crisis, the staff associations representing the UK's 170,000 police officers have called for Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, to resign. This followed a vote of no confidence at the meeting in Jacqui Smith's ability to deal fairly with police pay and conditions. The staff associations made clear that police officers had lost trust and faith in her. Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation, and Chairman of the Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board, says:"Police officers across the United Kingdom have delivered a clear message to the Prime Minister. We no longer have any trust or faith in the abilities of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith dealing with our pay and conditions and she must go. "This is not just about money; it is about treating police officers fairly and honouring the decis...
Police Federation promise to fight Jacqui Smith over pay.
2007-12-06 22:55:00
Oh dear, Jackie Smith has really gone and put her foot in it. The Police Federation gave Jacqui the chance to change her mind about not honouring their pay arbitration. She failed to take that chance. If the police were angry when they saw the Home Secretary's plans in a leaked letter to the Chancellor, they are bloody incandescent now it has been officially confirmed. This is the Police Federation's response:Police Federation pursuing a legal challenge 06.12.07Following the official announcement this afternoon by the Home Secretary that she will ratify the decision of the Police Arbitration Tribunal, but with effect from 1st December and not 1st September, giving an increase of just 1.9%, Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:"Despite an eleventh hour appeal to the Home Secretary to change her mind on this, she has today confirmed to the 140,000 officers in England and Wales exactly what the government thinks of them. "The way my colleagues are b...
Donorgate - Do not bite the hand that could be arresting you.
2007-12-06 02:30:00
Apparently a leaked letter from Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, to the Chancellor Alistair Darling has got the police gnawing on their truncheons. It seems Jacqui is not keen to bide by the judgement of the Arbitration for the latest police pay award. The following is a press release from the Police Federation of England and Wales:A truly dishonourable move by the Home Secretary, a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer exposes the absolute contempt held for policing by the Home Office and this government. The letter which on the surface appears to ratify the pay arbitration finding, goes on to deliver the final blow to police officers by asking the Chancellor to support her in a decision that will not only pay police a lower than inflation award but effectively cut police officers pay for 2007.Jan Berry, Chairman, Police Federation of England and Wales: "This is contemptuous behaviour by the Home Secretary, and has rightly angered the 140,000 police officers in England and Wales wh...
Crime Targets - Points do not mean prizes, just dodgy crime figures.
2007-11-12 08:24:00
Have any of you ever heard of targets being praised by those people that have to meet them? I haven't, and today it's the police's turn to complain about them. Alan Gordon, vice-chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales describes how targets are distorting the recording of crime: "One officer told us that he was actually investigating a paedophile ring which he considered to be still active, but at that time the force were under considerable pressure to reduce crime in a particular area such as burglary. "If he'd arrested the paedophiles it would still have only been one tick in the box, and therefore no more importance was attached to that than actually investigating burglaries. "I think that was a very harsh indication of how policing activity has been skewed and directed in the wrong way by the target regime which has been imposed on us."Detective Will Whale, from Southampton CID, said: "The administration in the police is huge. Life from Mars is great, the ...
Pro Referendum Rally London - The report.
2007-10-29 12:26:00
I'm back from the Rally. If it wasn't for getting a chance to look around Westminster Abbey and meeting some great people in St Stephens Tavern it would have been a wasted journey. The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the demonstration point was an open topped bus that seemed to have got lost on its way to a Monster Raving Loony Party Rally. If that wasn't bad enough, within ten minutes of being there I got leafleted by the bloody BNP. That leaflet found its way into the first available bin. A generous estimate of the size of the crowd would be over a thousand, but I was expecting several thousand given the support that seemed to have been shown on the web.That said the speeches would have been worth listening to, if only the crowd had been larger and not so full of people who were obviously nuttier than squirrel sh*t. What was most disappointing was the lack of media coverage. After all the fuss The Sun have made about the referendum, I would have expected them to have ru...
Police Officers consider strike action?
2007-09-18 11:12:00
According to Jon Gaunt of The Sun there are mutterings of strike action amongst many police officers because they are so demoralised by the state of the service and the governments refusal to honour their pay deal. Last night's Panorama showed us in no uncertain terms how much of our police officer's time is being wasted on red tape and poor management. If you missed last night's Panorama you can watch it now by clicking HERE. The program followed fellow Blogger PC Stuart Davidson, who wrote his blog under the pseudonym of PC David Copperfield. Stuart is so disheartened by the job he is doing here in the UK that he is joining the Canadian Police. He told Panorama that 50 per cent of his job is clerical, 40 per cent social work and ten per cent catching criminals.Responding to the Interim Review of Policing published today by Sir Ronnie Flanagan, Jan Berry, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales says: "For years we have been calling for effective and integrat...
John Reid gets both barrels from Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federati
2007-06-01 15:54:00
The following is taken from the Police Federation Annual Conference keynote speech by Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, to the Home Secretary. And Jan is not happy: Home Secretary, may I thank you once again for coming to what is your second and final conference, and for agreeing to answer questions. We always encourage politicians to answer police officers? questions. I should point out, any mention of cash or honours here today will be strictly about our cash, and our honour.They tell me the view is better from the backbenches, so I?m sure you will have plenty of time to reflect on decisions you have ? and critically haven?t ? made over the course of what?s been a very busy year. Despite all the challenges we have faced, police officers have done what they always do. They?ve given it 110 percent. The reaction to the terrible murders in Ipswich was a first class example of forces sharing skills, knowledge, equipment and experience.For years we?ve po...
£80 Fixed Penalty Notice - I'm off to do a bit of shoplifting!
2007-05-19 21:00:00
I'm off out to do a bit of shoplifting, apparently you only get an £80 fine and you don't even get a criminal record! Thanks to the introduction of fixed penalty notices, if I nick anything worth more than £80, I'm going to make a profit even if I get caught now and then. What's even better, I can do it again and again and again without an official mark against my character, never mind going to prison, bonus or what!Alan Gordon, vice-chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says: "Let?s look at the reality of fixed penalty notices. Currently a third go unpaid and those who receive them get no criminal conviction. The Sentencing Advisory Panel suggestion that shoplifters could avoid jail no matter how many times they commit the offence is a disgrace. It sends out the wrong message at a time when the police and the public alike are sick to death of a criminal justice system which is far too lenient on those who break the law. The term shoplifting is misleading. It i...
The Police Federation of England and Wales say: Cannabis is the number one
2007-04-07 14:20:00
This is what Jan Berry, Chairman of The Police Federation of England and Wales has to say about the reclassification of Cannabis: ?Cannabis is a problematic drug not least because of growing evidence of links to psychotic illness in young people and contemporary attitudes to the drug as being ?soft?.We expressed our concern over a year ago over on whether the correct decision had been made to reclassify the drug from a Class B to a Class C, as we felt it would create confusion among the public on the legality of possession.This has already presented problems for police officers throughout the country who are tasked with enforcing this confusing law and we would therefore support the reinstating of cannabis to a Class B drug category?.The Police Federation of England and Wales:Is opposed to the reclassification of cannabis as we believe it to be the number one illicit gateway drug. Feel that the term ?reclassification? is however all too often wrongly confused with ?decriminalisation...
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