Federation chair congratulates new PCC

11 May 2021

Derbyshire Police Federation chair Tony Wetton has congratulated Angelique Foster after she was elected as the county's new Police and Crime Commissioner.

Tony said he was looking forward to building a strong working relationship with Ms Foster and would be discussing the issues facing frontline officers across the Force.

“We welcome Ms Foster to Derbyshire Constabulary and hope that we will be able to meet with her soon to discuss the realities of policing in Derbyshire. The last 14 months have been an incredibly challenging time for everyone and the pandemic has put additional strain on police officers and staff who have been on the frontline, seeking to serve and protect their communities,” he explained

“We are in the midst of a recruitment campaign that is bringing new recruits into the Force but we must also ensure that we are doing all we can to retain those experienced officers who have kept policing going for the most challenging decade any of us can remember, struggling to cope with those drastic cuts to numbers which are now being rectified. 

“Those experienced officers play such an important role in training those just starting out on their careers.  Bear in mind that as the pubs and clubs start to re-open we have a large number of new officers who have never experienced policing the night-time economy. They will need support and guidance as they build their experience over the coming months and years.

“As the Oscar Kilo wellbeing van tours the county during Mental Health Awareness Week, it is so important that we walk-the-walk in terms of supporting colleagues who are suffering with mental health issues as well as more visible injuries.  It is simply not good enough to talk about looking after each other while, in practice, subjecting genuinely, and often seriously, ill colleagues to unsatisfactory attendance procedures, for example.  We must continue to strive to do more to keep our people fit and healthy and support them when they become ill.

“We looking forward to discussing these and other issues with the PCC, representing our members’ views, sharing their concerns and devising strategies to ensure that their wellbeing is always put to the fore.”

Conservative Ms Foster, who ousted Labour's Hardyal Singh Dhindsa to become PCC, said: “As the next Police and Crime Commissioner I will put you, the law-abiding citizen, at the centre of policing policies here in Derbyshire and keep you and your family safe.”

Ms Foster is leader of Dronfield Town Council and has been a Derbyshire County Councillor for 11 years.

She has pledged to increase police numbers and police patrols across the county with particular emphasis on providing a strong police presence in towns, villages and rural communities.

She said she would be working closely with the Government to bring in tougher policing and a tougher approach to fighting crime and tackling anti-social behaviour and driving down burglaries, robberies and theft.