Making sure our voices are heard

14 April 2022

Police Federation members have elected Steve Hartshorn as the new national chair since my last message and everyone in the Derbyshire branch is looking forward to working with him in the coming months and years.

Steve takes up the position at what could prove to be a very significant period in the history of policing.

It is a complex, challenging job which carries an incredible amount of responsibility and Steve can be absolutely certain he has our full support in what we are all expecting to be tough times ahead.

Steve has spoken about improving the unity of the organisation and we hope by doing so we can move forward and try to make sure our voices are heard loud and clear as we push for the best possible outcomes for our members.

The challenges we face as a Federation are well documented but I am sure that with a strong mandate and the solid backing of the membership the incoming chair and his leadership team will lead the Police Federation in the right direction and get the results we are looking for.

Steve has clearly stated his intention to build on the important steps the Federation has taken in pushing for improved pay for police officers, as well as improving all their working terms and conditions of service.

It came as no surprise when the Federation pulled out of the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) after the Government denied it the opportunity to even consider a hard earned and much deserved pay rise for officers last year and our members were given a zero per cent pay deal.

The Police Federation has now launched an application for Judicial Review calling for a truly independent pay mechanism for police officers who in real terms have suffered a 20 per cent cut in their pay since 2010.

We are seeing energy, fuel and food prices going up every week while pay is in effect being cut.

I doubt any of our members joined the police to get rich but some are now struggling to pay the mortgage and fill the car with petrol and that is totally unacceptable.

The existing pay system is clearly not working and it has to be replaced with a mechanism that does.

So hopefully we can all get behind Steve and press ahead with our calls for a fair pay offer and improved working conditions.

I will end as usual with a reminder that Derbyshire Police Federation is always there for its members and ready to offer help, support and advice whatever the circumstances.

Stay safe and keep looking out for each other.