11 June 2021

PFEW Conference: If officers are heroes, why were they not prioritised for a COVID vaccination?

"The Home Secretary mentioned in her speech that police officers are heroes, so I just don’t understand why officers were not prioritised for the COVID vaccination.”

That was Dorset Police Federation Chair Anna Harvey’s reaction to Priti Patel’s speech at the PFEW Annual Conference, which is being held virtually this week.

But Anna said that the Police Federation had a better relationship with current politicians than it had had with previous ones: “It’s really clear that we have turned a corner and the current Prime Minister and Home Secretary are generally supportive and understanding of the pressures faced by officers.”

Anna continued: “The relationship the Federation has with them is making a difference and I think you can see that when you look at the Police Covenant, the police drivers’ protection, the increased sentencing, Special Constables joining the Federation: everything that’s been included in the current Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.”

Anna “didn’t get” why officers had not been prioritised for the COVID vaccination, though. She said: “This gesture would have gone a long way to show that the Government actually cared and appreciated the risks that our members are taking on a daily basis.

“We’ve still got officers unvaccinated, as many of our frontline officers are young in age, and at G7 officers will be mixing with lots of vaccinated and other unvaccinated people. So I don’t get that. It would have taken a couple of days nationally to vaccinate officers who are being assaulted and spat at. Some officers have unfortunately been hospitalised and some even lost their lives.”

The other important issue Priti Patel should have covered is police pay, Anna said.

She said: “Generally I felt her speech was supportive. However, there were a few areas such as police pay that were not mentioned, and this is massive to our members. They keep talking about ‘top cover’. But we need to see something tangible that makes a difference to our members, and a pay rise that reflects the dedication and commitment that officers have made over the past year would have been the right gesture.

“Officers are run ragged. They are extremely fatigued, so one thing they want to see is remuneration and appreciation in their pay for the actual risks they’re taking.”

See Priti Patel’s full speech to the PFEW Conference here https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretary-at-the-police-federation-conference-2021