Chair's message: March 2018

3 April 2018

Monthly Update – March 2018

New Council

Your Federation held its first Council meeting towards the end of March as we welcomed the nine new reps, said goodbye to the 6 leaving us, and set to work shaping how we are going to represent, negotiate and influence on your behalf for the next 3 years. The minutes of this meeting can be read on ConnEXtions, along with our other minutes, and while the triennial elections have been held, we will be looking to fill vacancies when they arise, so if you want to join the team just get in touch.

Politics

Last month’s meeting with the PFCC didn’t happen as he needed to cancel, but I am hoping to meet with Giles WATLING MP from Clacton this month to keep pushing on the Essex view of the National push in the following two areas:
• Emergency Services Workers Bill – This is our attempt to improve the protection offered by the courts by increasing the sentences convicts received for assaulting us at work. It also contains plans to obtain blood tests from those who spit at or bite colleagues so as to best inform preventative medication which we are sometimes prescribed after such events. This has run into some difficulty with those from the HIV/AIDS lobby suggesting the blood testing element stigmatises sufferers of those diseases. These are powerful bodies and has proven to be an unexpected bump in the road. All the more reason to get that time with local MPs to put our views across.
• Police Driver Bill – This was due to have its second reading in parliament on 16th March and concentrates on allowing the professional training and experience of a police driver to be borne in mind by decision markers when officers face charges of careless/dangerous driving on the job. Unfortunately this reading was cancelled but will be rescheduled.
I still intend to start lobbing our local Lords and Ladies on both these issues as we hope both to pass to the House of Lords soon.

National Detective’s Awards

A second reminder for all you Detectives, this year’s PFNDF awards for detectives has opened its nominations. If you remember in 2016 we had a winner with Rachel MOSS taking the Trainee Detective of the Year award in 2016, joined by a strong runner up for the Smarter Detective of the Year award in Paul GERRISH. Steve NELSON was the joint winner of the Services to Detectives award in 2017 and we would love to add to this winning pedigree this year. For more information please check on www.polfed.org under Detectives awards, or give me a shout.

General Roundup

The work place agreement on Compensatory Rest is still to be signed by the Chief on behalf of the organisation. We have been clear that this will see benefits brought to the wider organisation and are keen for it to be signed, but until it is we see no point explaining what it is and how you claim it. Once the decision has been taken by the Chief we can explain more then.

I mentioned this month about Anti Social Hours Allowance and wanted to remind you that you need to contact SAP and get your duties changed to reflect what you work as this allowance isn’t automatically paid and does not link in with what you sign on and off as working. This payment is calculated from what SAP has you rostered to work, is if this changes, YOU need to ensure SAP is change accordingly to reflect what you work. When you submit an overtime claim, the allowance IS calculated, but not for all the other duties changes you work. Don’t miss out on what you are owed.

Officer safety training

We have asked for two new elements to be included in your officer safety training, which runs April to April and so is due to start a new syllabus. We have asked for a slot on Post Incident Procedures and are busy working on an educational video to be shown as part of this training. This is an area in which we foresee more and more PIP being called so wanted to help get the basic messaging out to you.

We have also been pushing for Spit Guards to be taught and issued, and we understand April will see this training begin. We will have more on this once it goes live, but we see this as small change which could really make a big difference to those of you unfortunate enough to be spat at or bitten.

And Finally…

I am still looking for a ‘keep in touch’ duty for April so if any of you wouldn’t mind me coming out a spending a shift ‘in your shoes’ then please just get in touch and I will try to make it happen. Also, the Fed car park code will be changing the second week in April, so please be mindful if you are one of the ‘cheeky ones’ who uses the fed car park out of hours…

Thanks