Chairman's blog: Our members’ welfare is my biggest priority

7 November 2018

The past few months have been challenging to say the least and the demands of the Presidential visit and the World Cup were particularly difficult for our members.

This created the perfect storm for widespread leave restrictions and cancelled rest days for officers.

As your new Chairman, I take every opportunity to remind senior leaders of your hard work and dedication, and I have made your welfare the priority for GMP Federation.

Negotiations with the Chief Officer group proved successful to obtain payment for the away from home allowance during that period but it is disappointing that we must continue to fight for these basic entitlements.

I attended the PFEW’s National Council Meeting in September and urged the National Federation to take action on this and the derisory pay award by this Government.

Your Wellbeing

Sickness is a particular issue for Greater Manchester Police and mental wellbeing is the most significant concern.

With 2,000 fewer police officers within a force area with ever increasing demands and new progressively complex crime, officers are at burn out.

Survey and data collection is a good tool to measure the statistics but the senior leaders can only support the workforce and make change by tangible and visible action.

The recent force-wide shift consultation is a step in the right direction but the Local Policing Review (LPR) has been such a disaster we cannot accept mediocrity or half measures at this crucial time of reform. I have been pushing the Chief Officer Group to implement a trial of Double Crewing within the Ergo Cluster area before the further rollout of the Ergo shift pattern.

We can go on perpetually discussing the matter but a trial is the only way to put the “evidence” in evidenced-based policing.

GMP Federation and all of its representatives believe that this will raise morale, assist with mental wellbeing and increase officer safety on the front line and ultimately provide a superior service to the public.

These endeavours are ongoing but we are hopeful that the organisation will be bold, innovative and do the right thing.

Operation Custodian

Operation Custodian is an egregious situation. It is completely unacceptable that this great city of ours and a police force with the calibre of GMP has been reduced to policing the night-time economy with cancelled and re-rostered rest days.

Manchester’s nightlife forms part of the fifth biggest economy in our country and millions of pounds of revenue pour into Manchester each year. We host an International Airport, two of world’s biggest footballs clubs, the MEN Arena and a vibrant City Centre.

However, the associated alcohol-related issues remain a constant, significant and disproportionate drain on GMP’s resources.

I have been in consultation with the Chief Constable, Deputy Mayor and her advisors and plans have begun to form a consultative board to discuss the introduction of a night-time economy levy within Manchester City Centre.

This could raise a significant and much-needed revenue stream to properly and appropriately police the city centre.

We cannot continue to subsidise issues caused by private enterprise by means of removing officers from local communities.

Our action and success with the Worked-Based Assessment process is testament to the commitment of GMP Federation to engage and challenge the force going forward.

This article comes from Manchester Police Federation's Manchat magazine. View it here: http://online.pubhtml5.com/ncsw/qkeh/