Christmas and New Year Message from Lee Sims, Chair of Humberside Police Federation

23 December 2021

Humberside Police Federation would like to wish all our members and their families a happy and safe Christmas.

While some will be able to spend time with family, others will be working long hours during the busiest time of the year, keeping the rest of us safe.

Each year we look back at how challenging the year has been, and 2021 has without a doubt been more demanding than anything we could have foreseen.

Sadly just as we thought things might have been returning to some sense of normality, the OMICRON variant has seen us once again having to respond and hope that we can avoid illness and remain supporting our colleagues at work and keeping our families safe.

It remains incredible and insulting that police officers were not prioritised for the Covid-19 vaccine in the first place.

And – despite all the incredible work by colleagues – that we were not give a penny of a pay rise in 2021 by a Government that has claimed to have policing’s back. 

This year due to COVID our national Police Federation Bravery Awards took place for 2020 and 2021 only a few months apart. The stories of those officers were quite simply incredible and the courage they show.

It was incredible to be able to celebrate the work of a magnificent 19 Humberside Police colleagues, who we know represent the fantastic work colleagues undertake each and every day.

Looking forward to next year, I think we all hope that we get some kind of normality back while appreciating this crisis is not yet over. There will continue to be a significant demand on policing next year, with new threats emerging.

Police officers need to receive a significant pay rise to recognise the work that they do. And the Government needs to end the uncertainty around our pensions in a fair and just way.

At Humberside Police Federation, we will listen to any concerns you have and will work hard to influence and negotiate locally, to get the best we can for our colleagues.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our hard working Police Federation Reps out there supporting you every day.

Finally, if you’re working over the Christmas period, please stay safe and look out for each other. If there are any incidents which require the assistance of the Police Federation, please contact us, we have Reps available and on-call throughout.

Merry Christmas

Lee Sims
Chair
Humberside Police Federation