A Christmas and New Year message from Kent Police Federation Chair Neil Mennie

23 December 2024

Christmas and New Year are of course no holiday for police officers and policing.

It is the season of peace and goodwill, but unfortunately many of our colleagues will be dealing with the small minority who continue to commit domestic violence and other crimes, and who may put our officers at risk.

We recognise the fact that many of you will be working at Christmas and will be away from friends and family; we thank you and hope you stay safe.

2024 has been a busy year for policing.

When the new Government was elected, there was a brief honeymoon period with some positive developments, including the promise of anonymity for firearms officers facing criminal trials. I'd like to see that extended to all officers who are subject to significant use-of-force trials.

It is now clear that the current Government is sticking to the proposed changes to the police misconduct regulations and the regulations around vetting, which are probably going to be very challenging for us next year.

The Government’s recent announcement of 13,000 new police officers is very welcome, but if we're in a situation where we can't afford to fund the officers we've got, it's hard to see how we can achieve that uplift.

We need to re-examine the police funding formula going forward.

In the Federation, we had the vote on pursuing industrial rights, and it is important that we keep up the momentum of this issue in the coming year. Related to that, it will be interesting to see the results of the PFEW 2024 Pay & Morale Survey when it comes out.

I also look forward to the first stage of the independent review into the Police Federation. The Federation needs to learn from those findings so that it continues to be fit for purpose and has a secure future.

Here in Kent, we have seen a small reduction in the number of assaults on police officers, but it is still a huge issue.
Just this month, a man was found guilty of the attempted murder of one of our officers.

It just goes to show that officers never know what they're going to face, and that situations can turn unexpectedly violent very quickly.

In promising news, our Chief Constable has just announced that there has been a reduction of crime in Kent. The force has undergone a lot of structural change this year, which we hope will allow officers to manage their workloads better and improve motivation and morale.

I am sure the coming year will bring its own challenges, but I am very proud of all the hard work our members continue to do, day in and day out.

I wish all our members a happy Christmas and a peaceful and safe New Year.