Christmas and New Year message from Norfolk Police Federation Chair Andy Symonds

21 December 2023

Firstly I'd like to start by thanking all officers for working under immense pressures this year particularly over the summer months. The thin blue line has again been stretched beyond its capacity.

Locally here in force and across the country in other force areas, we’re seeing the impact of PEQF in terms of struggling with consistent numbers on response teams. 2024 will also present more pressures as PEQF impacts even harder on us due to the time students are abstracted on the degree course. We’ve been working with the force to mitigate the worst impacts of this and trying to reduce the shift changes that may be required during the second half of the year.

Throughout 2023, officers have stepped up to the plate and got the job done. On many occasions officers have done this to the detriment of their own health, well-being and home/family life. Please reach out to colleagues, supervisors or the Federation if you need support. There are many organisations including charities that can help support you through difficult times.

Talking of tough times, sadly we lost some colleagues this year and these deaths sent shock waves through the organisation with an outpouring of grief particularly amongst those colleagues that knew these officers well. We will remember them and again I re-assure you that as a local branch we will continue to remember them long after their sad passing and we’ll continue to do so for as long as the Police Federation exists.

In the Federation we continue to fight for better mental health provision and more money being spent looking after our officers. The current offerings are patchy and not to the standard we all want. You all put your own safety be that physical or mental at risk when you come to work. And inevitably because of the type of work you all do this leads to officers becoming unwell. Therefore the force must step up to the plate like you all do in your role and make sure that they can refer you to support you require quickly. Sometimes the force gets it right with the support but I see that this is not consistent enough and the resources and referral points to the medical help particularly in relation to mental health is not of the required standard or speed. We see the introduction of the Policing Covenant which must become a way we hold forces to account when the service officers get falls below the standard we should expect.

This year like all of the years gone by and those to come we have assisted officers who have been involved in various things that require our advice and support. But 2023 has felt and is one which has placed huge demands upon us as Federation Reps.

But we’ve stepped up like you have doing your roles and continued to offer a first class service for our members who become involved in deaths following Police contact, officers who have had false and totally inaccurate allegations made against them, officers who have injuries on duty where they require support be that at ASM’s or their return back to work. And sadly supporting those officers who are unable to return to work and are ill health retired.

We support these officers through the difficult process and advise them in order that they get whatever they are entitled to within regulations. We have seen officers subject to various allegations including ones which involve allegations of excessive use of force made against them who’ve been taken through to misconduct processes and with our support and advice they’ve secured the best outcome for them.

As I’ve alluded to above we have been working tirelessly in the background in attempts to smooth the bumps in the road for you. We’re negotiating and making constant representations on shift changes and re-rostered RD’s pretty much all of the year. We continue have successes but we also see where the evidence is present that the force are within their rights to re-roster and change officers shifts.

I firmly believe that if we were not present making the case throughout the year on your behalf we would have seen many 100’s more changes to officers shifts and re-rostering of RD’s. I also look across to other forces and see how they are doing in comparison and I can 100% re-assure you that the work we do along with Insp Blyth in the RMU achieves the best outcome for you our members. It won’t always feel like that when you are working a re-rostered RD or a shift change but we do everything we can to mitigate and stop it where possible.

We have had many successes in various fields be that Grievances, Employment Tribunals, Misconduct, Unsatisfactory Performance & Attendance Procedures and many more. For understandable reasons I can't go into detail as we are bound by confidentiality and the details are personal to the officers who have been supported through these processes all of whom would and do sing the Federations praises.

You will all have felt a sense of anxiousness about the world of complaints and misconduct. You will know colleagues or friends subject of investigations be that misconduct or involved in a death or serious injury as a result of police contact. There is no doubt that we’ve seen a huge increase on this area of business and it’s an area that has one of the biggest impact for our members.

This is not only for the members that are subject of the allegations but also where we have colleagues who are either witnesses or the officers brave enough to step forward and report things they’ve been subject of themselves. It is important that our members know that we don’t just support and advise those officers who are subject of misconduct investigations but we also offer the same to our members who make disclosures and complaints. The misconduct process is not an easy path to walk whatever the place officers hold within it. It takes its toll and therefore imperative that we offer support to all our members involved. We have a small team of Fed Reps within the branch that are totally separate from any investigation and the officer subject of it that are designated to the support the other officers involved. This was set up by our Secretary Sam Hawkins and is called the Federation Support Team (FST). So please make contact with us if you are involved in an investigation but not subject of it and we can allocated you a FST Rep.

This year we’ve seen the Federation welfare van being deployed out to scenes in support of those that need it. It was launched at the end of 2022 but this year it has come into its own. One request from me is that those officers that take advantage of its facilities that you treat it well and make sure it’s clean after use. I want this resource to be available for years to come and if treated properly it will.

I want to close with reminding our members that we stand right behind you when you need us. We might not be there physically but rest assured when you need us for whatever the reasons we will be there to offer our advice and support as required. Please find the time in between your shifts over the festive and new year period to spend with your family and loved ones.

I wish you all an enjoyable, relaxing Christmas and a happy and healthy 2024.