NPCC chair urges officers to defend themselves

11 November 2022

Suffolk Police Federation chair Darren Harris said he agreed that police officers should “stand tall” and defend themselves against accusations of being woke.

Darren was responding to comments made by National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) chair Martin Hewitt who said officers should defend their actions if they were effective in building public confidence.

Speaking at the NPCC’s joint annual conference with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Mr Hewitt said: “Where we struggle to explain action we are taking or where it is not having a positive impact, we need to reconsider it.

“But if we are accused of being woke when taking action that we know is effective in building trust with people where that increased trust is needed, we must stand tall, champion and defend that action.”

Mr Hewitt’s comments were seen as a response to media criticism, most recently of the policing of the Just Stop Oil protests, and to remarks made by Home Secretary Suella Braverman who claimed there was a perception that officers spent too much time on symbolic gestures and initiatives on diversity and inclusion.

He said diversity and inclusion played an important part in crime-fighting and keeping the public safe and should not be dismissed as a diversion

Darren said officers usually shrugged off meaningless labels such as ‘woke’ but said unfair criticism that went unanswered had a corrosive effect on public confidence.

He said: “I don't believe everything I read in the papers but Martin Hewitt makes a fair point when he said police officers should call out unwarranted criticism in the press or from politicians.

“We are used to being under fire and usually shrug it off but when it starts to damage the relationship we have with the public it is time to make a stand.

“Sometimes we have to hold our hands up and admit we've made a mistake but that should be a two-way street and if we get criticised when we know our actions are justified then we should defend ourselves and explain our position.

“A lot of the flack we take is from people who know very little about policing and those who accuse of being ‘woke’ clearly have some kind of political agenda.

“But negative headlines sometimes hit a nerve with the public and if they are inaccurate then they should be corrected.”

APCC chair Marc Jones said he did not think the term woke was helpful.

He said: “The term woke means different things to different people. And whenever you get a term that can be adapted in that way, it’s unhelpful.

“Because when somebody says a word meaning a particular thing, and other people hear what they want to hear, that’s always going to be challenging.”