Panel questioned on firearm officer protections, media criticism and CEO pay

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) annual conference ended with the organisation’s senior leadership taking questions from viewing members.

National chair Steve Hartshorn, deputy chair Tiff Lynch, secretary Calum Macleod, treasurer Simon Kempton and chief executive officer (CEO) Mukund Krishna made up what conference host Ian Collins joking called “the best looking panel you are likely to see anywhere today”.

But the mood quickly turned serious with a question from a member about firearms officers and how they can be protected – with the spectre of W80, the Metropolitan Police firearms officer cleared of unlawfully killing Jermaine Baker, but now facing gross misconduct proceedings brought by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The case has led to some firearms officers handing back their blue cards.

The national panel at the PFEW National Conference.

National chair Steve, a firearms carrier himself, sympathised.

He said: “We’re fully embedded in trying to make sure that the Home Office review of the use of force is comprehensive. We want to make sure that the Federation is heavily involved to look at the reasons why. We also want to make sure that as a firearms officer, you’re fully trained, accredited and equipped to do the job properly. So that when you are involved in incidents you’ve got the right level of knowledge.”

Asked if the Home Secretary has got the Federation’s back, the national chair reflected on Theresa May, who as Home Secretary famously accused the Federation of “crying wolf” over pay and conditions.

“We proved that very, very wrong,” said Steve, adding: “I’d like to think the Government has learned the lessons. I’ve said repeatedly, throughout the conference, that nothing we have asked for has ever been unreasonable. We know our job. We’ve got lots of experience, we have about 1,200 reps across the country looking after 140,000 police officers, that’s a phenomenal amount of work day in and day out.”

National deputy chair Tiff commented on a question about media misrepresentation of policing, branding some click-bait media headlines as “totally and morally wrong”. She pointed to her work as the Parliamentary lead, engaging with MPs and stakeholders, and called on politicians to show their support for policing.

“I want our leaders to come out in support of our police officers to actually show the community and show Government that actually we’re doing a really, really good job,” added Tiff.

CEO Mukund was asked by viewing member ‘Darren’ how much he is paid, given his salary is paid by the members. Mukund declined to say, calling this “personal information” but insisted his position had been benchmarked.

National secretary Calum responded to a question on whether the Federation could open a can of worms by exploring industrial action. He cited a “degradation of police pay to the tune of 27 per cent for constables” since 2010, and accused the Government of not heeding the arguments around pay. We have to do things differently”, he said.

When asked about membership subscriptions, national treasurer Simon said it had been a mistake to freeze these historically, because it leads to a bigger jump eventually.

And when asked if the panel was in favour of a mass demonstration in Westminster, as had happened in 2012, Simon questioned whether it had achieved anything. “There’s an enormous amount of cost behind organising the rally, bringing our members down from across the country, and it doesn’t actually work,” he said, adding that engagement is more successful.

The panel agreed on the need to increase representation for Special Constables and on running annual conferences as a hybrid event to keep down costs. They were also united in praise for the families of police officers.

Nearing the end of the interactive session, Tiff delivered a personal message to members: “My message to them is a huge thank you. It’s the family members that have the Christmas dinners without their loved ones because they’re out there running towards danger. Not knowing when they’re coming home, it’s the kids’ birthday parties they miss, so a big thank you.

“Please talk, start to understand what your loved one is doing each day and if you’ve got any concerns, get in touch.”