Introducing Surrey Police Federation Interim Chair Nolan Heather

21 July 2022

“We need to make sure we are representing officers fairly across the force,” the new interim Chair of Surrey Police Federation has said.

Nolan Heather has been an officer with Surrey Police for 24 years, in a mix of uniformed and Detective roles. He became a Federation Rep as he thought he could make a difference to colleagues and is now looking forward to making his mark as the interim Chair.

Nolan said: “I’ve been in Surrey’s Professional Standards Department, and just recently left as the Chief Inspector of the Force Control Room. Having worked with the Federation during that time, it increased my knowledge and my respect for what the Federation does, and I thought I had something to contribute to it.”

He said he had a number of goals he’d like to achieve during his tenure: “The first one is to improve the governance and structure of the Federation in Surrey. By that I mean making sure we’ve got people who are suitably trained, that there’s a fair share of the workload, and that the policies and procedures that we’re operating within are correct, clear and accessible to everybody within the Federation and the force around it.

“And I want to make sure that we are representing officers fairly across the force. To ensure that they can have trust and confidence that Surrey Police Federation is doing its absolute best for them.”

Nolan said that members’ biggest challenges at the moment were high demand and the cost-of-living crisis.

He said: “I think the key things facing Surrey at the moment are in regards to the demand levels that are being placed on officers of all ranks. We also need to make sure we can retain and develop staff. Surrey is not a cheap place to live, and there’s a competitive job market at the moment. We need to attract people to come to Surrey and stay in Surrey when there are much wider opportunities for them.”

The latest pay rise of £1,900 per officer would help, he said, especially for new recruits, but it didn’t fairly reward more experienced officers.

He said: “We’re battling increasing inflation and we’re already underpaid for what we do.

“I understand why they’re giving a higher percentage pay rise to new recruits, to attract people to the role. But for those officers at different stages in their lives, it feels like a bitter pill because you’re not getting recognition and remuneration for your responsibilities.

“I think the overall feeling will be disappointment and officers will feel undervalued. This is against a backdrop of inflation at 9%, likely to go up significantly over the winter, the increase in the fuel surplus coming, the petrol prices, it’s just going to get more and more expensive. For more senior officers, who have to make difficult decisions, to get around a 3% pay rise, it isn’t really very helpful.”

Speaking overall, Nolan concluded: “I can assure Surrey officers that we will proudly represent them, ensure that their views are heard and shared with senior management and fed through to Government.”