PCC urged to help improve officer morale
7 May 2024
West Mercia’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) John Campion should use his third term of office to do what he can to improve police officer morale and wellbeing, says the chair of West Mercia Police Federation.
Steve Butler was responding to the PCC election results, in which Conservative Mr Campion attracted more than 73,000 votes, 34 per cent of valid votes cast and around 10,000 more than his nearest rival, the Labour and Co-operative candidate Richard Overton.
“We congratulate the PCC on his re-election and hope we can meet with him soon to discuss his plans for his next four-year term of office,” says Steve.
“While I know Mr Campion has commented on the results of our pay and morale survey which revealed our officers were reporting the second lowest levels of morale in the country, I would like to meet with him face to face to hear if he has any plans to help address our members’ concerns.
PCC John Campion.
“His election campaign focussed on fighting crime, supporting victims and putting police back in the heart of communities – which is admirable since these are all issues that we, and all officers, would agree should be priorities. But for a police force to be properly effective, and efficient, it needs police officers to feel valued, respected and fairly paid for what their role entails.
“We fully appreciate that many of these things are out of Mr Campion’s control but there are ways in which he could help make a difference to police officers’ lives. We would really like to see him improve police officer morale and wellbeing during this next four-year term in office.”
In a message to voters after the election, Mr Campion said: “I am proud of what I have achieved as your PCC over the last eight years, but I know there’s much more that needs to be done.”
Steve agrees there’s much to be done, explaining: “Police officer morale and wellbeing should be a matter of urgency and high up on this list of things needed to be done.”
