The Police Federation has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak calling for a total reset of police-Government relations after passing a motion of no confidence in Home Secretary Priti Patel.
National chair John Apter delivered a letter to Downing Street this afternoon (Tuesday 27 July) with Staffordshire Police Federation chair Phil Jones and secretary Glyn Pattinson, representing Region 3 of the Federation, joining a march of Federation representatives from Scotland Yard to No 10.
The letter expresses the anger police officers feel towards the Government over their treatment and calls on the Prime Minister and Chancellor to meet three demands:
- Stop taking police officers for granted and treat them with respect.
- Agree to work with the Federation on an entirely new and fairer system of remuneration decision-making.
- Reverse the zero per cent pay award decision and give police officers a meaningful pay increase.
It follows last week’s extraordinary Federation National Council meeting which voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion of no confidence in Ms Patel and agreed to walk away from the Police Remuneration Review Body which it branded “not fit for purpose” after a bitterly-opposed pay freeze for officers earning more than £24,000-a-year was confirmed.
Staffordshire Police Federation secretary Glyn Pattinson said: “Our members deserve recognition and respect for the extraordinary sacrifices they have been asked to make throughout the pandemic but all they have received are empty words from the Government.
“Police officers feel they are being taken for granted and treated with contempt by the people who are so keen to publicly praise and thank them.
“This letter highlights the strength of feeling of our members who have once again been badly let down by the Government.”
The letter reveals the depth of the anger and frustration felt by police officers across the country.
It says: “This is about much more than money, though for many the offer of a zero per cent pay rise, after all the police have been through in helping deal with the pandemic, was the final straw.
“It is about the risks you asked us to take - which we did, because it is our duty - without proper PPE. It is about the endlessly changing and confusing Covid legislation which we were expected to police - which we did, because it is our duty. It is about your mixed messaging and lack of understanding of our role, which combined to put many of our members in invidious positions which led to them being abused and attacked.
“It is about the failure, despite the promises of the Home Secretary, to take seriously our request that police officers should be given early priority for vaccination. It is about the very strong feeling we have, not least when the Prime Minister and Home Secretary spoke at our Annual Conference, that the warm words flow easily, but the actions that show genuine support for the police do not.
“Just this weekend, we found out through a Sunday newspaper column about a new so-called Beating Crime Plan. We don’t need old ideas presented as new, we need genuine investment for the whole of the Criminal Justice System and genuine consultation over new ideas. Without that, this is just another ill-thought-out initiative.
“Police officers are sick of gimmicks. Sick of underfunding. Sick of mixed messaging putting police at risk. Sick of Government contempt for police. It’s time for a total reset of police-Government relations.”
Policing minister Kit Malthouse promised the Government would do “other things” to make police officers feel “valued and supported”.
He told Sky News: “We want to make sure that officers feel valued and rewarded and are supported in doing their job. And while obviously a decision was taken last week around pay which is tough, there are lots of other things about policing which have been good over the last couple of years.
“It has been tough this year. I hope we can return to some kind of normality in the future, but our economy is in some difficulties. Obviously, the private sector has taken a big hit and it is the private sector that pays for the public sector, and we have to balance all those things.”
