Home Secretary Priti Patel has launched a consultation on a new covenant to recognise the service and sacrifice of the police.
The Police Covenant will enshrine the rights of serving or former police personnel.
It is designed to enhance support and protection for officers, staff and their families.
The consultation, which will run for eight weeks, is being launched to seek views on implementing a Police Covenant in England and Wales.
It covers the themes of physical protection, health and wellbeing and support for families, as well as the scope and wording of the covenant.
You can take part in the consultation process by visiting this link – https://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk/s/NC12Z/
Please take part in the survey and mention IODPA when and where you can!
More information can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/police-covenant-for-england-and-wales and the Government press release can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-consultation-on-covenant-to-protect-police
I filled this survey in 7 pages here are some of my comments;
The health, safety and care of police officers needs root and branch reform. The creation in the charity IODPA highlights the need for joined up services between relevant staff associations and the national services available. The good Samaritans of society who put themselves into danger to help others should be greatly valued and a covenant similar to the military covenant would help shape opinion and influence responses to need. There should be an organisation like SSAFA for the military for emergency service workers, an out reach service that can support those in need. More needs to be done to measure and recognise the long term damage that can happen to people in the emergency services and to create longer term stability in areas such as injury pensions and support services. There needs should not be abandoned to the overstretched NHS but prioritised.
This would ensure a backstop to ensure that the temptation to reduce support for financial reasons would be properly scrutinised by Parliament and help prevent tinkering with a national philosophy that ensures a national philosophy.
A statement about protection needs underpinning by legislation that reflects it provided that is done we will have joined up government. There is also a need to recognise the psychological damage to people that working in threatening environments suffer.
Adequate and effective training, the provision of the best quality equipment and adequate resources to cope with the demands of modern policing. In 1976 when I joined the police there were 130,000 warranted officers in England and Wales despite the increase in demand and population the number of officers has not kept pace and the problem is exacerbated by social attitudes. Everyone knows there rights but very few their responsibilities, which should include education in schools.
Training, resourcing of frontline staff, prioritising the golden thread of health and safety in all areas of police work. Recognition that the policing priority should always be to service the needs and demands of the primary stakeholders ie THE PUBLIC
Families are the underpinning bedrock of officers there is huge strain on them from the effects on their loved ones and they too can suffer damage as a result of being related to police officers. The role can be made easier or harder by the families reaction therefore they should be cared fo
The last thing the Police Service needs is another layer of cost pressures related to trying to do everything to a cost or a profit margin. It is no good knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing. We all accept that there has to be budgetary responsibility however I fail to see how privatisation of aspects of policing can help. All those I have met in the service who are expert in related fields do not understand the internal workings of policing eg Police Regulation. It appears even Chief Constables do not seem to understand the regulations continuing to misinterpret them in regard to medical pensions. It has taken a Charity, the IODPA to form from retired officers, to fight the dishonest practices that exist God knows how much it has cost and continues to cost the taxpayer funding all the court and tribunal defeats, never mind the disastrous appearance of organisations who are there to enforce the law blatantly disobeying it for financial gain.
Thank you IODPA for making us aware of this important consultation. I will contribute during the consultation period as I hope other IOD’s will. More importantly I do hope that Home Office listens to yourselves and those individuals experience of being IOD and what steps can be taken to ensure that serving officers are well supported by individual Forces unlike the postal lottery which currently exists.