Hello and welcome to the latest blog from the Federation in what’s been a busy month and with plenty of content, I shall crack on.
Southport
I can’t think of a more appropriate place to start than at the heartbreaking events of 29th July in Southport, where three innocent young souls who had everything in front of them lost their lives. The barbaric actions of one individual created a significant impact up and down the country.
Whilst bereaved families, affected people, and wider communities were in mourning, what followed from a minority of the country put a massive strain on policing. There were so many of you that this impacted with many facing cancelled rest days, refused leave, and increased public scrutiny.
Whilst the minority of the country were at their worst, protesting and causing disruption without necessarily having the foggiest clue what they were protesting about or why they were causing disruption, yet again you were at your best. Rising to the challenge and putting the safety and wellbeing of others before your own. It’s not a cheesy strapline but the pride I have in the officers from across our divisions is immense. It’s a shame that it’s often only when events like these happen that the government looks to recognise your efforts.
This Federation deeply appreciates what you do every time you parade for duty, we understand the impact it can have on you and your loved ones, and we are grateful to you.
Pay Award Recommendations
Whilst I’m touching on how valued you are by us and how often we only hear government plaudits and praise at the time of high-profile incidents it would be prudent to recognise the recent pay recommendations.
If we are being honest, while 4.75% is perhaps more than anticipated, it’s below what we had hoped for and it's certainly far below what we deserve. There are certain occupations where you simply shouldn’t be begrudged a higher pay award, and this is one of them. I’m not one for looking at other sector pay increases and seeing how much they get, and I don’t want it to become a competition, but on the face of it, it does appear we are less valued than others and that can’t be right.
Next steps should be to ensure that all recommendations around the police pay award and allowances are honoured fully.
It’s not lost on me that the pay award will place significant demand on the Force and there are various budget considerations but as many of you know, the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) set this.
BTPA is the independent body responsible for ensuring an efficient and effective police force for rail operators, their staff, and passengers. Its duties and functions are similar to those of the Scottish Police Authority or a police and crime commissioner in England and Wales, but it oversees a force that is responsible for policing a much wider area – the railways of Great Britain.
There are currently 16 members of the police authority who provide knowledge and experience of issues that concern passengers, the railway industry and railway employees. They meet up to six times a year to set BTP targets, monitor its operations and allocate funds for its budget. You can read more about BTPA, its members and its work here.
This Federation encourages the BTPA and the Force to work together to ensure that all recommendations are achieved. As always, we are keen to assist in any way we can to get the best results for our members.
Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB)
This leads me to update you about matters around PRRB. This is the body that was set up to provide independent advice to the government on pay and conditions for police officers below the rank of Chief Superintendent and includes things such as allowances, hours of duty, leave and related matters.
BTP have had parity with Home Office forces since the 1960s and yet frustratingly this Federation have never had dialogue into the PRRB process.
Most of you will be aware that some time ago PFEW stepped away from participating in the PRRB process and have cited their reasons why, which this Federation fully respects, however we have to do what we can to best represent our members and the unique nature of the BTP and our environment. It’s vital that PRRB can understand not only our national role, but also things such as our repeated exposure to trauma and how we protect national infrastructure.
In my June blog I had advised that I had written to the chair of PRRB, Zoë Billingham, to introduce myself and request that we had a meeting to allow me to best represent our members.
I was grateful that on 14th August, Zoë and I were able to have an introductory meeting and start to grow relations and conversations. It’s pleasing that PRRB welcomes an alignment with this Federation and although these things are often a slow burn, I look forward to carrying out further work to make sure that those making the recommendations on pay and related matters are fully appraised of the work we do, and challenges that we face.
I will of course keep you all updated as this progresses.
Notting Hill Carnival
It’s that time of year again and Notting Hill Carnival presents another challenge for many of our officers. Demands are high, as is the need to stay alert. I’m aware that officers out with B Division are deploying on mutual aid and I thank you for assisting our colleagues.
I’ll be attending the carnival in a Federation capacity alongside Pete Kingham, Paul Miller, Chigz Patel, JP O’Kane and Ryan Griffiths. It’s important that we are there and get to speak to as many of you as possible to understand how the deployment has gone for you, what’s been challenging and what’s been successful. I look forward to speaking to as many of you as possible.
IOPC/PIRC
A real long-standing source of frustration is the length of time it takes IOPC/PIRC to carry out their processes when our officers are in the unfortunate position of finding themselves under investigation. Not only is time frame involved unacceptable but what else must improve is the lack of communication afforded to those under investigation.
It feels apparent those who are investigating don’t understand what it feels like to be facing an investigation and the pressure and strain that can put not only you under, but also your colleagues and loved ones. It impacts on so many, and I intend to write to IOPC/PIRC and once again stress to them the importance and necessity of a timely and well communicated investigation.
Thank You
I’m aware that this is quite a long blog, but I’d like to tell you about a letter of thanks we received recently.
During the challenges of the recent protests, the demands on our officers were exceptionally high. Long hours, last minute overnight deployments, no changes of clothes, and little opportunity for feeding made things difficult. One of our PSU vans, after a long and arduous shift, was able to stop at a burger restaurant in Hull to try and refuel. When placing their order, the owners of the restaurant in expressed their extreme gratitude for the work the officers were carrying out.
They were mindful our colleagues were working exceptionally long hours and putting their safety at risk to protect others and very kindly paid for the officers’ meals. They felt it was important that the officers got something back for their efforts.
We have contacted the restaurant owners directly to express our sincere thanks. We won’t name them here as we don’t want to risk them being a target, but they mentioned their personal circumstances which meant the response from the police was all the more meaningful for them. In a society where we are challenged and scrutinised like never before it’s heartening to see that the public still have high regard for what we do.
This draws this blog to a close. I hope that you have found this useful.
Until the next time.
All the best
Stu
Stuart Cowan, Chair of BTP Federation