Hello all,
Welcome to the October edition of the Chairs monthly blog. It has been another busy month, so I’ll just crack on.
NX121
Most, if not all of you reading this will be aware of the recent court outcome that was facing officer NX121. This was an important, and we believe, correct result which if we are frank should not have got to this stage.
Firearms officers, of which we have many, do not go to work with the aim of discharging their weapon. They go to work to keep the public, their colleagues and ultimately themselves safe. It’s a uniquely specialist role that has demands very few of us will face. Sadly, when things go the way they have done for NX121 I’m sure what’s not lost on any of us is the impact this can also have on their families and loved ones.
I’m also acutely aware that our Firearms remit in London work closely with their peers in the Met and are better placed to understand and share some of the angst that they have been going through. My express thanks go to our Firearms officers for continuing to work with the utmost professionalism and dedication despite the scrutiny that this incident has led to.
Lastly on this topic, the recent news from the Home Secretary that firearms officers who have had cause to carry out a professional shooting during the course of their duties will remain anonymous during legal proceedings is welcome news. We are grateful for this decision, and it affords a much-needed extra layer of protection throughout what will be a significant traumatic incident for the officers involved, their families and colleagues.
Optimised Policing Model
The OPM review continues. We still don’t know what this will look like and how it will shape the force going forward.
My plea from the outset to the Force remains the same. We must learn from previous reviews - Demand Reviews and Layers & Spans in particular - and the fear is we don’t take lessons from processes like these.
I appreciate that we must be respectful of the data and what that contributes. However, what’s often forgotten are the practicalities and the reality facing those people who matter most in this; those with their boots on the ground. For the Optimised Policing Model to ultimately be successful it needs our officers to be considered, listened to, and kept safe.
I acknowledge that we also must be mindful of the rail industry and our network partners but again I stress, not to the detriment of our people. I’m also aware of rumours circulating on divisions about numbers. Such rumours are unhelpful to say the least and I’ve been assured they are wildly inaccurate. When we have information on how this impacts our people, we will make you aware accordingly.
Again, I’ll finish this segment with a plea to the Force to ensure you are all put first in this.
National Negotiating Meeting (NNM)
Regular readers of this blog will be aware of our regular NNM meetings with the Force. It’s an opportunity for the Federation to get together with the BTPA, the DCC and People & Culture to discuss things that matter to our members. Items raised at the most recent meeting included:
Issues around officers under investigation receiving their Kings Coronation medal
Concerns around London Allowances in the recent pay review.
Our challenge to the Force around the substance misuse policy.
Issues raised from this Federation around the secondment policy, and in particular our seconding of officers to Police Scotland custody
These are examples of issues that have been brought to our attention from our members. It’s important to us that you continue to raise items with your local reps which can be taken on board and raised at Force level, as necessary. For a list of your local reps please see this page on our website.
British Transport Police Authority (BPTA)
One question we seem to get asked about on a regular basis is around the role of the BTPA within our force.
The BTPA is responsible for ensuring an efficient and effective police force for the railways. It is responsible for setting the objectives for the Force, billing the rail industry for the costs of BTP and the recruitment of senior officers and staff.
I know that the BTPA are keen for our officers to have a better understanding of who they are and I’m looking forward to this education in the near future.
DCC/Fed Rep Meetings
One event that the reps do always look forward to are our meetings with the DCC, Alistair Sutherland. While we might originally have begun these regular meetings to talk primarily about conduct matters, they have quickly become an opportunity to have conversations around a variety of interests and discussion points impacting the Force.
Items discussed during our most recent meeting included our concerns around the Optimised Policing Model, updates on BTP's estate, budgets and finances, staffing levels, and the retention of officers. These are matters that impact on each division in our force.
These are open and honest meetings, where the Federation and the DCC take items away to be followed up on. I thank the DCC and our reps for making these meetings possible.
Awards of Excellence and Federation Conference
We recently enjoyed our annual awards of excellence and conference that were held in Southampton.
Proceedings started in the afternoon when the Federation Management Board held their latest meeting which gives your divisional committees the chance to make the executive aware of any issues or emerging concerns on area. It’s valuable time and allows all in the room a chance to share information where experiences brought to the table can often assist problems in other areas.
Following on from this meeting our Health & Safety and Welfare committees met to discuss the current issues impacting on their committees. Taking a similar theme to the management board meetings it allows these committees the chance to formulate next steps with matters arising to them.
That evening allowed us to showcase our ‘Awards of Excellence’ - an evening where we got to celebrate the best amongst us. We changed our format slightly this year by having set categories. These categories, where officers who have been nominated by their peers are recognised, were Cop of the Year, Team of the Year, Special of the Year, Detective Investigation of the Year and the first ever Chair’s Award to recognise someone who truly deserves special merit. It was a humbling evening and at times quite emotional. Our winners are pictured, above.
The next day our Conference commenced with the Chairs Speech. We then had a Q&A session with our Chief Constable and the Chair of BTPA, Ron Barclay Smith; an open, frank, and engaging event that was appreciated by all.
We were also fortunate enough to receive a video response to the Chairs speech from Lord Peter Hendy, the new rail minister. We welcome this input from Lord Hendy and thank him for his time. It’s important that we foster strong relations with the minister, and I look forward to productive meetings with him in the very near future.
I again offer our thanks to our sponsors who make our Awards of Excellence and conference possible: Ardonagh, providers of the Group Insurance Scheme and our headline sponsor, Arc Legal, Colin Reynolds, George Hay and Company, Serve and Protect Credit Union, and Uniform Mortgages.
Most of the material from our conference, including recordings of key sessions, is now available on our website. Meeting minutes will be added imminently. This is members-only content so if you haven’t yet created an account on the site, you will need to do so to access it; I would encourage you do to that.
Plans for next year’s event are already underway and please keep an eye out as nominations for the Awards of Excellence will open shortly.
Retirement of Mick Jackson
I’ll close this month’s blog with a fond farewell and wishes for a happy retirement to our rep Mick Jackson (pictured above), from the Pennines North East area. Incredibly Mick has over 49 years police service. He is well known throughout BTP for helping so many but is also very much admired, having played an important role in matters such as the Manchester Arena and Covid Inquiries. Mick was an outstanding officer, a first-class rep, and an even better person.
He’ll be missed by us all, although I didn’t particularly love his nickname for me of ‘The Saint’ due to me committing a Simon Templer-style fashion faux pas of wearing a roll neck on a night out with Mick. Yes, the man even gives styling tips - it was all done with his usual good grace and humour.
I look forward to our paths crossing again soon, Mick.
Thank you all for taking time to read this blog. I hope it has been useful.
Stuart Cowan, Chair of BTP Federation