Colleagues, it’s that time of year again, where I step into the breach, and update you on this month’s activities. Stuart is enjoying the delights of a summer break, so I have the pleasure of writing the blog.
Before I start, it with deep regret and sadness that I mention the passing of a former BTP colleague, Paul Thompson (PS 4208). Paul served 28 years with the Met and BTP, and retired from the force, last year. Our sincerest condolences go out to Paul’s family, friends, and colleagues.
If any of you have been affected by Paul’s tragic death, then please talk with someone from either the Force or Federation, both are there to support you. We can also signpost you to organisations where you can have a confidential conversation, away from work. We have linked to several of these on the Welfare page of our website.
General Election
Following the election earlier this month we of course have a new Government in situ. I have recently written to both the new Secretary of State for Transport the Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP and the new Rail Minister the Rt Hon Lord Peter Hendy of Richmond Hill CBE, congratulating them on and welcoming them to their respective positions.
We will follow this initial contact up with a briefing note we have prepared which explains several of the biggest challenges you face, including pay and assaults on duty. We will also continue our work to present the rationale for free rail travel for BTP officers.
Louise Haigh MP brings experiences from her time as Shadow Policing Minister and her service as a Special Constable to her Transport Secretary role, while Lord Hendy has extensive knowledge and experience of Britain’s railways We hope the Rail Minister will accept our invitation to attend our Annual Conference and Awards of Excellence in September.
Assaults on police officers
Staying with assaults against officers, new figures show assaults against our members are continuing to rise. In the last financial year, 45,907 assaults against police officers were recorded by forces in England and Wales. This includes 1,132 against British Transport Police officers; an increase of 251 assaults (or 28%) on the previous year. Around one in five assaults on our colleagues resulted in injury.
These figures are concerning, even more so because they could be the tip of the iceberg. The report itself notes that the data is likely to be an underestimate of the total number of assaults in some forces, “as many officers view assaults as part of the job and do not raise a crime record.” Assaults are not part of the job, and we encourage colleagues to ensure every such incident is recorded.
As a Force and a Federation, we have got to get our response to assaults right. We are still not notified soon enough (and sometimes not at all) when an officer is assaulted. It’s crucial staff associations can support colleagues when they need it most. We must also ensure Op Hampshire is being followed to the letter – more on that below.
We are in talks with the Force about both of these issues, but while we work to resolve them, please don’t hesitate to contact your local reps if you need support.
NNM
Earlier this month we had our National Negotiation Meeting with the force. The following topics were discussed:
Op Hampshire – Following on from my point above, unfortunately this Federation has been made aware of several incidents where officers have been badly assaulted and Op Hampshire has not been adhered to. These incidents were escalated straight to the DCC who, thankfully, got things back on track immediately and we greatly appreciate his efforts. We urged the force to reinforce the OP Hampshire process and message with middle management. Being assaulted is not part of the role and neither is investigating your own assault. Not being contacted at all by line supervisors is also unacceptable. The DCC and the Force have committed to pushing the ’We Care’ values out and ensuring Op Hampshire is followed.
Machinery of Negotiation – this is the policy that defines and sets out the process for negotiation with the Force and is long overdue for a review. This review has now begun, and the aim is to simplify the policy for easier understanding and to add the BTP Authority as co-signatories along with the Force and the Federation.
Optimised Policing Model (OPM) – although this was discussed at this meeting, we are involved in all the meetings concerning this piece of work. I wanted to make you aware of the OPM Interactive Toolkit, which can be found on the SharePoint page on the intranet. This toolkit will have weekly updates around the OPM, which departments were consulted with and any decisions that have been made thus far. A useful piece of kit to keep you abreast of this topic.
Secondment Policy – this was raised after an issue was highlighted on D Division, specifically around the role of custody sergeant with Police Scotland. The MOU that D Division has with Police Scotland, is at odds with the force Secondment Policy and work will be carried out with the force to rectify this.
L&D Operating Model
Earlier this month, I had a meeting with Learning & Development who wanted to make the Federation aware of a new operating model that is being developed and that will eventually be proposed to the Chief Officer Group and the Force Executive Board. This work is still in the initial stages, but basically, the outcome of this will be to bring the whole L&D arena up to date.
I have been assured that this will not be efficiency driven, in fact more investments will be made. This will be a co-designed process, whereby all departments within L&D will have an input on how this model should look and function. As is usual, once the proposed model is drafted, it will be put out to consultation and a dedicated inbox will be created for any feedback or counter proposals. We will have regular meetings with L&D to keep us updated and will ensure transparency and fairness.
Ultimately, this will hopefully result in better trained and more confident officers and staff, which is good for us as an organisation and for the travelling public.
ITV Show ‘Piglets’
For those of you that don’t know, this is a new comedy show that is being aired by ITV. It is about new police recruits going through training school and as the title suggests, has the potential to be quite damaging.
This Federation is aware that PFEW have already made their feelings very clear about this and have complained to Ofcom and ITV. This is something we agree with, and I have also submitted a letter of complaint to both parties. You can read that letter here.
With the reputation of the police being at an all-time low, I find it incredulous that this is being allowed, as it is highly offensive to police officers who routinely risk their lives to protect the public.
It is incredible that the media jumps up and down about officers who are dismissed for using unacceptable language or behaviour, but then the same media expect officers to face this humiliation in the name of entertainment.
PFEW Bravery Awards
An excellent reminder of the outstanding work officers do each day came in the form of the annual PFEW Bravery Awards, which our Chair had the pleasure of attending this month. There were many worthy nominations for outstanding bravery and the night was enjoyed by all who attended – you can read the officers’ stories here.
Our own Federation Awards of Excellence will be held on Tuesday 24 September as part of our annual conference. While this year’s recipients have already been chosen, we will soon issue the nomination forms for next year’s awards so keep in mind the amazing work your colleagues are currently doing and put them forward to recognition next year.
Finally
A very warm welcome to Paul Miller who has joined us as the B Division full-time representative and is our first Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead. Paul has already hit the ground running and I look forward to working with him in his new capacity. There’s an interview with him on our website where we also explain why it’s so important, after a two-year hiatus, that we have this role back in place.
I hope you have found this update useful. I will finish by wishing you and your families well; I hope you have some time off together over the summer holidays.
Best wishes,
Mark
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Mark Marshallsay - General Secretary, BTP Federation