|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
View from the Chairman
March 2010
As we move towards the general election I think the clearest sign being given to us from whoever wins the election is that cuts to public services can be expected, the police service being no exception. Taking this into consideration and with limited rises to the police precept on council tax, our police authority are planning to save £11.5 million over the next three years, with a hit of £8.5 million in the next financial year alone.
The time is right for some honest talking. It has been suggested that better protection can be provided at significantly less cost. We have not been provided with any plans that reassure us that this can be achieved.
We fully support the fact that we are one workforce. It is our belief as a Joint Branch Board that the cornerstone of Warwickshire Police is the warranted Police Officer.
For your information Regulation A19 is the mechanism in The Police Pensions Acts and Regulations 1987, that allows for forces to compulsory retire officers up to the rank of Chief Superintendent on the grounds of efficiency of the force only, and only applies to officers who are entitled to be in receipt of a police pension.
To support this we have issued the following statement: -
Warwickshire Police Federation
The Joint Branch Board would like to make the following statements to the force, our membership and the public in Warwickshire: -
The Joint Branch Board is committed to providing the best protection for the public of Warwickshire whilst maintaining the warranted police officer establishment.
We support the fullest use of 'Police Authority Reserves'.
We cannot support the current stance that each directorate find or make a 10% saving, we believe that more consideration should be given to delivering what services the public need, this may require some directorates to make greater savings than others. We therefore believe that 150+ should focus on what posts/roles are required to deliver these services, and conduct a robust needs analysis. As part of this process the public must be consulted.
We believe in the omni-competency of police officers, and a reduction of the current Police Officer strength will seriously affect the resilience of the force.
Police Community Support Officers are not a substitute for sworn police officers, and the removal of Home Office funding poses a risk to their short, medium and long term sustainability.
We believe that the force currently exists on the good will of our membership, we cannot support any move towards a greater use of our members being placed on call. This provision is not catered for within Police Regulations.
We do not support any workforce development project within Warwickshire until the nationally sponsored Home Office/ACPO workforce project reports on the outcomes of the demonstration sites, and that the PFEW document 'Measuring Up' be taken into consideration
In operational scenarios, we believe that the current Gold, Silver, Bronze structure rank responsibility is fit for purpose; we do not support any dilution of this.
We do not agree with the imposition of Regulation A19 and will legally challenge its use within Warwickshire.
We support a review of all senior support staff management posts.
We support a review of ACPO posts.
The Joint Branch Board remains to be convinced that the current structure of 150+ has at its heart the best interests of the force or the communities of Warwickshire.
|
 |
