Posts tagged Nick Herbert Policing Minister
CLOSING DOWN Sale . . .
May 28th
. . .ENDs Tuesday 26th July 2011
A strange lull this week in the Police World following last week’s energising Police Federation of England & Wales (PFEW) Conference in Bournemouth.
The resounding political comment which will no doubt stick with the Home Secretary Theresa May and be taken away by her was when she was reminded by Paul McKeever Chair of PFEW “Where were you Home Secretary when the Police Budgets were being discussed because it seems you were absent without leave?” The argument related to other Secretaries of State such as Liam Fox who had successfully spoken in defence of his MOD and the back tracking of the NHS cuts.
It must be the administration period with letters being sent on to the relevant people mentioned and voted on during conference including Sir Hugh Orde and his team of ACPO Ltd. This was followed up by many of the 42 Police Services Federated ranks asking their Chief Officers to speak up and be heard!
Julie Nesbit’s Constables Chair of PFEW said “We Police with the consent of our communities and not a licence from ACPO!” This was seen by many as the continued death knell for the Association of Chief Police Officers and followed media articles announcing the financial difficulties of ACPO Ltd who were reported to be on the brink of bankruptcy. No one argues you have to have a Senior Management Team but have todays ACPO’s literally priced themselves out of the modern day market?
But then how would the Police Service survive the death of its leaders? Is it time for the defibrillator to be brought out and dusted down from the back office in an attempt to revive them?
The NPIA appears to be seen by many as a much better argument of Senior Management. After all they collectively organise the many front, middle and back office services which are integral to the modern day Police Service such as the many IT systems – the Police National Computer for one! They would have a much better overview of a modern service. This bizarrely is one organisation which faces the axe in the current threat of cuts?
You have to ask WHY the NPIA are being axed when they appear to do much much more for the Service and our communities than ACPO who face bankruptcy.
We move on to Mr Winsor who we found is earning just £300 a day for his reports part 1 and part 2 and start by giving a ‘well done’ to Sgt Nigel Tomsett for establishing this from a freedom of information request. Even more poignant when you consider the Home Secretary has delayed the publishing of part 2 until January 2012? Why the delay? Has part 2 been completed or is our Tom ‘claiming double time’? Even more bizarre that the Pay and Negotiating Board who negotiate the pay and conditions for Police Officers are being forced to negotiate part 1 of a 2 part report without the knowledge of what part 2 contains by Tuesday 26th July 2011. A little like having seen a brand new Porsche for sale buying it for cash, arranging it to be delivered and a Mini turns up 6 months later!
Would you accept delivery or go back to part 1 where you saw and brought it?
There are great and serious worries not just for Police Officers but coming from communities fearing a crime rise. One delegate attempted to educate the Policing Minister that his area had indeed already had an increase. Attempted because the Policing Minister arrogantly argued that it was not the case! But you have to ask who would you believe, the Officer working in the area of increase or the Policing Minister? One thing is for sure and that’s that they both cannot be right.
Ian Rennie Secretary of PFEW summed it up for us with his statement “I don’t think you understand there’s only one thing you get from less . . . . and that’s less!!!” A simple equation but one we fear Government are not listening too from many directions.
Well where does all this miss mash leave us! 20% Cuts are an absolute outrage there is no doubt about it. It will affect our communities with crime rises which means more people hurt, more road accidents resulting in deaths, more rapists and murderers walking about on bail. Scaremongering we hear many Coalition MPs and ACPO ranks cry but do you want to run the risk? We know we wouldn’t!
Let’s have this Royal Commission into Policing which will serve to seek continuity in our Policing for at least the next 30 years. That’s how long ago the last one was!
Let’s see the status quo of Police Authorities continue but with much more community accessible consultation and not the alienated glass house it has become. Let’s pass on ACPO Ltd to the professional organisers the NPIA and allow our Chief Officers to actually run our Police Service free from bonuses as opposed to being at the beck and call of a statistically led Government and oh yes if you didn’t realise there are still targets which have to be met by rank & file Home Secretary despite you saying you have scrapped them.
There is now more spin from Government than there is from a modern day washing machine! The difference with our Police Service is that it’s trying to hang out the dripping washing of Government to Protect Our Police and Our communities.
What’s YOUR view?
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Police Reform Conference in London Today
Apr 14th
QE2 Conference Centre todays host of the Police Reform Conference
Baroness Harris calls for a Royal Commission into Policing
It appears that there were mixed messages coming from ACPO and Government at the Police Reform Conference held in the QE2 Centre in London today.
Several sources were tweeting from the event as speakers including Sir Hugh Orde, Simon Reed and Nick Herbert gave their views on the reforms.
Nick Herbert repeated claims that the Metropolitan Police were the only force recruiting praising his Tory friend and London Mayor Boris but was quickly corrected by a Surrey Councillor who stated that they were too!
However it was also widely felt that Nick Herbert criticised ACPO ranks when he said “The thing that I am increasingly doing is noting the Chief Constables from forces who are delivering these savings, all requiring difficult decisions I accept, but delivering decisions in a way which actually is protecting the frontline service, these are often the quieter chief constables, those who are not bursting out into the national media to give us the benefit of their latest opinion, but actually are getting on with the job along with their workers”.
He was of course referring to Chief Officers like Chief Chris Sims who spoke out earlier this week in the Times.
Following his speech there were several calls for an apology one of note was the Shadow Policing Minister Vernon Coker who said “This is a disgraceful attack. Oon chief constables who are understandably concerned about having to lose over 12,500 police officers because of the Tory-led government’s 20% cuts to policing,”
One tweeter even suggested he should be removed from his post!
John Shaw from G4S then as one tweeter explained ‘Exploded the myths and received wisdom about back office savings.’
Nick Gargan from the NPIA pointed out that ‘It is “facile & simplistic” to think you can save billions from procurement collaboration’
This was the press statement on the NPIA website: NPIA Chief Executive Nick Gargan today urged police colleagues not to be distracted from their central job of protecting vulnerable people by the large number of changes facing the service.
‘Speaking at the Police Reform Conference today in central London he said that the new Police Commissioners and National Crime Agency together with the impact of the Winsor and Neyroud Reviews would mean fundamental changes to the police.
He reminded the audience that police spending on IT was higher than in comparable industries. He also outlined how the NPIA’s ISIS strategy could help forces reduce IT costs and improve their service to the public. He added that every pound saved on IT could help maintain front-line policing.
He urged delegates wanting to reduce bureaucracy to fundamentally examine which services had become unaffordable rather than just trying to reduce paperwork’.
Sir Hugh Orde then spoke and said “The notion that police are the last unreformed public service is a complete nonsense” He continued to attack the Government mantra that “All we do is crime” In respect of the reform of ACPO Sir Hugh insisted that ‘The idea of the Institute of policing was not an attempt to have ACPO funded by rank & file’ He then referred to press coverage of Police reform and cuts Sir Hugh stating ‘There is a certain element of the British media that are out to discredit the work of the police … to justify pay cuts’
Simon Reed the Vice Chair Police Federation England & Wales was on the stage next. Here is a slice of his speech taken from the Police Federation website:
“If we are going to have such wide scale, but piecemeal, reform of policing then let’s do it properly.
Let’s review our role in this complex society – and
Let’s ask the public – what works and what doesn’t
Let’s find out what are their wants and needs from their police service?
Let’s ask them what they expect from their criminal justice system?
Let’s ensure we have the ability to identify and plan for future threats and challenges
Let’s ensure we are able to effectively allocate resources in time. We agree with the Police Minister that resources are precious.
This is the only way to ensure efficient and effective use of resources and reduce bureaucracy accordingly
The piecemeal and haphazard approach to reform has failed
Police officers are not resistant to change
The Police Federation of England and Wales is not resistant to change
In fact, we have been calling for considered change for over a decade now.
But change that must have the public interest at its heart
Not change for change sake; based on a whim by those merely seeking re-election
Ladies and gentlemen, what we urgently need is a Royal Commission on Policing
That way we can ensure we have a police service that is fit for purpose
A police service that delivers what the public wants
A police service that takes account of the huge changes we have seen in society
Our police service is the envy of the world
I can assure you that we are not going to roll over and the let the government destroyed it and jeopardise public safety without a fight”
Rob Garnham – Chair, Association of Police Authorities also spoke at the conference. This is a snippet of what he had to say:
‘We’re still here and fighting in the public interest both on today’s challenges and future reviews’
‘Police reforms pose a danger of infecting the police service with partiality and politicisation’
‘There is a danger of severe cuts being wielded by new police commissioners with little experience of policing’
‘There is a danger that partiality of commissioners could harm perception of each police officer’s independence’
There then followed a flood of concerns:
Police delegates raised concern of far right being elected to PCC posts with Simon Reed who was concerned that extremist PCCs were a ‘very real’ threat due to low turnout at elections and that PCCs will also be ‘too parochial’. He raised concern that PCCs will neglect issues like counter terrorism. Mr Reed also made mention of the fact that the precept should not rise when it has risen over the past 10yrs and that the public should not be paying more when they will have fewer Police Officers.
On Nick Herbert’s earlier comments suggesting silencing of some Chief Officers the Association Police Authorities later put out a press statement as follows:
“As Chief Constables’ employers, police authorities entirely agree with the Coalition Government’s programme for Government (May 2010) where it states that
“We need police forces that have greater freedom from Ministerial control”
- and are confident that the Minister would not wish his comments to be interpreted as an attempt to gag Chief Constables; not least as Chief Constables’ views and those of the Home Office and Police Authorities are of equal importance within the Tripartite arrangement which governs policing“.
You can catch up with the full brief by clicking on the following links:
Police Reform Conference – QE2 Centre London
http://www.govknow.com/event-detail.html?id=12&info=speaker
Minister Nick Herbert ‘Trying to silence police concerns about cuts’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13081708
