“Reform or be reformed by Government”, sergeants told

THE Government will step in and force change upon the Federation if it is unable to reform itself, the organisation’s sergeants’ lead has warned.

John Giblin, chairman of the Sergeants’ Central Committee, warned that the Federation is seen by many as a “wilful roadblock to reform and change” and that the organisation “must not only show willingness to reform, but actually do so.”

He was speaking at the Police Federation of England and Wales’ annual conference in Bournemouth.

Mr Giblin said: “I know the Police Federation of England and Wales to be a great organisation, with representatives who are working tirelessly on behalf of police officers, the service and the public.

“We have proved we are serious about change in initiating the independent review. We now need to carefully consider and debate the recommendations [of the Normington report] properly and set ourselves on the road to reform and continue to be the credible voice for frontline officers.”

The review said that the Federation – which was in danger of losing influence with the public, the government and its own members – needed to follow a 36-point plan for fundamental reform of culture, behaviour, structure within the organisation.

Mr Giblin said: “It is our opportunity to put our own house in order and be fit for purpose for the next hundred years. It is continuity and change that keeps faith with the past and embraces the future, but what we do now is critical.”

He also praised sergeants for their hard work, which he said was often overshadowed by negative media stories.

The conference heard there has been a 12% drop in sergeant numbers over the last three years with  more than 3,700 sergeants lost across England and Wales. 

Mr Giblin, who is retiring from the police service in June, added: “As sergeants you are the fulcrum upon which the service pivots, the glue that binds it all together, the golden thread in the food chain of operational service delivery to the public that ensures excellence throughout the family of forces.”