A NEW Police Covenant should always be \u2018front and centre\u2019 of policing, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Home Secretary Priti Patel told the Police Superintendents’ Association conference that the Covenant would ensure the welfare of officers, police staff and their families will be discussed, monitored and placed under regular parliamentary scrutiny.<\/p>\n
When on the statute books, the Covenant will create a statutory duty for forces to support police officers and places a requirement on the Home Secretary to report annually to Parliament.<\/p>\n
It will focus on protection, health and wellbeing, and support for families of both serving and former police personnel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s got to be welcomed and encouraged,\u201d South Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman Steve Kent said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been asking for this for a while, and now it looks like it\u2019s on the map and is coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t be sceptical about it until we\u2019ve seen it come out and see how it looks and how it will be administered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to just make sure that it\u2019s there, it\u2019s always front and centre, and we refer to it as and when we need to and not just let it be a bit of work that gathers dust and no one sees any value in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to hold people to account and use that as a basis to do so for looking after cops and their welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n