THE Police Federation of England and Wales would have more power if it worked together, the chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Neil Bowles told CopperConnection that there is \u201ctoo much squabbling between rank committees\u201d and that nationally the Fed must be united. An interim report from the Independent Review into the Fed said the National Body had \u201csubstantially\u201d lost the confidence of its members and must change \u201cfundamentally\u201d to avoid becoming irrelevant.<\/p>\n
Mr Bowles said: “This report proves what we and all the Joint Branch Board chairs and secretaries in this region have been saying about communication: There needs to be more of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn South Yorkshire Police Federation when there has been a communication gap reported, we have set out to improve that with things like roadshows, Twitter, Facebook, our magazine and this Ezine.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut nationally, more needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local representation in the Police Federation has been shown to be \u201coutstanding\u201d and a boon to officers \u201cin crisis\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n
The Police Federation Independent Review Progress Report, issued today by Sir David Normington, was critical of the Police Federation of England and Wales, but also highlighted some local successes.<\/p>\n
The report said members \u201chave a far greater engagement and less dissatisfaction with the Police Federation at a workplace and local level than national level and highly value the representation that local representatives provide in a crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
It added: \u201cWe have heard good examples of the impact of local representatives, but the standard is variable. Some of the local representation of police officers in difficulty is outstanding and generally valued by the members.\u201d<\/p>\n
An Ipsos Mori survey of 12,500 front line police officers \u2013 commissioned by the Review – has found 64% are dissatisfied with the performance of the federation and that 91 per cent of the membership believe the Federation has to change.<\/p>\n
Mr Bowles added: \u201cThere is too much squabbling between rank committees. They should act as one. Let us locally carry out rank specific issues and services – leaving them nationally to act as one united front on issues like negotiations, pay, conditions, pensions, legislation – national issues. They would have more power if they worked together.”<\/p>\n
The report called for a national database of members to communicate directly on key issues and more evidence that members\u2019 views are being listened to.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: \u201cAs the progress report highlights, the Federation is an organisation that is in need of change. We look forward to receiving the final report and the opportunity to work with our partners in developing an organisation that not only will serve its members, but also the best interest of the police service in England and Wales.\u201d<\/p>\n
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