THE Home Secretary\u2019s speech to the Federation Conference was a \u201cdespicable attack\u201d on police officers across the country, the chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Neil Bowles (pictured) said delegates were \u201cabsolutely shocked and astounded\u201d by Theresa May\u2019s speech, in which she told officers: \u201cMake no mistake\u2026 If you do not change of your own accord we will impose change on you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Bowles said it was not so much what Mrs May said but the way she delivered it. \u201cYou could see hate in her eyes,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was just absolutely unbelievable. It wasn’t just an attack on the Police Federation, it was an attack on every single police officer in this country, which is despicable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jim Lucas, secretary of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: \u201cWhat annoyed me more than anything was that she knew we were going to go through a process this week, where we were going to look at the recommendations to move on with the Federation and make changes. That was already on the cards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Mr Bowles has urged members to \u201chave confidence\u201d in the change process that the Federation is going to go through, which could take at least two years to put in place.<\/p>\n
He added that the Federation agrees with the \u201cmajority\u201d of points in the Normington Review and said they can be \u201cimplemented quite quickly\u201d. Other things in the report require changes to Police Regulations, while some need a \u201clot of work to get into some sort of shape that would be practical for our organisation\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Lucas said that members \u201ccan be assured that it is business as usual\u201d.\u00a0He added: \u201cRegardless of what has happened and what you see, including the figures that are spun, the vast majority of members get a gold class service and that will continue. That’s not going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n