Police Federation S From Sam Dobbs Federation Office Chair – Northamptonshire Branch Wootton Hall Park Extension 343805 Mobile: 07887 781717 NN4 0JA Telephone 03000 111 222 Email: [email protected] Ext 341048

MEMBERS’ UPDATE | 25 NOVEMBER 2020

Dear Member

As I write this November update, I do so fresh from the aftermath of the assault on PC Joseph Bushnell, the armed incident at Asda in , and the attack on Sgt Dave Cayton at . These have been truly shocking incidents causing reactions of disgust and anger from the force, the community, the national Police Federation and the herself. With each incident showing the characteristic courage of the officers involved, it also shows that police officers continue to be injured and highlights the risks faced every day. You may not be so aware of the huge effort and initiative behind the scenes after such incidents to ensure support for those injured and involved and to glean all the learning possible. Be assured, your Federation is fully involved with these initiatives, and engaged with the Force.

Whilst I am not allowed to comment on these sub-judice matters in great detail, I pay tribute to the way PC Bushnell has stoically responded to having second-degree burns from his armpit to his forearm. He was pleased to spend five hours catching up with his team this week and hopes to be able to come back to work on restricted duties during January 2021.

I pay tribute to all those involved in the response to the man with the knife at Asda in Raunds – from the FCR to the armed officers who attended and their judgment of a situation which could easily have justified the shooting of the suspect.

I pay tribute to the sheer selflessness of Sgt Dave Cayton, who, in the finest traditions of the police service, placed himself between a man armed with a gun and a knife and two vulnerable elderly parents. His injuries could have been life-threatening/changing. Luckily he is in good spirits and recovering well. I believe that the Chief intends himself to pay tribute to these officers in messages he is preparing for the next week or so.

The Chief Constable invited me to represent the Federation at a review of the Desborough incident, chaired by the Deputy Chief, and as a result, we plan to repeat this presentation and findings to Sgt Cayton’s team and other interested parties, including Fed Reps and sergeants from across the force, over two sessions over the next ten days or so. These have been extraordinary and shocking incidents in the life and history of the Force and the effect of all three in short succession has not been lost on me or the Force leadership. I conclude this introduction with the words from my Tweet over the weekend, when I said:

‘Our officers have shown selfless courage in two chilling, disturbing incidents, placing themselves between armed suspects and unarmed civilians. A salutary reminder of the risks in policing and the calibre and courage of heroes I’m honoured to call colleagues.’

John Apter, Chair of the National Police Federation responded ‘Thanks for the overnight update. Incredible bravery and professionalism shown by our colleagues. A great response; please pass on my best.’

The Chief Constable responded: ‘Such dreadful incidents but reassured that the machinery of support, both locally and nationally kicked in superbly. The risks are very real, mitigated (best we can) only by the professionalism, training and courage of the men and women who do this incredible job.’

In connection with these matters, I was also asked to do two radio interviews – on BBC Radio Northampton and NLive, when I talked about officer safety and the reaction to assaults on emergency workers. In 2019/2020 there were 136 injury assaults recorded against emergency workers and 472 without injury. In the current 12 months, these have increased to 168 injury assaults and 580 non-injury. It is for these reasons that the Federation has supported proposals to increase penalties for such offences, and the routine availability of Taser to those who want to and fit the criteria to carry it.

Here now follows a round-up of other news from your Federation. I am grateful for your feedback and it is clear that these updates are appreciated and worth the time collating. The following are in no particular order of importance:

ANNUAL LEAVE | I wrote to all members during the first Lockdown and again during the summer, with my fears around our Annual Leave. With large amounts of AL cancelled, I have remained worried that vast amounts of AL had not been pre-booked and I updated you in a previous letter of the thousands of hours of AL awaiting being taken. I again raised the matter at the Force JNCC hosted by the Chief Constable in October and he instigated further work for discussion by Chief Officers. This work has identified that my concerns remain founded: 813 officers have more than 45hrs of AL yet to be taken (45 hours is the limit allowed to be carried forward.) Of these, 586 officers have 90 or more AL hours yet to be taken, of which 484 have more than 100 hours to take. The Force is due to publish a position on this in the next week, given we are two-thirds of the way through the AL year. I cannot see how the Force will be able to approve more than 45 hours carry-forward, given the already-known challenges of 2021-22, so the message is clear that those of us who have AL to take should book it now, as it is still feasible that it could be granted prior to April 2021. I say ‘us’ because I am on the naughty step too as one of the 484! Aside the organisational need to have AL planned in, it’s really important we all get our rest and recreation time. Please check your balances and start planning not to lose your Leave on 31st March 2021. Watch out for the force news on the subject. I believe it will really be a case of ‘use it or lose it.’

OPERATION TALLA | The Force Silver and Gold Groups now meet weekly again, and you will have seen my circular on taking Talla seriously. I was not prepared for the amount of correspondence I received in support of my circular when I might have expected some pushback. Many of you want to see better adherence and less of a casual response by our members. It’s vital we continue to wear PPE – within the force estate, and outside. Because of these concerns from members that some colleagues are not applying the same level of concern to CV19 risks, I was asked to provide a reality check on Coronavirus which I am able to do following the Op Talla Silver meeting this morning. These are the highlights/lowlights, depending on your perspective:

 When we had the Greencore surge in infections, our infection rate was slightly less than 100 per 100,000.

 When we entered lockdown, there were concerns that our infection rates in the county were nearing 100 per 100,000 of population.

 When Manchester entered Tier 3, they were at 300 per 100,000.

 As of today, Northamptonshire sits at 270 per 100,000.

 The number of hospital admissions is increasing and there is a renewed worry about mortuary capacity.

 CID report a 2nd positive test on a staff member in a month. Six colleagues have had to self-isolate and this has wiped out half a team. Senior officers still complain of a casual attitude to workplace safety practices and distancing.

 There are concerns about officers/staff who may have to self-isolate due to being tracked and traced to & Northampton Magistrates’ Courts. This is identified as an area for us to be vigilant about.

 The number of officers currently self-isolating is down from 120 to 50, and our overall absence rate is down from 9.3% to 6.4%.

 There are concerns about the longer-term effects on colleagues who contracted coronavirus. Some are struggling to achieve full recovery after 8 weeks. Some reach the end of their self-isolation after a positive test, still feel unwell and have to spend more time off work because they are still testing positive.

 Given the Winter Plan published by the Government last night, Operation Lapland will be routinely reviewed, and we have asked that consideration be given that, if there is a reduced NTE, then the Force looks at moving officers from full-nights to half-nights/lates. We are assured that this will be considered, but that if change is supported, it may be on a last minute basis. I have suggested that officers might not object to this if it is achievable.

 I do not foresee any changes to the working from home arrangements in the short or medium term.

The situation in our county is still described as grim and I suggest we cannot afford any complacency in keeping ourselves safe at a critical time.

ENABLING SERVICES | This is a term now used freely and I take a moment to ensure we all know what it means for us police officers. Paul Bullen is the chief officer who heads this command, which comprises People, Fleet, ISD, Finance and Estates, each of which has its own Head. The different bit about ‘enabling’ is that each of these Heads either already, or will, head up their areas of business for both police and fire. This is to be truly shared working between the two services and it is why our move to Darby House, Darby Close, Wellingborough is so ground-breaking and iconic. This will be accommodation for 450 police and fire service desks, and the Federation is being briefed on this move, as are the police officers and staff who will be locating to probably our best-ever standards of accommodation. If you haven’t seen the virtual tours, please take a moment to search them out. Chief Mick Stamper is the senior officer charged with ‘Enabling Services’ and stressed to me that he wants his work to truly enable frontline policing services and absolutely ensure that whatever is put in place doesn’t disable those services! For more details on Darby House, and a virtual tour, go here https://northants.intranet.police.uk/project/enablingservices/Pages/Darby- Close.aspx

BREXIT | Detective Superintendent Piscopo is leading as Silver for the Force’s response to Brexit, with ACC Blatchly as Gold Commander. The Force will have a commitment to national mutual aid, and is being briefed by EMRICC (the coordinating centre) what our regional commitment will look like. In essence, we will require identifying a number of officers for deployment to the channel ports to assist policing as well as a contingency should anyone fall ill to Covid-19.

COP 26 (Op Urram) | The Brexit deployment will be a small deployment in comparison to the Climate Change conference this time in 2021, and I refer you to the joint communications I sent out with the Silver Commander for this (Op Urram), Superintendent Tom Thompson last month. If you didn’t see the comms, they said,

“For the first time, the UK will host the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (known as COP26) at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow from 1-12 November 2021. The climate talks will be the biggest international summit the UK has ever hosted as it brings together over 30,000 delegates including heads of state, climate experts and campaigners to agree coordinated action to tackle climate change. The UN Climate Change process is seen as central to collective action.

We have received details of the initial requirements from Northamptonshire Police which are in the order of two PSUs, in addition to specialist officers and reserves. This will require identifying 70+ officers who will be available from Northamptonshire Police and who will be sent to Scotland during a period when the Force already plans to have 90 officers deployed for seasonal events like Halloween, Bonfire Night and Remembrance. Officers who are deployed to COP26 may require backfilling, which may mean some amendments of normal policing operations. The ramifications and requirements for planning are considerable. It is for this reason that the Force and Police Federation are in early dialogue. The principles already agreed are as follows:

 In the first instance, we will seek volunteers for the deployment to Scotland.

 We shall need to ensure that our PSU and BSU training and establishment supports the 2021 need.

 There is likely to be a requirement for non-frontline officers to backfill those deployed to Scotland.

 We will consider individual circumstances so that appropriate decisions are made according to needs of officers.

 We will manage expectations, communicate regularly and work together between Force & Federation.

 Our commitment to this event is non-negotiable, which may mean lawful deployments if volunteers cannot be found.

This will be a police deployment unprecedented in nature, and will be both interesting and demanding. It may also be an enjoyable deployment and suited for some who have trained in specialisms not usually practised (protest removal, etc). The Force and Federation have agreed that in these circumstances, there will be a restriction on Annual Leave and Time Off during the key period.

BACKLOGS IN THE COURTS | During November, the media picked up on a tweet of mine and after some research and further developments, BBCRN ran a day-long feature on the thousands of outstanding court cases in the county and the 440+ outstanding crown court trials, prompting one of the country’s 22 ‘Nightingale Courts to be announced for Northampton. Alongside other interviewees, including local barristers and the PFCC, I commented on how difficult it is for us to promote and recommend local justice for victims of crime knowing it may take years to get to court. I also commented on the difficulties we face when being challenged by a smart defence barrister three years since gathering evidence.

REMEMBRANCE 2020 was a more muted commemoration of fallen officers than usual but no less well-meant or valid. Led by the Force Chaplain, the Chief Constable and the PFCC, I contributed to a video act of remembrance, hoisting the ‘Thin Blue Line’ Flag at FHQ provided by the Federation, for the first time at Police HQ, when we remembered the late Sgt Paul Keany. See it via this link https://northants.intranet.police.uk/news/News%20videos/Forms/Video/videoplayerpage.aspx?ID=2995&FolderCTID=0x0120D520A 808004A58B7DD38E2254B93A497C23070CB0C&List=f092e077-bd50-4362-8325- 7d463624f54a&RootFolder=%2Fnews%2FNews%20videos%2F2020%2D11%2D11%2DRemembrance%20Day%20virtual%20serv ice%2FAdditional%20Content&RecSrc=%2Fnews%2FNews%20videos%2F2020%2D11%2D11%2DRemembrance%20Day%20virt ual%20service

PENSIONS | I am grateful to Andy Glenn of our Federation Council, for his work leading on the pension challenge – something which has happened largely before any of us current representatives were around but a situation we inherit and know how concerning it is for some. It would be easy to be offended or upset by some of the comments which members level at us, but we understand that members affected are frustrated and infuriated by the challenge. That said, Andy reports as follows, to give a general update (not least because there are limitations on what we can say legally):

As you will be aware the Government has stated it will put right the pension losses suffered by officers that were transferred to the 2015 scheme from earlier Police pension schemes. We will keep you updated in relation to how and when that is likely to happen and what it means for those affected as soon as we receive updates.

As previously communicated, the national Police Federation has launched a compensation claim against the Government on behalf of members who were victims of discrimination and suffered any ‘injury to feeling’ as a result of the changes to members’ pensions by the introduction of the 2015 scheme.

Please note the deadline for the Police Federation of & Wales’ pension compensation claim has now closed. PFEW are now in the process of contacting all claimants informing them whether they are eligible to progress with a claim or not. FAQs on eligibility can be found on the links below. The purpose of this claim is to ensure those who have not already submitted a claim in respect of the pension discrimination are also considered for any compensation the court considers appropriate for the distress caused by the discriminatory changes. The claim is being handled on PFEW’s behalf by the leading UK and international law firm Penningtons Manches Cooper.

Further details of the compensation claim can be found here: https://www.polfed.org/our-work/pfew-pension-compensation-claim

Details of the different pension schemes and latest news can be found here: https://www.polfed.org/our-work/pensions

TAX RELIEF ON FEDERATION SUBSCRIPTIONS | Members are reminded that they are entitled to tax credit in respect of subscriptions. Follow this link for more details https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/professional-fees-and-subscriptions

WELFARE SUPPORT PROGRAMME | This service is available to all Federation members when referred by the local Branch. It offers a 24-hour, 365 days a year telephone support line for you and your family where you can speak directly to our trained staff regarding the issues that concern you. The telephone staff have had training in police discipline and Post Incident Procedures. For more information on what support is available please click go to https://www.polfed.org/our-work/welfare-support- programme-wsp/.

STEM CELL APPEAL | As police officers we are more likely to have experienced saving a life – but have you ever considered becoming a stem cell donor and saving the life of someone who is in critical need of a bone marrow transplant? We were contacted by Federation as an for Warwickshire Police is urging all officers and members of the public to register to become a donor after his granddaughter was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of leukaemia. Inspector Williams' granddaughter is just 12 weeks old. She was diagnosed at just 8 weeks old and is now waiting for a lifesaving stem cell transplant, from a stranger, if she is to be cured.

To find out if you could be a possible match for Azaylia or anyone else in urgent need of a transplant, all that is required after registering, is for you to complete a home testing mouth swab kit. You can order a kit from https://www.dkms.org.uk/en/register-now.

POSTINGS TO CID | When the Force was faced with the prospect of regular intakes of new officers back in the Spring, the Vacancy Panel identified the order in which understaffed departments would be repopulated in the following order of priority: LRT, Priority Neighbourhoods, CID, Neighourhood Teams. Since then, it is good that LRT and the priority neighbourhoods have been brought up to strength.

In the past six weeks, having received no requests or volunteers for PC posts in the Crime Command, despite the workload without the vacancies being carried, the Federation has been included in a fair and transparent process to identify uniform colleagues for selection and posting to CID.

ISSUES RAISED ON YOUR BEHALF | In addition to the myriad of issues we raise on individuals’ behalf, here is a bullet point snapshot of the issues we have raised or discussed at key meetings. At the Federation Council meeting, the Chief Constable was our guest when he welcomed our prepared questions, which he answered fully on:

 Recruitment from BAME communities.  Implications of the W80 case findings in the Court of Appeal (use of force).  Christmas duties and keeping them relevant to the changing policing need.  Changes to Duty Chief Inspector Cover.  Entry routes to policing, standards and representing our community.  Rural Policing challenges.  How we could respond to a younger frontline – in service, experience and age.

We then raised the following issues at our JNCC meeting with the Chief:

 Support for officers who work in intensive and stressful departments (like Serious Collision Investigation Unit, Child Protection Team, etc).  Working from Home – implications and benefits.  Force Promotion processes and results.  Annual Leave during the Covid era.  Changes to Finance.  Staff surveys.  Support for Special .  Opportunity time for Federation representatives.  Recruitment standards and plans.  Experience levels of frontline.

PROMOTION EXAMS | Your Federation was also fully involved in the recent issues faced by colleagues taking the ’ Exam, following the failure of the systems. Representations were made with the national representatives at the College of Policing, and there was continuous dialogue with the force examinations officer. We are delighted that a good number of officers have passed the exam, and those that didn’t were offered opportunities to resit. The number through the process means that the force can now substantively fill its inspector vacancies. The second wave of sergeants’ professional discussions are now planned, and the rescheduled Sergeants national exam has now been sat and we await the results. With the simplification of the force promotion process, once a candidate has been successful with the national exam at sergeant and inspector level, and providing support is given by the line manager, the only process for substantive promotion is the professional discussion.

CUSTODY SERGEANT POSTINGS | After years of issues with posting sergeants to custody, the Federation has engaged with HR and LPAs to come up with a more transparent and corporate system to allocate custody training and posting. Chief Inspector Julie Mead is the new Head of Custody for Leicestershire and Northamptonshire and is working hard to remove some of the issues which have made this an unpalatable posting for some, in what is a crucial part of the Force’s daily business.

WINTER FLU VACCINATIONS | Every member of the force has been offered a free flu vaccine and uptake has been good. It is embarrassing to report that some officers have been ‘no-show-ers’ at the clinics. Their slot is therefore wasted and the vaccination disposed of. If you would like a vaccination, please book via ForceNet and if you have booked, but cannot make an appointment, please have the courtesy to cancel in advance.

SUPPORT FOR THE FRONTLINE | The Federation has been a consultee and has been representing on behalf of Chief Inspectors in a process which will see the beefing up of support for frontline officers. In addition to the three PACE inspectors based in the Custody command, there will be two 24 hour duty inspectors (one on each LPA), as well as a duty chief inspector on days and lates, seven days a week. Enhancements are being considered in relation to crime cover. Whilst there have been some issues for the Federation to make representations about, we have warmly welcomed these initiatives to bring support and advice to a younger-in-service frontline.

CARRYING OF TASER IN COURT | Our National Chair recently wrote with the following update/news which I pass on. John Apter states: “After many years of challenging, lobbying and providing evidence from our members the Lord Chief Justice has amended the Criminal Practice Direction to allow officers to be able to carry Taser in court as part of their operational equipment when attending court on routine business, such as giving evidence or delivering exhibits. This has been a serious issue for our members for many years, in fairness to the NPCC Less Lethal Weapons National Lead, DAC Lucy D’Orsi she has always supported our argument and has been fighting this one for us. The changes came in on 16th November. More details can be found in the attached link but this is good news. https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/message- from-lord-burnett-lord-chief-justice-of-england-and-wales-11th-amendment-to-criminal- practice-directions/

AUDIT | We were recently subject of a visit from the Auditor who spend two days with us examining our governance, constitutional and financial affairs. This was shortly prior to Charlotte Pateman assuming her role as Secretary and Adam Dixon-Kelly assuming his role as Treasurer. This has been a helpful process for all us newcomers, and has identified a number of actions in relation to our Trustees, our Constitution and Council. As a Board, we are indebted to Charlotte for taking on this work in her first weeks of Secretary and grateful for the support and assistance given by regional and national colleagues. Part of this work has included the elections to Council which is reported on elsewhere in this update.

CHIEF INSPECTOR NEIL DOROTHY | I would not ordinarily mention individuals who are about to be medically retired, but at his request and with his permission, Neil, a former Fed Rep has reached a stage in his health challenges which means that he will medically retire from the Force in December after 29 years in policing (5 as a in Devon & Cornwall and 24 years in Northamptonshire.) More details will follow separately, not least how we will bid farewell to Neil given the restrictions around us. We send him our best wishes in all the circumstances as he adjusts to his new life. I cannot thank Andy Glenn enough for all the support he has been giving to Neil in tough circumstances. If you would like to send a message to Neil pending a further update, you are welcome to do this via DCI Andy Glenn.

DR PETER GORDON | We continue to be in touch with Peter’s family whose latest update is that he was readmitted to NGH in September suffering from visual impairment, where he received neurological examination. He underwent yet more tests and treatment before being moved to Isebrook Hospital where he has daily physio which is helping immensely and the family are hopeful he can move out of rehab at the end of November. He has more tests on 2 December when he will see the consultant neurologist again. I have assured his wife of our continued best wishes.

NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS | I am grateful to Charlotte for having conducted the recent Council elections for new work-based representatives. She reports that the Federation nomination process finished on Monday last week. As a result of this we have filled 10 of the 11 vacancies which is great news for our Council. Charlotte will be meeting with each of them over the next two weeks, and once this is complete they will be booked onto training courses to allow them and cover them to act as representatives. We warmly welcome them as they put themselves forward to represent, influence and negotiate on your behalf. They are: Steven Clark, Mark Edkins, Debbie Howes, Matt Moore, Cathy O’Connor, Sharon Pickering, Scott Raghib, Stuart Rands, Nayhaa Saleem and Daniel Spires.

END OF AN ERA | Linda Crane, our Office Manager has announced her retirement after a long and distinguished service with the Force and the Federation. She has seen Chairs and Secretaries come and go, her management of the office and systems has been second-to-none, and she has been described as being one of the best minute- takers in the country. Her personality, corporate memory and work will leave a huge hole to fill. Whilst the ramifications of Linda’s retirement are worked through, we are delighted that Amanda Salt has been successful in her promotion to a modified job description as Charlotte reviews the office support on our behalf. We wish Linda all the very best in a long and happy retirement.

AND FINALLY… | In the best traditions of News at Ten, I can imagine the excitement when you read that VOI, this company which operates the Marmite (ie love ‘em or hate ‘em) scooters around Northampton Town has written to PSD to offer free rides for Blue Light employees offer via: https://www.voiscooters.com/voi-4-discounts/. Being the kill- joy consultee that I am, you might probably see why I have just checked that this was not intended for on-duty use. I can just imagine a shoplifter being pursued down Abington Street on an electric scooter! I leave you with that image.

Please look after yourselves, stay safe, and remember we are here to represent, influence and negotiate on your behalf. With all good wishes

Yours

SAM DOBBS Chair | Northamptonshire Police Federation