Northamptonshire Police Federation S From Sam Dobbs Federation Office Chair – Northamptonshire Branch Wootton Hall Park Extension 343805 Northampton 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 Raunds, and the attack on Sgt Dave Cayton at Desborough. These have been truly shocking incidents causing reactions of disgust and anger from the force, the community, the national Police Federation and the Home Secretary 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 Constable 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 Wellingborough & 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.