The new policing and crime minister has vowed to work with police officers to build a resilient police force.
Speaking at the Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA) conference earlier this month, Sarah Jones, the Labour MP for Croydon West, admitted there needed to be frank conversations between the police service and Government.
“I think we can build a police force that is fit for the future and the crimes of the future,” she told the conference, concluding: “But my last, and I think most important, message is that we can only do that together. We may not always agree, but I hope that we can agree the direction of travel, that we can go on that journey together. I know as a politician, I’m not a police officer, I don’t know all the things you know, you have to tell me, and we need to talk to each other, we need to be frank with each other and move forward together.
Sarah Jones, the Labour MP for Croydon West.
“So, I would end just by stating where I started, and thanks to you all for inviting me and for giving me a little bit of your time, and by saying that I want to build that relationship. I want to work with you and build a resilient police force.
Ms Jones was only in the second week in her new role within the Government at the time of making the speech but Phil Walker, chair of South Wales Police Federation, welcomed her comments.
“While it is disappointing that the previous police minister was only in post for just over a year, barely time to really get to grips with the complexities of the challenges within policing right now, we do, of course, look forward to working with Ms Jones to try to build the resilient police force she aspires to,” said Phil.
Peace
“We will do all we can to help her understand the issues being faced by our members as they go about their duties fighting and tackling crime, keeping the peace, protecting the vulnerable.
“They are under huge pressure as they try to meet the ever-growing demands placed on them and they are being pulled from pillar to post which is having an impact on their own wellbeing and the quality of the service they are able to provide for the communities they serve.
“But they are also feeling undervalued and that is affecting their morale, and again policing services. The policing minister would do well to speak up for them in terms of not just ensuring they receive an adequate pay rise next year; a pay rise that reflects the unique role they carry out in our communities but also puts right the years of below-inflation pay rises that have led to police officers being 21 per cent worse off in real terms than they were in 2010.
“We hope she will also take steps towards introducing a police pay review body that is both fair and independent.
Police minister
“We have listened to what the new minister has said at the superintendents’ conference but now we need her act on her warm words of support for police officers and the police service.”
In her speech the police minister admitted that policing remains ‘absolutely a top priority’ for the public and was always one of the top issues raised when MPs were talking to their own constituents.
She explained: “They want to feel safe. They want to see you as much as possible. They want to know that their issues, from anti-social behaviour to the very serious crimes that people are victim of, that they will get the support that they need.”
But she also pledged to make sure officers were getting the welfare support they needed, whether it’s pay, pensions or legislation.
Policing
And she ended by saying: “I genuinely believe, if we get this right, by working together, we can protect that very precious policing by consent model that we all hold so dear, that we can rebuild trust in policing, which, of course, is still a lot higher than politicians, for example, still a lot higher than many, many other professions. And I think we can build a police force that is fit for the future and the crimes of the future.”
Phil said it was encouraging that the policing minister was talking about working with the experts in policing – police officers – to move forward but that only time would tell if she could deliver.
“I really hope that Ms Jones is able to listen to the Federation, the Superintendents’ Association, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other policing stakeholders to address the issues we are currently facing,” he explained.
“All too often, we hear the warm words of support from our politicians who are keen to say how much they appreciate the challenges of being a police officer but, in the vast majority of cases, these words turn out to be hollow as we just don’t them deliver in terms of long-term investment in policing and reform that benefits the police service and the public we serve.”
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