Save and Protect!

20 May 2013

Another police force snubs Home Office over £4,000 cut to starting salary for officers

Essex Chief Constable Steve Kavanagh says: "I believe it is important to send a meassage to new recruits on how much I value having committed, competent and enthusiastic individuals joining the force."

From the BBC

19 May 2013

Images of police with rifles in Luton ' a shocking confirmation that law and order has collapsed in parts of the country'

When officers with guns are needed to patrol the streets of an English town because of an upsurge in gang shootings, it seems we have reached something of a watershed in our national life.

From the Daily Telegraph

11 May 2013

'Struggling' police set aside £240,000 to re-hire former officers

Police "struggling to cope" with a flood of allegations resulting from the Jimmy Savile scandal have set aside £240,000 to hire former police officers as private detectives.

From The Independent

10 May 2013

Police fear resources will be over-stretched by proposed new anti-social behavior law

Police have raised concerns about new powers which will force officers to investigate any incident of anti-social behaviour which is reported to them by at least three households.

 From the Daily Telegraph

9 May 2013

Woman who brutally attacked female police officer is barred from every pub in Britain

A 39-year-old carer who pulled a policewoman to the ground and smashed her head against a pavement has been banned from every bar in Britain.

From the Daily Mail

7 May 2013

Police officer shot dead while tackling gunman given posthumous bravery award

Pc Ian Dibell, 41, was killed as he tried to stop a man firing a revolver at two people near his home in Clacton.

From the BBC

6 May 2013

Police officers hurt in knife attack

Two police officers were injured after being knifed by a man in Greater Manchester.

From the BBC

5 May 2013

The police were fantastic, says London victim of phone theft

A Bexley couple were involved in a police 'stakeout' after an iPhone4 was allegedly stolen from their car.

From Local London

4 May 2013

Off duty cop catches cashpoint conmen

A man has been deported and another given a suspended prison sentence after an off-duty police officer caught the two cashpoint conmen removing parts of an ATM machine.

From Local London

3 May 2013

The nasty surprise in Boris's police plan

There won't really be 'more' police. There's no real 'strengthening', it's just that officers who leave the force through natural wastage will be replaced by new recruits.

From Channel 4 News

28 July 2012

Lancashire Police Federation calls for end to 'privatisation'

 The chairman of the Police Federation in Lancashire has asked local MPs to stop what amounts to the "destruction of the police service".

Full story on BBC News

27 July 2012

5,000 police jobs axed

POLICE numbers have fallen to their lowest level in almost a decade, new figures reveal. There are now 134,101 officers in the 43 forces in England and Wales – 5,000 fewer than the previous year and the lowest since 2003.

Full story on Daily Express

26 July 2012

North Wales Police lose 3.4% of force

 NORTH Wales has lost more than 50 police officers in just six months – the highest proportion in Wales, it emerged yesterday. Delyn Labour MP David Hanson said the coalition Government had no strategy to cut crime, only police.

Full story on Daily Post

25 July 2012

'Rest Day' Officers Cover G4S Olympic Bike Event Shortfall

Hampshire Constabulary is sending a contingent of officers to police the Olympic cycling event in Surrey, where G4S still has a shortage of security guards.

Full story on Security Oracle

24 July 2012

Thugs attack lone police officer

A POLICEMAN sent to a report of a smashed car window was repeatedly attacked and threatened by a gang of drunken thugs. From The News, Portsmouth.

Full story on The Portsmouth News

15 July 2012

Ten questions for Theresa May

It is inexplicable that the organisers or Home Office could not check progress.

Full story on The Independent

15 July 2012

Blame Games: The Olympics security debacle

The Home Office and Locog, the Games organisers, say G4S is responsible for the security panic over London 2012. But the problem dates back to political decisions made in 2010. And a picture emerges of G4S using slipshod methods and chaotic organisation which resulted in troops being called up.

Full story on The Independent

15 July 2012

May 'was told 10 months ago of G4S failings'

Police watchdog raised issues over security firm, concerns echoed by ExCeL Games venue.

Full story on The Independent

15 July 2012

G4S boss Nick Buckles 'could quit' over London 2012 Olympics fiasco

The chief executive of G4S has admitted he is considering his future as head of the company and will not take a bonus after failing to provide enough security guards for the London Olympics.

Full story on The Telegraph

15 July 2012

Olympics security fiasco continues as G4S boss admits he doesn't know if guards can speak English

Having been forced to apologise for failing to recruit enough Olympics security staff G4S's boss was left red-faced again today after he admitted he had no idea if those who are working could speak English.

Full story on Daily Mail Online

15 July 2012

Police and army seethe as G4S admits Olympic Games shambles

So far 3,500 soldiers and hundreds of extra police have been drafted in less than two weeks before the start of London 2012.

Full story on The Mirror

14 July 2012

Olympics: will Theresa May pay for choosing politics over pragmatism?

At the root of home secretary's troubles is a mixture of populism and cuts.

Full story on The Guardian

12 July 2012

Military drafted in after G4S Olympic staffing failure

The company contracted by London 2012 organisers Locog to provide security staff for the Olympics, G4S, has been unable to supply the 10,000 trained staff it was contracted to deliver - 16 days before the start of the Olympics.

Full story on Channel 4 News

12 July 2012

Outsourcing police services in the West Midlands

Allowing private companies to deliver police services brings the ethos of profit-above-all to this already sensitive and contentious area of policing.

Full story on The Guardian

5 July 2012

Deaths on Britain's roads rose 3% in 2011

RoSPA concerned that reduced public spending & cuts to road policing partly to blame.

Full story on BBC News

5 July 2012

Is this the future?

The BBC's North America Editor Mark Mardell joined Sgt Nance on patrol to find out the price of those cuts on the front line of policing.

Watch the video on BBC News

5 July 2012

Mike Pannett discusses cuts to Lincolnshire Police - BBC Look North

3 July 2012

More than 6,000 frontline police officers to be lost

At least 6,000 police officers are being lost from the frontline because of budget cuts while three forces are in danger of failing to provide a proper service to the public, according to official inspectors.

Full story on The Telegraph

3 July 2012

Police Federation: cut backs will put public at risk

Chief Constable Steve Finnigan, from the Association of Chief Police Officers, and the Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, Paul McKeever, give their reactions to a report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary assessing the impact of government budget cuts on the police force.

Watch video on The Telegraph

3 July 2012

Hundreds of police stations to close in cutbacks

Almost 6,000 frontline police posts will be axed and hundreds of police stations shut to the public within three years as forces hunt for ways of cutting spending by £2.4bn, the police inspectorate said yesterday.

Full story at The Independent

2 July 2012

Mounted Section Falls Victim To Cuts

Nottinghamshire Police Authority has signed off on a plan to cut its force’s mounted section and redeploy the officers to local policing in a bid to soften the blow of the cuts in central government grants.

Full story on Police Oracle

2 July 2012

Roads Death Increases: 'Cuts May Be To Blame'

Concern is mounting that the first year-or-year increase in the numbers of deaths on the roads for a decade could be a sign that deep cuts in policing budgets are starting to bite.

Full story on Police Oracle

2 July 2012

Police budget cuts 'risk to three forces', HMIC warns

Three police forces may not be able to provide a "sufficiently efficient or effective service" in the future, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary has said.

Full story on BBC News

2 July 2012

Police 'fear repeat of riots'

Police fear there will be a repeat of last summer’s widespread rioting and that cuts may leave them ill-prepared to deal with such large scale unrest, according to the latest part of an in-depth report into the disorder.

Full story on The Telegraph

30 June 2012

'Clarity' sought over post-Games 'job cuts'

The Metropolitan Police has been urged to spell out what the impact of budget cuts will be after the London Olympics.

Full story on BBC News

26 June 2012

Crunch Meeting To Decide Mounted Branch Future

Nottinghamshire Police could be set to lose its mounted branch in a bid to make further progress towards a £42 million year-on-year saving.

Full story on Police Oracle

26 June 2012

Ninety PC Posts Cut As Forces Pursue 'Alliance'

A total of 90 police officer posts will go as two forces press ahead with an alliance to merge services in order to save millions from their budgets by 2016.

Full story on Police Oracle

25 June 2012

Heroic officer saves woman

A police officer who helped save a woman from an on-coming train is being presented with a national bravery award.

Full story on derbyshiretimes.co.uk

23 June 2012

Hundreds of West Yorkshire Police jobs to be axed

Hundreds of jobs have been axed among the workers who support West Yorkshire’s police force. Police union leaders believe the job losses will put extra duties on regular police officers – and they fear that their main task, protecting the public, will suffer.

From the Yorkshire Evening Post

23 June 2012

Police stations to face axe in £40m cutbacks

POLICE stations across the county could close, with bobbies moving into fire stations and council buildings, South Yorkshire’s new Chief Constable has revealed.

Full story on The Star

23 June 2012

Assaults on police officers in Suffolk up by a third

The number of assaults on police officers in Suffolk has risen by a third in the past year.

Full story on BBC News

23 June 2012

'Fewer PCs' after West Mercia and Warwickshire forces unite

Labour MP for Telford David Wright said the government had broken a promise not to reduce frontline officers.

Full story on BBC News

22 June 2012

G4S Chief Predicts Mass Police Privatisation

Private companies will be running large parts of the UK's police service within five years, according to the world's biggest security firm.

Full article on securityoracle.com

19 June 2012

Police independence is under threat

Commissioners will be elected on tribal lines, warns former Met chief Ian Blair.

From newstatesman.com

19 June 2012

Paul McKeever BBC HardTalk

Chairman tells BBC Hardtalk that reforms will lead to the destruction of the Service

Watch the interview on BBC iPlayer

7 June 2012

Cuts are causing more crime, says Police Chief

Lancashire’s Acting Chief Constable speaks out as assaults, burglaries and vehicle crime soar.

From the BBC News website

29 May 2012

'I am in awe of our wonderful Police Service' says Government champion for safer communities

The Government Champion for Building Active and Safe Communities, Baroness Newlove, has praised officers for their courage and the compassion they show to vulnerable members of society.

From the Police Oracle

25 May 2012

'The most inspiring act of civic heroism I have ever seen took place a few days ago'

I said: "That was amazing. He was so much bigger than you and could have been armed. Police officers never get credit for their bravery."

From the Independent

24 May 2012

Police privatisation – the movie

The Police Federation is not alone in warning against the perils of privatisation. The union Unite has produced a video which clearly explains the pitfalls.

Watch it on YouTube

21 May 2012

Anti-social behaviour: police chief warns of cuts impact

A retiring chief constable says police could miss crime such as anti-social behaviour due to UK government cuts.

From the BBC News

21 May 2012

Police privatisation: public 'less likely to report crime to private firm'

The public would be less likely to report a crime if a private firm was in charge of their personal data, a survey suggested today. The poll of more than 1,200 people in the West Midlands showed the extent of public unease over a proposed £1.5 billion police privatisation scheme, the Unite union said.

From the Huffington Post

17 May 2012

Home Secretary’s behaviour ‘a disgrace’

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has branded “an utter disgrace” Home Secretary Theresa May’s failure to address police concerns following the protest march in London.

From Police Oracle

13 May 2012

Crime rates could rise as police cuts bite, warns Acpo chief

Crime rates could rise as a result of 20 per cent budget cuts within the police force, one of the UK's most senior police officers has warned.

From The Guardian

9 May 2012

Police Federation march on 10th May to highlight the unprecedented attack on policing by government

Thousands of off-duty police officers from all over England and Wales will march in London on 10th May.The Police Federation of England and Wales has organised the protest to highlight concerns about the consequences of 20 percent cuts for public safety and the disproportionate attack on policing by the government. A sea of 16,000 black caps will show-case the exact number of police officers the public will lose over the next four years as a result of the cuts.

Officers will be sending a clear message of anger to the Government, enough is enough. What is happening is bad for officers, bad for the service and most importantly it is bad for the public as their safety is being put at risk through mass privatisation, lost officers and a demoralised police service.

Police officers are furious about the excessive budget cuts to policing and the way they are being treated by the government. The march will commence at Millbank, London at noon passing the Home Office, Parliament Square, Whitehall (Downing Street), Trafalgar Square, and will terminate at Waterloo Place.

The police budget has been cut by 20 – 30%. The government mantra is that we can get more for less, but with cuts of this magnitude the only thing you will get more of is, more crime, more disorder and more anti-social behaviour. The government is insisting savings need to be made for the greater good of the economy. However, police officers have already made a significant contribution to tackle the national debt. According to HMIC the police service will lose over 16,000 warranted officers over the next four years, £163 million is being taken from police pay this year alone, pension contributions have been increased and a two-year public sector pay freeze has been imposed on police officers.

Paul McKeever Chairman, Police Federation of England and Wales says:

“The march is the only way that police officers can demonstrate their anger. We have been inundated with messages of support from our colleagues who cannot attend due to their work commitments. The officers marching are doing so in their own time, that’s how strongly they feel. Some will have been travelling since 4am to ensure they can take part.

The reality of the cuts to policing is really beginning to bite; numbers are beginning to fall rapidly. In the past year alone, we have lost over 5,200 police officers from the frontline and we are witnessing the privatisation of core policing roles as chief officers struggle to cope with budget restraints. The government need to be realistic about the outcome of severe cuts to policing; we cannot afford to compromise on public safety.” 

8 May 2012

My damning response to Winsor – by an ordinary citizen

A citizen blogger urges the public to speak out against the ‘decimation’ of the police force.

From Magilg blog

8 May 2012

Police powers handed out 'like sweets', warns civil liberty group

Thousands of civilians are part of a growing busybody army with police-style powers to fine and to demand personal information.

Full story on dailymail.co.uk

3 May 2012

Guantanamo company shortlisted to provide policing services in the UK

An American company which helped to build the notorious Guantanamo Bay detention camp could be awarded a lucrative contract to run parts of two English police forces.

The Times newspaper has revealed that Kellogg Brown and Root, has been shortlisted to provide services to West Midlands and Surrey police under a controversial £1.5 billion privatisation scheme.

The Texas-based company has no experience of policing but does operate contracts in the military field associated with operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Home Office officials are said be closely involved in the tendering process, which The Times described as “secretive”.

Commented Metropolitan Police Federation vice chairman John Tully: “Whether services are provided by the public sector or the private, they’re paid for by the taxpayer.

“When the public sector provides the service, all of the taxpayer’s money is spent on that service. When the private sector provides it, however, some of the money vanishes into the company’s bank account in order for it to turn a profit.

“Hardworking families who are ultimately funding all this will never know how much of their money has been siphoned off in this way as the information is hidden behind so-called commercial confidentiality clauses.

“They are unlikely to welcome the news that their police forces are helping to swell the coffers of a foreign company associated so closely with Guantanamo Bay.”

According to The Guardian newspaper, the policing activities for which companies were invited to tender included investigating crimes, detaining suspects, developing cases, responding to and investigating incidents, supporting victims and witnesses, managing high-risk individuals, patrolling neighbourhoods, managing intelligence, managing engagement with the public, as well as more traditional back-office functions, such as managing forensics, providing legal services, managing the vehicle fleet, finance and human resources.

A West Midlands Police Authority spokesman said that not all these activities would necessarily form part of the final contract.

But John Tully said: “This Government is ideologically hell-bent on the privatisation of policing. If they do not hand frontline policing duties – such as patrol – to commercial companies today, they will try to do so tomorrow.

“Policing in this country is done by consent of the public. Nowhere have I seen them give their consent for policing to become a for-profit activity conducted for the benefit of company shareholders.” 

See also: First private company to run an NHS hospital will keep £2 million a year from profits –despite centre being £40 million in debt (dailymail.co.uk)

2 May 2012

Why MPs, families and communities be supporting the police on May 10

Policing is under pressure like never before, and it is communities who will pay the price, says Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper

Full story from yvettecooper.com

2 May 2012

Police morale at ‘rock bottom’

Local police to join London protest march as officers become disillusioned by dwindling numbers, Government cuts and changes.

Full story on North Devon Gazette

1 May 2012

Tory MP Admits Winsor Concerns

A Conservative MP has admitted concerns over proposals in Tom Winsor’s review of terms and conditions after meeting with members of the Police Federation.

Full story on Police Oracle

30 April 2012

Bravery shown by off-duty officer is a reminder of the dedication of sworn officers

 Paul McKeever, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales says;

“The bravery and professionalism shown by the off-duty police officer in Leeds that led to the capture of a murder suspect reminds us all of the commitment and dedication of sworn officers.

“The Office of Constable is the bedrock of British policing and the bravery of our colleague demonstrated that unique commitment to protecting the public. It is times like this when it beggars belief that the Government are determined to rip the heart out of the Office of Constable by rushing through ill-conceived major reforms that will fundamentally change the role of warranted officers and will see a degradation of the office we hold. A number of recommendations set out in the recent Winsor reports will mean we are left with a deskilled and undervalued police service. The planned cuts go too deep and ultimately we will be unable to provide the same level of service to the communities we serve.“

From polfed.org

30 April 2012

Keith Vaz: "I want to march with Officers"

Senior MP says he understands Police Federation anger over proposed terms and conditions changes.

Full story on policeoracle.com

30 April 2012

Gloucestershire police chief constable steps down

Gloucestershire police force's chief constable has resigned citing "grave concerns" over the new police commissioner role.

Full story on bbc.co.uk

29 April 2012

Federation respond to latest IPCC demand

The IPCC’s frustration with the intricacies of the law should not be used as an excuse to treat police officers as second class citizens. Because certain types of evidence and intelligence cannot be revealed in the normal way does not justify giving the IPCC powers that are unnecessary.

Full story on metfed.org.uk

28 April 2012

Save the economy? No. It's privatise policing or bust

Paul McKeever, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, responds to news that the UK economy has returned to a recession.

Full story on metfed.org.uk

27 April 2012

Thousands of officers to march against the Government's assault on policing

Thousands of police officers from across the country are to march through London to show their determination to resist the Government’s unprecedented programme of cuts to police numbers and degradation of officers’ conditions of employment