Well as some readers may be aware i was considering doing my skippers exams.
Well after much thinking i decided to do the application forms and send them off to HR.
A bit of checking and it was decided that yeah they have authorized the application and i should get some exam papers sent to me to register for the exam next year.
Part of the reason for this is the fact i have 5 years to complete the workplace based assessments. Part 1 is the exam and to become a substantive sgt you have to be assessed over the course of a year (Pt2).
Also if i pass Pt1 then i can be an acting skipper with all the rights and privileges without doing pt 2.
Part of the reason for doing the paperwork is the support i have had from a few people who out of the blue came up to me saying "are you doing your Pt1 because you would be a good skipper" my own skipper has been hinting at me to apply which has been good and give me confidence in doing it.
Downside is i don't want to be a full skipper just yet as i don't really want to be stuck behind a desk. As you know my goal lies with being a traffic officer, but this will hopefully assist in strengthening my application in the future.
I also re read my failed paper application the other day and looked at the feed back. If you recall at the time i was a but peeved at being rejected but the comments from the Chief were quite good really, stating that i was a strong applicant with a good application but he felt i needed more experience on shift before going forward. This all in all has made me feel better about the whole thing and hopefully my career may be going somewhere rather than dealing with crap day in day out. I still have a great deal of fun on shift and don't want to leave but i guess unless you keep trying you ll stay where you are and never get anywhere.
Also i have had some good feedback as i am becoming known to RPD for some of the stuff i do. But you are only as good as your last job and for all the good stuff you do, people only remember the bad things!
But i guess the moral of this is, if you want something bad enough then keep trying and plugging away.
This job has its bad sides, but it also has its great sides, best job in the world and all that. Besides it gives you the best stories to tell people over a beer.
And also make a difference to peoples lives in a way no matter how small.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
I caught a burglar!
Yep for the second time in my career i managed to catch a burglar.
Quite a good one really as when we got to the scene, a member of the public (MOP) shouted to us. "Hes over there" i promptly jump from the panda and give chase as hes running with stolen property under his arms down the busy high street.
I scream at him to stop as he runs past other MOP's but he just carries on (there's a surprise!)
He ditches some of the property but is still making off as MOP's just stand at watch him run past while i give chase.
I thought to myself.
I'm never gonna catch him in all this kit but surprisingly to me i am gaining on him. We go around a few corners and i still have sight of him closing the distance and he lobs the last of the stolen property in my direction, now i am closing quite quickly and im not out of breath.
One of the things i have thought about is "what do you do when you catch someone who's running away" i mean, do you rugby tackle them, baton there legs, push them over, grab an arm and do a "take down".
Its not something i have ever really done to be honest until recently at other jobs where i have been more hands on than i would have been 6 months ago.
Well crunch time, i am in range of him and i just jump on him and we both hit the deck, well he hit head first and i landed on him, gripped his arms up and a colleague came and assisted in restraining him.
Cool i thought.
By this time i saw behind me a number of MOP's standing watching and laughing. Matey boy was cuffed and nicked and taken away. I walk back to the scene to what surprised me the most. A few people clapped and someone came out of a shop asking if i wanted free drinks as he had seen what i did and had watched from the start.
Made me smile somewhat i can tell you.
Now back to the hands on thing.
I in the past have been a bit wary of going straight hands on with no control as we are trained to control people. A lot of times we have no control and getting that control is quite hard compared to training.
I think a lot of policing is down to confidence. In the past year or so i have grown, not only in confidence but in size as well (no not the doughnuts) which i think has helped somewhat.
I have commented in the nick about the new kids that join up and do all the training and are afraid to go hands on or use their tools because of the way we are trained. It takes ages to retrain them from this and get them to go hands on when necessary.
In my view we need to be able to be many people.
We need to be kind, caring and considerate to victims of crime and the the police "service"
But in a split second we need to be forceful and to a degree agressive when dealing with suspects and become a "force".
It takes a lot of juggling to become a balance of the 2 and sometimes we can be aggressive when it is not appropriate and other times to considerate on the flip side.
When you learn the balance then the job becomes enjoyable. As a lot of us are taken the piss out of by suspects or "youths" when giving us lip when we need to be more robust in our response.
But there is also a fine line between aggression and assault.
And public perception is everything. A push in the chest can look from a distance a punch in the throat.
Quite a good one really as when we got to the scene, a member of the public (MOP) shouted to us. "Hes over there" i promptly jump from the panda and give chase as hes running with stolen property under his arms down the busy high street.
I scream at him to stop as he runs past other MOP's but he just carries on (there's a surprise!)
He ditches some of the property but is still making off as MOP's just stand at watch him run past while i give chase.
I thought to myself.
I'm never gonna catch him in all this kit but surprisingly to me i am gaining on him. We go around a few corners and i still have sight of him closing the distance and he lobs the last of the stolen property in my direction, now i am closing quite quickly and im not out of breath.
One of the things i have thought about is "what do you do when you catch someone who's running away" i mean, do you rugby tackle them, baton there legs, push them over, grab an arm and do a "take down".
Its not something i have ever really done to be honest until recently at other jobs where i have been more hands on than i would have been 6 months ago.
Well crunch time, i am in range of him and i just jump on him and we both hit the deck, well he hit head first and i landed on him, gripped his arms up and a colleague came and assisted in restraining him.
Cool i thought.
By this time i saw behind me a number of MOP's standing watching and laughing. Matey boy was cuffed and nicked and taken away. I walk back to the scene to what surprised me the most. A few people clapped and someone came out of a shop asking if i wanted free drinks as he had seen what i did and had watched from the start.
Made me smile somewhat i can tell you.
Now back to the hands on thing.
I in the past have been a bit wary of going straight hands on with no control as we are trained to control people. A lot of times we have no control and getting that control is quite hard compared to training.
I think a lot of policing is down to confidence. In the past year or so i have grown, not only in confidence but in size as well (no not the doughnuts) which i think has helped somewhat.
I have commented in the nick about the new kids that join up and do all the training and are afraid to go hands on or use their tools because of the way we are trained. It takes ages to retrain them from this and get them to go hands on when necessary.
In my view we need to be able to be many people.
We need to be kind, caring and considerate to victims of crime and the the police "service"
But in a split second we need to be forceful and to a degree agressive when dealing with suspects and become a "force".
It takes a lot of juggling to become a balance of the 2 and sometimes we can be aggressive when it is not appropriate and other times to considerate on the flip side.
When you learn the balance then the job becomes enjoyable. As a lot of us are taken the piss out of by suspects or "youths" when giving us lip when we need to be more robust in our response.
But there is also a fine line between aggression and assault.
And public perception is everything. A push in the chest can look from a distance a punch in the throat.
Old people
Since a lot of my posts recently have been a bit downbeat, i feel the need to post some good stuff that has happened over the past few weeks or so. Mainly because we haven't had a great deal of good jobs to be honest. Some of them are not that funny but its the public responses or those of the suspect that made me chuckle the most.
A while ago my crew was deployed to an immediate graded call of "cows walking in the road" well we weren't deployed as such, we took the call as 1) it was immediate graded and 2) there would be no paperwork. We make with the lights and noise going through traffic as it was daytime, we get to a section of road which is duel carriageway. Its all looking good as both our lanes are clear but the opposing carriageway is quite slow moving as there is traffic queueing for a roundabout. I see in the distance an elderly lady on the pavement, she looks like she is going to cross the road (which is still duel carrageway). I think, nah she cant be and then lo and behold out she steps into the road and begins to walk slowly across the duel carrageway. I change tones and she looks straight at us (im slowing down at this point) she continues to walk into the middle of the 2 lanes on our side so i change to the third tones, she then stops in the middle of the outer lane waving her walking stick at us shouting at us to slow down (im going quite slowly now) she stands there wildly gesticulating at us as we are watching her in disbelief. We go past her and then pick back up the speed again and i still see her in my rear view mirror swearing away at us. I chuckle to myself thinking she must be mad as we approach the pedestrian crossing which was a hundred meters or so away from where she was crossing.
This happens fairly frequently, you know the elderly people assume we are always traveling too fast and stand there shaking there heads when we have all the kit on. Once someone complained we were making too much noise with our sirens in such a quiet area!
It is quite funny sometimes doing immediate drives and the looks we get from the public and other drivers, some seem to want to block our paths and don't move out of the way but amble quite nicely in the road. Its no great issue and ill get past them eventually usually with daggered looks at us from the other drivers who seem greatly inconvenienced by us trying to get past. Again this is usually elderly drivers or pedestrians, who's day i am ruining by making on immediate, spoiling the quiet time in there little worlds. All you can do is chuckle really or you would go mad.
One job i went to was a burglary in progress at an elderly ladies home. The job came in as "caller can hear voices and shouting from her spare bedroom" so we turn up literally a few moments after the call came in and we walk into the house. The lady greats us at the door and says she can still hear the voices in her spare room. We go in and check the room with no signs of entry or any persons. I can hear a radio on in the front room quite loudly which was a bbc world type program about china and protests.
She says to me, can you hear, they are still shouting, there are quite a lot of them.
I ask her "are you sure that's not just your radio?" she replied no, i turned it off a while ago.
The radio is positioned hear to the adjoining wall between the front room and bedroom.
So i turned it off and asked if she can still hear the shouting. She says they have now gone.
I end up concocting a story to make her feel less embarrassed about it being the radio and reassure her that we are in the area and to call us if she hears from them again. For some reason she felt quite intimidated by the noises and part of my job as social worker / carer is to reassure her that there is nothing to worry about and we are on all night and will keep an eye on the area for her.
She was quite happy as she felt she was taken seriously. I went and got some food.
In a way i feel quite sorry that elderly people who need better care are left to there own devices with little or no company. Not the way i would want to be treated at all.
I have dealt with other types of people who have been left to it who have later died becasue of the neglect from social services who after me speaking tot hem say, oh yes we are aware thankyou. Sorry i dont want you to be aware, i want you to provide a level of care to these people who need your help!
A while ago my crew was deployed to an immediate graded call of "cows walking in the road" well we weren't deployed as such, we took the call as 1) it was immediate graded and 2) there would be no paperwork. We make with the lights and noise going through traffic as it was daytime, we get to a section of road which is duel carriageway. Its all looking good as both our lanes are clear but the opposing carriageway is quite slow moving as there is traffic queueing for a roundabout. I see in the distance an elderly lady on the pavement, she looks like she is going to cross the road (which is still duel carrageway). I think, nah she cant be and then lo and behold out she steps into the road and begins to walk slowly across the duel carrageway. I change tones and she looks straight at us (im slowing down at this point) she continues to walk into the middle of the 2 lanes on our side so i change to the third tones, she then stops in the middle of the outer lane waving her walking stick at us shouting at us to slow down (im going quite slowly now) she stands there wildly gesticulating at us as we are watching her in disbelief. We go past her and then pick back up the speed again and i still see her in my rear view mirror swearing away at us. I chuckle to myself thinking she must be mad as we approach the pedestrian crossing which was a hundred meters or so away from where she was crossing.
This happens fairly frequently, you know the elderly people assume we are always traveling too fast and stand there shaking there heads when we have all the kit on. Once someone complained we were making too much noise with our sirens in such a quiet area!
It is quite funny sometimes doing immediate drives and the looks we get from the public and other drivers, some seem to want to block our paths and don't move out of the way but amble quite nicely in the road. Its no great issue and ill get past them eventually usually with daggered looks at us from the other drivers who seem greatly inconvenienced by us trying to get past. Again this is usually elderly drivers or pedestrians, who's day i am ruining by making on immediate, spoiling the quiet time in there little worlds. All you can do is chuckle really or you would go mad.
One job i went to was a burglary in progress at an elderly ladies home. The job came in as "caller can hear voices and shouting from her spare bedroom" so we turn up literally a few moments after the call came in and we walk into the house. The lady greats us at the door and says she can still hear the voices in her spare room. We go in and check the room with no signs of entry or any persons. I can hear a radio on in the front room quite loudly which was a bbc world type program about china and protests.
She says to me, can you hear, they are still shouting, there are quite a lot of them.
I ask her "are you sure that's not just your radio?" she replied no, i turned it off a while ago.
The radio is positioned hear to the adjoining wall between the front room and bedroom.
So i turned it off and asked if she can still hear the shouting. She says they have now gone.
I end up concocting a story to make her feel less embarrassed about it being the radio and reassure her that we are in the area and to call us if she hears from them again. For some reason she felt quite intimidated by the noises and part of my job as social worker / carer is to reassure her that there is nothing to worry about and we are on all night and will keep an eye on the area for her.
She was quite happy as she felt she was taken seriously. I went and got some food.
In a way i feel quite sorry that elderly people who need better care are left to there own devices with little or no company. Not the way i would want to be treated at all.
I have dealt with other types of people who have been left to it who have later died becasue of the neglect from social services who after me speaking tot hem say, oh yes we are aware thankyou. Sorry i dont want you to be aware, i want you to provide a level of care to these people who need your help!
Friday, November 17, 2006
Pay award - Now with Conditions!
In the never ending farse that our fight for a pay increase this year, John Reid has announced that there will be a review into the way our pay increase is determined.
No doubt this will be another way of reducing the cost to the government of policing and trying to get "Policing on the Cheap".
The Minister for Policing, Security and Community Safety (Mr Tony McNulty): On 6 November the Police Arbitration Tribunal’s recommendation on the police officer 2006 pay award was received.
The Home Secretary responded to this recommendation, agreeing to implement the 3 per cent pay rise for police officers with effect from 1 September 2006. The Home Secretary also noted the tribunal’s comment that we not only had “the right but a duty to consider and put forward different factors and approaches which could be applied in determining police pay” and said that he would be reviewing the way police pay is determined including indexation and would announce the terms of reference of the review shortly Effective pay arrangements for police officers are essential for a modern police service which delivers high standards of community safety and security to the public. We must move quickly to put police officer pay on a sustainable basis. We cannot continue with arrangements which produce pay rises beyond the level which police authorities can afford to pay without detriment to service delivery. For that reason, we will establish a review of the way police pay is determined, reporting early in the New Year and in good time to inform the 2007 pay round. Following this I will also be asking this review to consider further changes to the police pay negotiating machinery. In particular, I am minded to place responsibility for determining chief officer pay within the remit of the Senior Salaries Review body and the review I have announced will look at this as part of its consideration of the options for replacing the current police officer pay determination arrangements.
I have asked Sir Clive Booth to undertake the first part of this review and I am pleased to announce that he has accepted. Sir Clive will report to me in early 2007 with recommendations on the pay determination mechanism that we should use for next year. This along with any other proposals for pay modernisation from the Service or representative organisations will be considered in the 2007 pay round. The Home Secretary and I will consider further how the second part of the review looking at the police negotiating machinery should be take forward including consideration of John Randall’s report on this issue.
The terms of reference for the review are:
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR REVIEW OF POLICE OFFICER PAY DETERMINATION AND OF POLICE NEGOTIATING MACHINERY
Part 1) To consider the options for replacing the current arrangements for determining changes to police officer pay for 2007 and make recommendations on this. The conclusions and recommendations in part 1 to be framed so as to inform part 2 of the review
Part 2) To review the effectiveness of the negotiating machinery for the police, including the Police Negotiating Board and the Police Staff Council, and make recommendations for how police pay and other conditions of service should be determined. The review must consider the option of a pay review body for police pay and consider the impact of any proposal for determining police officer pay, on the negotiating machinery for police officers
Both parts of the review must take account of the need for arrangements to reflect and support the following:
• The future requirements of the service for the effective and efficient delivery of policing services, motivation and morale and recruitment and retention rates, and overall affordability
• Government policy on public sector pay and the broader economic and employment context, and consistency with the achievement of the inflation target of 2 per cent
• The need to enable wider police workforce developments including proper reward and recognition arrangements
• Arrangements for pay determination in other parts of the public sector
Part 1 should report no later than February 2007, and Part 2 in the autumn of 2007
I have asked Sir Clive Booth to undertake the first part of this review and I am pleased to announce that he has accepted. Sir Clive will report to me in early 2007 with recommendations on the pay determination mechanism that we should use for next year. This along with any other proposals for pay modernisation from the Service or representative organisations will be considered in the 2007 pay round. The Home Secretary and I will consider further how the second part of the review looking at the police negotiating machinery should be take forward including consideration of John Randall’s report on this issue.
The terms of reference for the review are:
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR REVIEW OF POLICE OFFICER PAY DETERMINATION AND OF POLICE NEGOTIATING MACHINERY
Part 1) To consider the options for replacing the current arrangements for determining changes to police officer pay for 2007 and make recommendations on this. The conclusions and recommendations in part 1 to be framed so as to inform part 2 of the review
Part 2) To review the effectiveness of the negotiating machinery for the police, including the Police Negotiating Board and the Police Staff Council, and make recommendations for how police pay and other conditions of service should be determined. The review must consider the option of a pay review body for police pay and consider the impact of any proposal for determining police officer pay, on the negotiating machinery for police officers
Both parts of the review must take account of the need for arrangements to reflect and support the following:
• The future requirements of the service for the effective and efficient delivery of policing services, motivation and morale and recruitment and retention rates, and overall affordability
• Government policy on public sector pay and the broader economic and employment context, and consistency with the achievement of the inflation target of 2 per cent
• The need to enable wider police workforce developments including proper reward and recognition arrangements
• Arrangements for pay determination in other parts of the public sector
Part 1 should report no later than February 2007, and Part 2 in the autumn of 2007
Police Federation Response:
Following the statement this morning by Police Minister, Tony McNulty, regarding the review of police pay arrangements Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:
" We are bitterly disappointed that despite assurances from the Police Minister that we would be consulted on the terms of reference of this review, we received them the same time as everyone else.
" Given the conclusions of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal, the pay arrangements review must recognise the special role that police officers play, the dangers they face and the unique restrictions on their private lives. It must also take account of the operational realities of policing.
" Any review where the conclusions are written before the ink is dry on the terms of reference will not win the confidence of police officers".
No doubt this will be another way of reducing the cost to the government of policing and trying to get "Policing on the Cheap".
The Minister for Policing, Security and Community Safety (Mr Tony McNulty): On 6 November the Police Arbitration Tribunal’s recommendation on the police officer 2006 pay award was received.
The Home Secretary responded to this recommendation, agreeing to implement the 3 per cent pay rise for police officers with effect from 1 September 2006. The Home Secretary also noted the tribunal’s comment that we not only had “the right but a duty to consider and put forward different factors and approaches which could be applied in determining police pay” and said that he would be reviewing the way police pay is determined including indexation and would announce the terms of reference of the review shortly Effective pay arrangements for police officers are essential for a modern police service which delivers high standards of community safety and security to the public. We must move quickly to put police officer pay on a sustainable basis. We cannot continue with arrangements which produce pay rises beyond the level which police authorities can afford to pay without detriment to service delivery. For that reason, we will establish a review of the way police pay is determined, reporting early in the New Year and in good time to inform the 2007 pay round. Following this I will also be asking this review to consider further changes to the police pay negotiating machinery. In particular, I am minded to place responsibility for determining chief officer pay within the remit of the Senior Salaries Review body and the review I have announced will look at this as part of its consideration of the options for replacing the current police officer pay determination arrangements.
I have asked Sir Clive Booth to undertake the first part of this review and I am pleased to announce that he has accepted. Sir Clive will report to me in early 2007 with recommendations on the pay determination mechanism that we should use for next year. This along with any other proposals for pay modernisation from the Service or representative organisations will be considered in the 2007 pay round. The Home Secretary and I will consider further how the second part of the review looking at the police negotiating machinery should be take forward including consideration of John Randall’s report on this issue.
The terms of reference for the review are:
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR REVIEW OF POLICE OFFICER PAY DETERMINATION AND OF POLICE NEGOTIATING MACHINERY
Part 1) To consider the options for replacing the current arrangements for determining changes to police officer pay for 2007 and make recommendations on this. The conclusions and recommendations in part 1 to be framed so as to inform part 2 of the review
Part 2) To review the effectiveness of the negotiating machinery for the police, including the Police Negotiating Board and the Police Staff Council, and make recommendations for how police pay and other conditions of service should be determined. The review must consider the option of a pay review body for police pay and consider the impact of any proposal for determining police officer pay, on the negotiating machinery for police officers
Both parts of the review must take account of the need for arrangements to reflect and support the following:
• The future requirements of the service for the effective and efficient delivery of policing services, motivation and morale and recruitment and retention rates, and overall affordability
• Government policy on public sector pay and the broader economic and employment context, and consistency with the achievement of the inflation target of 2 per cent
• The need to enable wider police workforce developments including proper reward and recognition arrangements
• Arrangements for pay determination in other parts of the public sector
Part 1 should report no later than February 2007, and Part 2 in the autumn of 2007
I have asked Sir Clive Booth to undertake the first part of this review and I am pleased to announce that he has accepted. Sir Clive will report to me in early 2007 with recommendations on the pay determination mechanism that we should use for next year. This along with any other proposals for pay modernisation from the Service or representative organisations will be considered in the 2007 pay round. The Home Secretary and I will consider further how the second part of the review looking at the police negotiating machinery should be take forward including consideration of John Randall’s report on this issue.
The terms of reference for the review are:
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR REVIEW OF POLICE OFFICER PAY DETERMINATION AND OF POLICE NEGOTIATING MACHINERY
Part 1) To consider the options for replacing the current arrangements for determining changes to police officer pay for 2007 and make recommendations on this. The conclusions and recommendations in part 1 to be framed so as to inform part 2 of the review
Part 2) To review the effectiveness of the negotiating machinery for the police, including the Police Negotiating Board and the Police Staff Council, and make recommendations for how police pay and other conditions of service should be determined. The review must consider the option of a pay review body for police pay and consider the impact of any proposal for determining police officer pay, on the negotiating machinery for police officers
Both parts of the review must take account of the need for arrangements to reflect and support the following:
• The future requirements of the service for the effective and efficient delivery of policing services, motivation and morale and recruitment and retention rates, and overall affordability
• Government policy on public sector pay and the broader economic and employment context, and consistency with the achievement of the inflation target of 2 per cent
• The need to enable wider police workforce developments including proper reward and recognition arrangements
• Arrangements for pay determination in other parts of the public sector
Part 1 should report no later than February 2007, and Part 2 in the autumn of 2007
Police Federation Response:
Following the statement this morning by Police Minister, Tony McNulty, regarding the review of police pay arrangements Jan Berry, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:
" We are bitterly disappointed that despite assurances from the Police Minister that we would be consulted on the terms of reference of this review, we received them the same time as everyone else.
" Given the conclusions of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal, the pay arrangements review must recognise the special role that police officers play, the dangers they face and the unique restrictions on their private lives. It must also take account of the operational realities of policing.
" Any review where the conclusions are written before the ink is dry on the terms of reference will not win the confidence of police officers".
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Pay Result Press Release
POLICE NEGOTIATING BOARD – STAFF SIDE
6th November 2006
Police associations join forces to welcome pay crisis arbitration decision.
Welcoming the decision of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal and speaking for all the police officer staff associations of the UK, Jan Berry, chairman of the Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board (PNB), says:
"This decision is welcomed by 170,000 police officers throughout the United Kingdom who should have received an increase from 1st September but have been waiting for their pay arrangement to be honoured.
"It is disappointing that this had to go to arbitration but the arbiters’ independent decision reaffirms what we have been saying all along – that the Official Side of the PNB acted unfairly and unjustly by reneging on their commitment to honour our current pay arrangement until it has been renegotiated."
The independent decision of the Police Arbitration Tribunal is binding on both the Official Side and Staff Side of the Police Negotiation Board, and is now passed to the Home Secretary, John Reid, for ratification.
Calling upon the Home Secretary, Mrs Berry says:
"You know the strength of feeling amongst police officers across the UK, who have felt cheated, angry and undervalued throughout this dispute. The independent arbitration tribunal has now delivered its decision and found in our favour. The matter now rests with you Mr Reid. Only you can put this right. Show your support for the police service; honour our pay agreement and pay the 3 per cent now."
ENDS
Further information:
Police Federation of England and Wales press office, 020 8335 1071
6th November 2006
Police associations join forces to welcome pay crisis arbitration decision.
Welcoming the decision of the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal and speaking for all the police officer staff associations of the UK, Jan Berry, chairman of the Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board (PNB), says:
"This decision is welcomed by 170,000 police officers throughout the United Kingdom who should have received an increase from 1st September but have been waiting for their pay arrangement to be honoured.
"It is disappointing that this had to go to arbitration but the arbiters’ independent decision reaffirms what we have been saying all along – that the Official Side of the PNB acted unfairly and unjustly by reneging on their commitment to honour our current pay arrangement until it has been renegotiated."
The independent decision of the Police Arbitration Tribunal is binding on both the Official Side and Staff Side of the Police Negotiation Board, and is now passed to the Home Secretary, John Reid, for ratification.
Calling upon the Home Secretary, Mrs Berry says:
"You know the strength of feeling amongst police officers across the UK, who have felt cheated, angry and undervalued throughout this dispute. The independent arbitration tribunal has now delivered its decision and found in our favour. The matter now rests with you Mr Reid. Only you can put this right. Show your support for the police service; honour our pay agreement and pay the 3 per cent now."
ENDS
Further information:
Police Federation of England and Wales press office, 020 8335 1071
Thursday, November 02, 2006
3% Is it really enough?
It has been a while since my last update, partly because i have been busy dealing with the poorest of jobs which in an ideal world would not be attended, trying to regain control of certain areas where the "youths" have taken a liking too and getting rammed.
I find it quite hard to believe what people deem to be acceptable anymore. When i was a kid and a police officer spoke to me i was polite to him as he was to me if they asked me to move on i would have done, no questions. Now all we seem to get is abuse from them along with a load of backchat which no matter how hard you try will always get your back up. Now imagine what the parents are like. Their little darlings are wreaking havoc and we get it in the neck because "he's only having fun".
Yeah at someone else's expense literally.
Every evening its the same, if I'm not getting grief from little johnny, I'm getting grief from his mum or dad for moving him on, or speaking to him about an offence that has occurred a minute ago around the corner from him.
I am apparently victimising him.
Nothing to do with him being as guilty as sin.
Anti Social behaviour does piss me off, there is no need for some of the behaviour some of the 10 - 17 year olds display, no respect for people or property and the parents are just as bad, no discipline, no consequences for their actions. As its just Kids having fun.
Personally they can do what they like provided they arnt upsetting local residents, im not there to spoil the fun, im there to ensure the local residents can enjoy their peace and quiet.
The parents join in and if thats the kind of attitude that the parents display towards police is it any wonder the kids are just Mini Mee's
So to the title of my post.
3% pay rise that has not been honoured by government, i have kept quiet on this issue for a while but the increasing demands on my and my personal life from the job is getting unbearable. We have massive commitments throughout the force meaning all overtime is cancelled because we are skint, and we are unable to take leave because we have run out of police officers. Duties are changing patterns to keep shifts at minimum manning as well as resourcing other commitments.
This means i am run ragged, most rest days are not honoured. When i attend court i don't get wound back off nights because they will be under staffed on shift. I'm more and more knackered.
I have less time off.
More work due to less numbers on shift.
More and more is being asked of me and my shift which we cannot fulfill safely.
Officer safety is at risk due to tiredness and low staffing levels.
Its only a matter of time before someone gets hurt or worse because of what the powers that be are doing to us.
But strangely, i still really do enjoy my job. Must be a warped sense of humour or more likely, i like being the underdog and come out fighting!
Just gimme my 3% please I've worked hard enough for it this year as well has the majority of officers that i know.
I find it quite hard to believe what people deem to be acceptable anymore. When i was a kid and a police officer spoke to me i was polite to him as he was to me if they asked me to move on i would have done, no questions. Now all we seem to get is abuse from them along with a load of backchat which no matter how hard you try will always get your back up. Now imagine what the parents are like. Their little darlings are wreaking havoc and we get it in the neck because "he's only having fun".
Yeah at someone else's expense literally.
Every evening its the same, if I'm not getting grief from little johnny, I'm getting grief from his mum or dad for moving him on, or speaking to him about an offence that has occurred a minute ago around the corner from him.
I am apparently victimising him.
Nothing to do with him being as guilty as sin.
Anti Social behaviour does piss me off, there is no need for some of the behaviour some of the 10 - 17 year olds display, no respect for people or property and the parents are just as bad, no discipline, no consequences for their actions. As its just Kids having fun.
Personally they can do what they like provided they arnt upsetting local residents, im not there to spoil the fun, im there to ensure the local residents can enjoy their peace and quiet.
The parents join in and if thats the kind of attitude that the parents display towards police is it any wonder the kids are just Mini Mee's
So to the title of my post.
3% pay rise that has not been honoured by government, i have kept quiet on this issue for a while but the increasing demands on my and my personal life from the job is getting unbearable. We have massive commitments throughout the force meaning all overtime is cancelled because we are skint, and we are unable to take leave because we have run out of police officers. Duties are changing patterns to keep shifts at minimum manning as well as resourcing other commitments.
This means i am run ragged, most rest days are not honoured. When i attend court i don't get wound back off nights because they will be under staffed on shift. I'm more and more knackered.
I have less time off.
More work due to less numbers on shift.
More and more is being asked of me and my shift which we cannot fulfill safely.
Officer safety is at risk due to tiredness and low staffing levels.
Its only a matter of time before someone gets hurt or worse because of what the powers that be are doing to us.
But strangely, i still really do enjoy my job. Must be a warped sense of humour or more likely, i like being the underdog and come out fighting!
Just gimme my 3% please I've worked hard enough for it this year as well has the majority of officers that i know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
