A week’s a long time in policing!

They say “a week’s a long time in politics” well I guess it has been in policing this week (and most weeks). We’ve had the government’s position on police pay, the unveiling of HMG’s “Beating Crime Plan” and the dedication of the National Police Memorial. Front and centre of all these was the PM and although I was fortunate enough to meet him and discuss policing this week, my role is rather “stage left” these days, albeit I thought I’d share some thoughts anyway.

On the subject of pay I was very disappointed to hear that there was to be no increase, again, for the police. I know Covid has been, and will continue to be, costly but in my opinion all frontline workers who risk their lives through Covid infection, or indeed anything else, deserve to be recognised for putting themselves on the line to protect others.

I appreciate these decisions are difficult but again I am concerned at the policy makers’ dismissal of policing and I continue to wonder whether they actually understand what policing does. I was heartened to see John Apter, the federation lead, challenge this decision and a number of chiefs, including Gavin Stephens in Surrey (the Chief’s Council finance lead) and Nick Adderley in Northants, speak out forcefully, along with others. For too long chiefs were too quiet over previous governments’ undermining of policing in the UK. It feels to me like some new leaders won’t be as quiet. That’s a good thing.                              

So, to the “Beating Crime Plan”. The plan talks of the 9000 new officers recruited since the government made the commitment to “increase” policing by 20,000 officers. Let’s not forget the previous government cut officer numbers by more than this. The plan also talks of having a named officer for every neighbourhood with their contact details published. All of the forces I have worked for have been doing this for years.

I welcome the drive to find employment for offenders, that is vital. In my experience unemployment, substance abuse, a lack of housing and relationship issues are big drivers of crime and tackling those is vital. I am however concerned about the proposal for league tables for call response. Don’t get me wrong, it matters so much to victims and the public generally, when they call for police, to get a speedy response. I just hope the lessons of the mid 2000s have been learned when it comes to performance management and threat, risk and harm stays central to what the police respond to.

I do also wonder whether more broadly the great British public understand modern policing enough. For many reasons I hope they don’t as if you can live your life free from crime and bad stuff then that’s great. But if you can’t then an understanding of what policing can deliver given its available budgets and resource is important – expectations must be managed. I’ve dealt with many complaints about a lack of responsiveness and my starting point was always to invite people in to see what we were doing when they made their call. On every single occasion the complainant remarked “I had no idea” or suchlike. Media shows set expectations that the police cannot sometimes match. That conundrum needs to be solved for policing to retain the public confidence that its legitimacy requires and that forms the bedrock of the unique UK policing model.

On the plan itself, I have spoken to numerous very senior police chiefs this week and their over-riding position is one of wanting to deliver safety and security, but being dismayed at not being consulted over what went into the plan. I know policing well enough to know it’ll just get on with the job, it always does. The public always come first.

Finally, I had the absolute privilege this week of attending the National Memorial Arboretum for the dedication service of the Police Memorial. It was a tremendous event where bereaved families were able to see, at last, one fitting memorial to their loved ones who died in the line of duty.

I was shocked to learn 5000 constables had died since records began in the late 1600s and 221 had died this century so far. We are losing 11 police officers a year doing their job. Eleven. And that of course doesn’t cover the thousands of assaults and serious injuries on officers every year. I’m going to try to find what other professions are hit this hard. It’s staggering. The memorial itself depicts a door ajar – a symbol of the unknown that officers enter every time they go to work. Every time. They deserve to go home at the end of their shift. Tragically officers like Nicola Hughes, Fiona Bone, Keith Palmer, Nina Mackay, Andrew Harper and so many others didn’t. Killed whilst protecting the public. Theirs is a sacrifice that must never, ever be forgotten.

Next week – MacPherson 22 years on – “So what’s changed?”