Christmas and New Year Message from Leicestershire Police Federation

23 December 2020

Christmas and New Year Message from Leicestershire Police Federation

As I write this, we are fast approaching Christmas and the end of 2020. I can’t say anything without mentioning Covid 19 and the impact it has had.

What has often been missed by the media is that whether it was the first lockdown, Leicestershire being the first localised lockdown or everything after that, Policing has had to continue. You have all had to deal with short notice Government led legislation changes and the confusion that caused the public, increased calls reporting Covid breaches at the same time as attending our “normal” jobs. All of that was done while supporting colleagues who have had to maybe work from home for periods of time or be off work isolating. Some of you have also had to deal with catching the virus and the impact that has on your own health and personal circumstances.

It has been a huge challenge, but one that has been met superbly within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. There is now light at the end of the tunnel in the form of vaccines that are on the way, and hopefully as we enter 2021 and head towards Easter, we will see a gradual return to normality.

As a Branch we have continued to work hard supporting our members through misconduct investigations, ill health retirement, post incident procedures and so much more. We have introduced new policies to support officers who are assaulted and those who find themselves fighting critical illness. Thank you to all of our Leicestershire workplace Reps who have worked hard to support our members through the year, often giving up many hours of their own time.

Unfortunately, we could not hold our Bravery Awards this year, but we have celebrated our Leicestershire nominees Steve Isherwood, Steve Williams and Alex Cullum-Kenyon. Hopefully we can have a delayed awards night later in 2021.

Nationally our campaigns continue. Protect the Protectors is still going strong, with the Government committing to a further increase in sentencing for those that assault my colleagues or other emergency service workers.

Time Limits is something that, as the Conduct Lead, is very important to me. We are still seeing cases that the IOPC are investigating that stretch into years. Quite simply this must stop. Where else do you see discipline investigations that can run open ended?

Nationally we have also ran some debt management advice in the last couple of weeks. Personal finances are just that – personal. But as we approach Christmas when we are all checking what money we have available, and after a year where many families have been impacted by a loss of earnings; I want to make a personal plea. If you are struggling, please come and talk to us. You will never be judged, and we can put you in touch with people who can advise and help you. We have an excellent Force Benevolent Fund and external agencies who can get you back on track. Please don’t suffer in silence.

If you are working over Christmas, please stay safe and look after each other, and if you have some time off, I hope you can enjoy it, within your family bubbles obviously!

I’ll be out with the welfare van over Christmas and on New Year’s Eve, so hopefully I’ll see some of you soon.