THE CHAIR ASKS


organised groups for under-represented groups within policing. Whether that’s black and ethnic minority officers, or LGBT, female or disabled colleagues, we look at how we can encourage and work with members to stand as Fed reps. When they are Fed reps, we give them the support they need and have a network of support around them.


At the same time, we are working closely with other representative groups such as the Black Police Association, the Muslim Police Association and others. We’ve invited colleagues from the staff associations to talk to us about their individual challenges around becoming a rep. The proof will be in the elections to see whether our solutions are taking effect.


JA: Nick, what do you want from your Federation?


NE: Although I’ve not had to rely on the Federation in the past, it’s reassuring to know that if I do get into dire straits, it will represent me and assist me.


JA: We invest very heavily in Fed training. If you ever needed a Fed rep for equality, misconduct or health and safety issues, training is very important. But being a Fed rep is far broader than that, as it’s about looking after people who are going through crisis. Welfare is a big part of what we do. The Police Federation is evolving, and I’ve never shied away from saying we’ve had a bit of a chequered past and not got things right. I’m not suggesting I always get things right, but we are a different organisation than we were 10 or even 5 years ago.


JA: Nick, this is your opportunity to ask me a question.


NE: Your role as Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales - how did you get into that?


JA: Almost by accident. I’m a Hampshire serving officer, and by rank I’m a PC and very proud of that. I became a Fed rep because I was treated very badly by my Force. I was arrested for something that genuinely I did not do. I got an apology at the end of it but 18 months of investigation damaged me, I fell out of love with the police and a job I worked so hard to get.


I had a choice, either resign or put my money where my mouth was and become a Fed rep. So, I became a rep and got heavily involved in challenging unfairness and looking after officers. As time went on, I was juggling my day- time job as a traffic police officer with being a Fed rep, and then I became the local Chair. Later, when the rules changed around how the National Chair is elected – with our 130,000 members voting for the Chair directly for the first time – my children urged me to stand. I did and was successful.


I think I’ve got the best job in policing. There’s an awful lot of responsibility. Everything I do is for the members. I want our reps to be the best they can be, with the best equipment, excellent training opportunities and the respect of their chiefs, their forces and the Home Office. I believe we’re in a much better place than a few years ago, but I’m not going to sit back and think job done – we’ve got to continue to improve.


JA: Nadia, as a Fed rep, what do you hope


for the Police Federation going forwards with our elections?


NR: Touching on what you said, the Federation was effectively the handshake boys’ club. I think that perception is disintegrating. I think people are understanding the Federation isn’t quite like that, and it’s inclusive. For me, I’d like to keep on pushing the message that the Federation is there for everybody. We really need to broaden our diversity, and that isn’t just race, religion, or gender, it’s diversity of experience, it’s diversity of thought, diversity of background. I really want people to see what we are really like.


JA: Thanks to both of you. I hope you have found this as informative as I have.


“We really need to broaden our diversity, and that isn’t just race, religion, or gender, it’s diversity of experience, it’s diversity of thought, diversity of background. I really want people to see what we are really like.”


Q1: What’s your stance on continuing to wear a face mask? I’m still doing what I’ve been doing and wearing a mask in shops, on trains and in confined spaces. It’s more out of respect for other people really. I’ve had the virus and was really poorly with it. Thank God, I didn’t get as bad as many. My family and I have had to cancel holidays this year, so it’s impacted us in that way the same as everybody else.


THE CHAIR


Q2: What’s the worst part of your job? The politics. It’s not what I joined policing for, but part of being the National Chair is dealing with politicians almost daily. There will be times when I fundamentally disagree, but it’s important to never be party political. Policing is more political now than it’s ever been.


ANSWERS PFEW National Chair John Apter answers members’ questions in each edition.


Q3: Would you carry Taser? Yes, it’s a fantastic bit of kit and is proven to de- escalate incidents and keep ofcers safe. I’ve done the course. I did it to understand the training ofcers get, and I’ll continue to be an advocate for our colleagues to be trained in Taser if they want to be.


Q4: Do you think Taser should be available to Special Constables? They carry the same risks, so it’s only right and proper that we look at what safety equipment they have. However, if you deploy Taser the level of scrutiny is incredible, and rightly so. We’ve got to make sure that Specials have the right representation. So, the first thing I asked Sajid Javid, when he was Home Secretary, was about Specials being able to join the Federation. He agreed and now it’s happening.


Q5: What are your views on the crisis in detective policing? The Federation has talked about a crisis in CID for a long time. But a crisis is a short process; it’s an unforeseen event. We are now in a predictable situation. There’s a resilience issue with people not wanting to be detectives due to the pressures of the job, which are incredible. Detectives are doing fantastic work protecting the vulnerable, but there’s not enough of them.


Have you a question to ask John Apter? Email: editor@polfed.org 23 I POLICE I AUGUST 2021


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