PFNDF
its chair. There are around 65 members on the forum representing detective colleagues, but as of July, not all branches were represented nationally including Cleveland, Durham, Hertfordshire, Staffordshire, Wiltshire and Gwent. “We have very few detective reps at the moment and would love to see more detectives stand for council and board seats when they arise in their local branches,” Ben continued. “A lot of people become a rep if they have needed Federation support themselves, whether that be for a disciplinary matter, they have been involved in a post-incident procedure, or a grievance or equality issue. Traditionally, a lot of detectives don’t get involved in post-incident procedures, but that is changing across the country as the Independent Office for Police Conduct now looks far more into the whole job to build a fuller picture for its investigations.” The Federation and the PFNDF took a strong
critical view of this year’s Review of Disclosure by the Attorney General’s Office and in August launched a campaign, #SimplifyDG6. They are appealing to the Government to
make amendments to the CPS Disclosure Guidance and data protection laws to simplify redaction obligations for police officers and to request the introduction of a uniform national code for redaction of case material. The campaign also aims to call on the
National Police Chiefs’ Council, the College of Policing and the CPS to jointly work with the Federation in ensuring all our members receive nationally agreed face-to-face training on disclosure procedures. “We appreciate that the Attorney General’s Office Annual Review of Disclosure has been sensitive towards the plight of police officers with regards to the redaction of case material, which is singularly responsible for overburdening case workloads. Though the review identifies several ambiguities, including adherence to data protection laws, it does not provide any major action points to redress the shortcomings,” Ben said. “Instead, the review seeks to blame our members’ lack of understanding of the vital role disclosure of case material plays in the criminal justice system. It puts the onus on police forces to make every effort to alter the current culture around disclosure procedures.
“In the absence of a uniform code and lack of specific guidance, police officers, investigative officers, detectives, and specialist disclosure experts are compelled to devote significant time and resources to the redaction of case material to ensure that data protection laws are adhered to, and personal information is not revealed, even between collaborating agencies. We aim to change this.”
WHO ELSE SITS ON THE PFNDF?
JON NOTT, DEPUTY CHAIR Jon joined West Midlands Police in 1998 and became a detective in 2004. He has worked in many different areas of investigation, including local CID, burglary and robbery squads as well as on major investigations and level 2 teams. Jon became a Fed rep in 2008 and at the time there was only one other rep who was a detective. There was a huge gap where detectives’ interests were being missed. Since that time, he has been Chair of the West Midlands Police Federation and became full time in 2020. He is one of the longest serving reps on the PFNDF having been a member for more than 10 years and has contributed to the push to get the detective focus into the main arena. He is pleased there is now a group of reps that are all working together to ensure that the needs and issues experienced by detectives are being highlighted and the profile of the work undertaken is being raised.
MELANIE WARNES, SECRETARY Mel joined Hampshire Constabulary in 1994 and became a detective in 1999, working in the main CID office and major crime investigations. She transferred to Surrey Police at the end of 2002 where she has continued working as a detective in many areas including safeguarding teams, neighbourhood and CID. With many years of experience to draw on, Mel became a Fed rep in 2014. Two years later, she became chair of the Surrey Police Federation and was elected on to the National Board in June 2022. She has represented and supported many of her colleagues through misconduct investigations as well as high- profile inquests. Mel is keen to raise the profile of detectives and is thrilled to be working with a like-minded team on the PFNDF. She is also one of two national conduct and performance leads.
PAUL MATTHEWS, DEPUTY SECRETARY Paul joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 2000 and became a detective in 2009 after spending several years in response and neighbourhood policing. He has worked in a variety of roles including burglary and robbery squads as well as main CID and safeguarding. He later went on to work in counter terrorism before being promoted to detective sergeant in 2016 and posted to the Hammersmith and Fulham crime squad. Paul first became a Fed rep in 2013 after becoming disillusioned by cuts
to pay, pensions and conditions, and has gone on to represent officers in several notorious cases such as the Daniel Morgan enquiry and inquests into the murders by Steven Port. He was elected as the region 8 sergeants’ rep for the National Board in June 2022 and is the national lead for professional development and disability. He became deputy secretary of the National Detectives’ Forum in September 2021 and has contributed towards an uplift in detectives across the country.
29 | POLICE | OCTOBER 2022
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
