Relentless onslaught of the Police service by Political Masters

Nobody reading this will disagree that the police service has been subjected to what can only be described as a relentless onslaught in recent times. This has taken the form of attacks on our pay and conditions by a Government who have adopted the approach of kicking us into submission, safe in the knowledge that we can do little in response to defend ourselves. As well as being grossly unfair, this approach has broken an unwritten covenant going back decades that throughout all negotiations there would always be a tacit understanding that we have no industrial rights and the agreements reached would reflect that. The current administration has paid no regard to that historic position and instead seen it as carte blanche to dismantle us. Whenever I hear one of our political masters refer to us as `the finest police service in the world` I hold my breath, because what inevitably follows are details of the next round of body blows we are expected to endure.

Does the Gov’t really see us as the Finest Police Service in the world?

We are all very much aware of the apparent contempt that the coalition Government seems to hold for policing in this country, each time we hear one of our political masters use the expression `You are the finest police service in the world` we then hold our breath in anticipation of the next line which usually details what they are going to do to us next and in doing so continue their program of dismantling the service that is the envy of the world. Last year we saw police officers rescue the security operation for the Olympics at the eleventh hour and in doing so demonstrate to all sensible commentators that policing cannot be sold to the lowest bidder – to do so gambles with the safety of our communities. The first responsibility of Government is the safety of the people who put them in office, not the pursuit of profit for private shareholders.

God Bless Nicola and Fiona – May they now Rest in Peace

No member of our GMP family will ever forget where they were on the morning of Tuesday 18th September 2012 when they heard the news that two of our colleagues had been shot in Tameside. We all hoped in vain that the initial scant details were either inaccurate or exaggerated and that our colleagues would pull through. However as morning turned to afternoon our worst fears were realised as we heard the tragic news that Pcs Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone had died.

We all remember the emotions we went through, the anger, the frustration, both of which were simply borne out of the fact that that we could not reconcile ourselves with what we were being told had happened - It defied all logic. We all know that policing is a dangerous job, but when colleagues are hurt or killed there is always some perverse reason behind it, however criminal that may be.
 
This was at the heart of the incredible reaction that we as a policing family saw on the day itself and over the weeks that followed. These events touched people from far and wide in ways that had never seen before and we hope to God we never see again. Messages of support for the family and friends of Nicola and Fiona came in from quite literally around the globe. Hardened criminals handed flowers in at a GMP desk and I particularly remember opening a card from an elderly couple who wanted to send what little amount of money they had spare in order to show support and help those who grieved.

A year like no other - A Christmas message from Ian Hanson

Dear Colleagues,

As the year draws to an end I am going to state the obvious and say that 2012 has been like no other. Perhaps the only real positive to mark has been the fact that GMP played a massive part in the biggest peace time policing operation that the country has ever seen and did so with pride. This was done despite the abject failure of G4S and others motivated by financial greed who viewed the Olympic Games as nothing more than an opportunity to make as much money as possible for shareholders. That’s what sets us apart from the private sector and that is what this Government and their cronies sadly don’t understand - our stakeholders are our communities and we answer to the Crown.

ACT IN HASTE - REPENT AT LEISURE

The last week has proven to be an incredibly difficult time for police officers and in particular those who have found themselves massively disadvantaged by the Government`s assault upon our pensions. This is yet another example of the contempt that this Government holds the police service in and comes just after the closure of the Olympics where we bailed them out after their pals in the private security industry failed to deliver.

There is a lot of emotion and understandable anger amongst colleagues following the pensions announcement and we in GMP Federation completely understand that. However we also have to be realistic as to what the Federation can achieve, as well as being very clear in spelling out that our options were very limited during the discussions that were held on pensions. It may be useful to dispel a few rumours and set out the position we were presented with when the original plans were released. Firstly, and most importantly, the Police Federation have no negotiation rights whatsoever on the area