Police Federation comment on possible prison dispute action
Friday, 01 April, 2011
Paul Davis, Secretary of the Operational Policing Sub-Committee of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:
"The irony will not be lost on police officers that at a time when the Home Secretary is cutting the police budget and planning to cut police pay and conditions, including overtime, she is relying on us to help her out whilst other workers exercise industrial rights.
"If police officers are required to police prisons in addition to the demands placed upon us already, then their safety and security is paramount. We already have agreements with the Association of Chief Police Officers as to what police officers will do and how they will do it and we will ensure that is strictly adhered to.
"The prison officer role is hugely different to that of a police officer, yet it is the police service the Home Secretary looks towards to assist. We trust the Home Secretary will recognise this; when she says everyone must share the pain of the cuts and asks what makes the police different, here's her answer."
