Police Federation hosts 'Day of Action' against Government cuts to policing
Tuesday, 12 July, 2011
The Police Federation for England and Wales has organised a 'Day of Action' to highlight the impact of Government cuts to policing, including an open-meeting and lobbying event in the heart of Westminster on 13 July.
Over 2,000 off duty police officers from all over England and Wales will attend the open-meeting to highlight their concerns about proposed cuts to the police service and to ask the Home Secretary to treat them fairly and to honour the police pay negotiation process.
A number of high profile speakers will show their support for police officers on the day including Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP, Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee Keith Vaz MP, ACPO President Sir Hugh Orde and Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC.
Paul McKeever, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales says;
"We have no doubt that a 20 per cent cut to overall police budgets will lead to more crime. It simply won't be possible to provide the same level of service to the public that we do now if we are losing officers, support staff, vehicles and stations.
"We accept that cuts have to be made but we ask that the Government acknowledges our unique status; police officers do not have industrial rights, so it is vital that the Home Secretary honours the police pay negotiation process.
"On 13th July we will be calling for a fair negotiation process and honesty about the implications of cuts to policing. The public has a right to know what the likely impact will be if 20 per cent cuts are imposed."
The police service currently faces a triple whammy attack on pay including; a public sector two-year pay freeze and then a proposed two-year freeze on constables' incremental pay and a likely increase in pension contributions of three per cent which will result in many paying 14 per cent contributions. The cumulative effect of all this is that in a recent survey of 42,000 officers by the Police Federation, 98 per cent said morale is at an all-time low.
The 'Day of Action' is part of an on-going campaign by the Federation to raise awareness of the likely impact of the proposed 20 per cent cuts and the risk to public safety if the most experienced officers leave or are forced out.
