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I'm unsure where this post would fit best, so please move it as you see fit, Moderation Team. This question I am sure has come up time and time again, however I have been recently asked this by a friend of a relative who is a serving Special in a shire force in the South - and I'm completely confused myself so cannot answer! With regard to 'Travel Concessions' which most police officers get (subject to a nominal fee via the Fed on a monthly basis), why is this specifically excluded for Specials? I understand the legislative part surrounding joining the Fed (although only just!), however I am told the Fed extend olive branches have come to 'understanding of representation' extending to Specials without fee, also extending to those not in company of a regular officer. I asked them to check with their respective Force and their policy. The question was asked and they were told you have to be a 'police officer' to qualify and it was an agreement with their local rail operators. After various Google searches, some rail operators and the TfL does indeed say 'Police Officer' - with some then going on to say "except Special Constables". I understand there is a fee payable and there was once an argument about Specials not wanting to pay the fee (?) so they couldn't join officially - however what if this individual does want to join for full membership, and have the travel concession? I guess, most importantly, when is a Special Constable a Police Officer, and when are they not a Police Officer? Surely it would be easier to say 'Police Constables' only, rather than the exclusion.
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I'm wondering whether to join the police federation. I've asked my colleagues and they seem to be completely divided, so I'd love to hear your opinions....
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Police cars with no sirens risk response times, federation says
Remmy + posted a topic in UK Policing News
Police cars with no sirens risk response times, federation says - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-34124935 Police cars with no sirens are being used for emergency responses, delaying officers and potentially preventing arrests, the Police Federation says. West Midlands Police has a fleet of 109 Vauxhall Corsa cars intended for neighbourhood policing. The Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said the vehicles had been used for more than 100 urgent calls in the last 12 months. The West Midlands force said the Corsas were "not intended for response work". The Federation's health and safety official Pete Harkness said: "Officers are ordered to drive the Corsa at patrol speed and obey the rules of the road. "But the absence of a siren means they often cannot get traffic to move out of their way and this, in turn, can delay them getting to an emergency situation. "This is very frustrating for the officers and they feel they are letting the public down by not getting to them as quickly as possible in a crisis situation." The union blames cost-cutting for the use of cars without sirens. Superintendent Kerry Blakeman, from the force's operations department, said officers who respond to call-outs in cars without sirens have to follow the Highway Code and cannot break the speed limit to cut through traffic. He said: "Incidents graded as 'immediate' are responded to as soon as possible, usually in a matter of minutes and on many occasions require the use of lights and sirens. "At no point was the Corsa intended for response work as it is a low performance vehicle." It seems to me the force is burying it head in the sand! It really doesn't matter what the vehicle is intended for either. Stop the control room deploying these patrols to immediate response incidents, potentially putting the public at risk and failing to hit response times (and that always gets the bosses attention). Or just pay the money and have the vehicles equipped correctly so they are fit for purpose. I guess this will become more of an issue as budget cuts bite even deeper.- 13 replies
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