Chairman’s Christmas and New Year message to members

POLICE officers and staff working Christmas and New Year will be looking out for members of the public who fall on hard times – but must also remember to look out for each other.

In a festive message to members, Steve Taylor, Chairman of Essex Police Federation said he wished colleagues the very happiest Christmas and the very best New Year and that he looks forward to working for them in 2017.

Steve said that Christmas is always a difficult period for many officers as they can be working when all their friends and family are at home celebrating the festive season.

“Particularly when they’re having to do a difficult job with even fewer people because some colleagues have been lucky enough to get some time off,” he added.

“But for those colleagues that haven’t been lucky enough to get all that time off that you wanted, then at this time of year it’s more important, perhaps, to pull together and remember that you are part of a team. Let’s see the mince pies appearing at briefings. That’s a message to the supervisors!

“But, jokes aside, let’s take the time to look out for each other and remember one another as we go about what can be really difficult work at Christmas.

“There’s going to be members of our community that fall on the hardest of times at this time of year, so being as best equipped as we can to help them out starts with looking after one another.”

Steve said that he is looking forward to working a Boxing Day shift with colleagues from a roads policing unit in Stanway.

He added: “It’s really important for me to maintain as much as possible my operational credibility so that I am best able to speak for operational colleagues in the matters that affect them.

“It’s important for me to see for myself what’s going on and the problems which in this case might be the concerns of the roads policing unit, but which I’m sure will be replicated in teams up and down the county.

“Who knows what we might face? Some days it was harrowing and upsetting and difficult, and other days it was humorous and funny and still other days it was heart-warming and it was food for the soul. That is one of the best things about the job we do. You just don’t know what’s round the corner.”