Q&A with new PFEW Chairman John Apter

THE new Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, John Apter, outlines his vision for the organisation and what he will be tackling as a priority in his new role.

Q) What does being elected as Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales mean to you?
A) It’s an honour and privilege and a role I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into and making a difference in. I want to give PFEW members their voice back, I want to make their priorities my priorities and I won’t be shying away from a fight if one’s needed.

Q) Why did you want the job?
A) I know I’ve made a difference locally in Hampshire when I was Federation Chairman there, but I’ve seen officers fall out of love with the Federation at a national level. I’ve been frustrated with the direction we’ve gone at times and wanted us to shout louder about our successes. I want to shine a spotlight on some of the brilliant work being done locally by Federations and I want members to engage with the National Federation. We can only do that by making a difference.

Q) How are you going to ‘bite back’ as you said you would in your election pledges?
A) It’s important to have relationships with others, I have a relationship with my Chief Constable, with my PCC, with local MPs. But I’m not their friend and I will challenge them however that needs to happen, face to face or through other channels and we mustn’t shy away from that. I’m not here for them, I’m here for PFEW members so if they want us to fight for something then that’s what we need to do, to bite back. I think the perception has been that the Federation doesn’t do that for them. Police Regulations for example; many colleagues don’t know what that means to them, but I think we should reignite the Met Police Federation ‘Know Your Rights’ campaign. Let’s not shy away from tough decisions about employment rights, let’s have the conversation, let members decide. After all we’re there for them, it’s not the other way around.

Q) What about officers’ pensions? It’s a question widely asked by officers, are you going to get them back?
A) I’ve been affected by pension changes – not as badly as some others – but my life plans have had to change. I hold the Government solely responsible, they hammered public sector pensions and many colleagues have been really badly affected. The PFEW took a certain path but I think a better job around communicating why they took that path could have been done. It led to passionate groups like Pension Challenge being created, who I actually admire. I don’t think the Federation engaged with them well enough. I’m not going to say I’m going to get pensions back when I know I can’t deliver that. But what I can say, is that our decision-making will be more transparent; legal advice will be made more available to members and I want to work with Pension Challenge to understand what it means to members. If I could get pensions back I certainly would, but it’s made very clear that’s not going to happen.

Q) What was your reaction to the “2% pay rise” announced for Police Officers
A) It was contemptible, a kick in the teeth. The Government must think we are really stupid to believe it was a genuine 2% pay rise. The PRRB made the recommendation of 3%, not as much as we deserved but better than we had. The Government ignored it, as they did last year, and gave us a rise which was in real terms less than 1%. How can they then say they are standing with us? Recognising our bravery, while all the time stabbing us in the back. They can’t be allowed to get away with that, we are going to bite back.

Q) What are you going to do in the role?
A) I want us to talk about what employment rights look like and look at the potential legal avenues. I think that’s what members would expect us to do, albeit privately so we don’t show our hand to the Government. Watch this space – we are not going to sit back and let them tickle our tummies I promise that.

Q) What will your first 100 days in the role look like?
A) There are so many important things to look at. We’ve got to unite the Federation and ensure we are a strong, united body. I know we might not always agree with each other, but the national office needs to know its place – the credibility of the organisation comes from local Federations and I want to give them the autonomy they need to be the very best they can. A united organisation is a strong one. I want to build a relationship with the Government, too, particularly around officer safety, around funding and the use of Taser and around Special Constables becoming Federation members. Let’s build on officer wellbeing too, there’s a lot of great stuff happening out there, but why aren’t we all doing it? In some places it’s just a poster on the wall so let’s end the postcode lottery about welfare. Let’s build on it and get everyone doing good work on it. I want to unify us – what’s important to members is important to me, I will make sure their voice is heard.

Q) What’s your message to PFEW members?
A) Have faith, give me a chance to make a difference, I promise to do that. I want to be more visible than any chair has been before, I’m going to listen to you and fight for you. I want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to do that. This is the first time a chair of the PFEW has been elected by all members of the PFEW and I really appreciate that, that’s how I would have liked to have been elected. So, I would say give me the chance to make a difference for you.

Q) You’ve said how inspiring Paul McKeever, a former Chair of the PFEW, was to you. What does it mean to you to be following in his footsteps?
A) That’s emotional for me – I became a local chairman because of him. He inspired me, and he was a brilliant man, not only when he was in the public limelight but when you met him in private, too. He was an incredibly kind and generous individual. I want to put a modern twist on those McKeever days of the Federation. He encouraged me to work at a national level and I remember him saying one day that he could see me being national Chairman. I hope he’s looking down and is very proud.