\u201cWE will get you supporting the front line as soon as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is the message from Essex Police Federation to the retired police officers who have offered their services to help out the force during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
But the Federation is urging them to bear with the force as they work through the necessary admin.<\/p>\n
An Essex Police force spokesperson told the Daily Echo: \u201cOpportunities are available for former officers and staff to protect and serve our county.<\/p>\n
“While no one knows how long we will have to respond to this situation, we do know that many of our former police officers and police staff will want to come back and help protect and serve Essex.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a move backed by the Federation, although Chairman Steve Taylor knows there is some red tape to cut through before retired officers can get back out onto the streets.<\/p>\n
He explained: \u201cWe\u2019ve taken on about half a dozen volunteers who have successfully completed the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve managed to keep absence from the workplace as low as it is, but we\u2019ve not put in place any unique measures because of the COVID-19 situation, so the three methods of those returning to the force remain the same as before the crisis hit.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo maybe that explains the delay because getting into the police service shouldn\u2019t be an easy or quick thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are disappointed as a Federation that we\u2019re not maximising the kind offers of many former colleagues out there with specialist skills who could help us at this time of crisis. Of course, we would be disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Steve acknowledged that there are some potential risks to the scheme.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cEqually, we appreciate there are some risks involved with people joining the organisation, and those risks have to be managed properly. I regret that it has taken as long as it is for that to be managed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are still avenues available for those wishing to volunteer their services to get involved in local policing, such as officers returning on the police officer return scheme, Special Constables rejoining or signing up for the first time, or volunteers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment it\u2019s only former Essex Police staff and employees who are being encouraged on the volunteer scheme as we have a process involved that is taking some time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are doing the right thing by volunteering your services. They\u2019ve got skills and attributes that would benefit us in the current climate, so I hope they stick with us and bear with us as the organisation works its way through the necessary red tape.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will get you supporting the frontline as soon as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWE will get you supporting the front line as soon as we can.\u201d That is the message from Essex Police Federation to the retired police officers who have offered their\u2026 read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120876"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=120876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121218,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120876\/revisions\/121218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/121017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=120876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=120876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=120876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}