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.<\/p>\n
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Q) What does being elected as Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales mean to you? Q) Why did you want the job? Q) How are you going to \u2018bite back\u2019 as you said you would in your election pledges? Q) What about officers\u2019 pensions? It\u2019s a question widely asked by officers, are you going to get them back? Q) What was your reaction to the \u201c2% pay rise\u201d announced for Police Officers Q) What are you going to do in the role? Q) What will your first 100 days in the role look like? Q) What\u2019s your message to PFEW members? Q) You\u2019ve 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?
\n<\/strong>A) It\u2019s an honour and privilege and a role I\u2019m 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\u2019t be shying away from a fight if one\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A) I know I\u2019ve made a difference locally in Hampshire when I was Federation Chairman there, but I\u2019ve seen officers fall out of love with the Federation at a national level. I\u2019ve been frustrated with the direction we\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A) It\u2019s important to have relationships with others, I have a relationship with my Chief Constable, with my PCC, with local MPs. But I\u2019m not their friend and I will challenge them however that needs to happen, face to face or through other channels and we mustn\u2019t shy away from that. I\u2019m not here for them, I\u2019m here for PFEW members so if they want us to fight for something then that\u2019s what we need to do, to bite back. I think the perception has been that the Federation doesn\u2019t do that for them. Police Regulations for example; many colleagues don\u2019t know what that means to them, but I think we should reignite the Met Police Federation \u2018Know Your Rights\u2019 campaign. Let\u2019s not shy away from tough decisions about employment rights, let\u2019s have the conversation, let members decide. After all we\u2019re there for them, it\u2019s not the other way around.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A) I\u2019ve been affected by pension changes \u2013 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\u2019t think the Federation engaged with them well enough. I\u2019m not going to say I\u2019m going to get pensions back when I know I can\u2019t 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\u2019s made very clear that\u2019s not going to happen.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>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\u2019t be allowed to get away with that, we are going to bite back.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A) I want us to talk about what employment rights look like and look at the potential legal avenues. I think that\u2019s what members would expect us to do, albeit privately so we don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A) There are so many important things to look at. We\u2019ve 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 \u2013 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\u2019s build on officer wellbeing too, there\u2019s a lot of great stuff happening out there, but why aren\u2019t we all doing it? In some places it\u2019s just a poster on the wall so let\u2019s end the postcode lottery about welfare. Let\u2019s build on it and get everyone doing good work on it. I want to unify us \u2013 what\u2019s important to members is important to me, I will make sure their voice is heard.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>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\u2019m 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\u2019s how I would have liked to have been elected. So, I would say give me the chance to make a difference for you.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A) That\u2019s emotional for me \u2013 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\u2019s looking down and is very proud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"