HM CHIEF Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor risked the wrath of police officers by wearing a uniform at National Police Memorial Day.<\/p>\n
Mr Winsor wore an HMIC \u201cceremonial uniform\u201d to the event in Cardiff. Although it is not a police uniform \u2013 it \u201clooks similar\u201d.<\/p>\n
He wore a black tie suit to the National Police Bravery Awards which followed two weeks later.<\/p>\n
Mr Winsor said he was aware his decision at National Police Memorial Day was \u201ccontroversial\u201d but he wore the uniform as \u201ca mark of respect\u201d.<\/p>\n
However the uniform move upset many police officers of all ranks, still angered at the Mr Winsor \u2013 a former rail regulator \u2013 for his reviews into police pay and conditions.<\/p>\n
His recommendations, which included suspending officer increment payments as well as scrapping Special Priority Payments and abolishing competency related threshold payments, have cost some officers thousands of pounds a year.<\/p>\n
He has also recommended making police officers redundant.<\/p>\n
One officer said: \u201cI think his wearing a uniform at an event remembering the sacrifice of our officers is totally disrespectful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking at the event, Mr Winsor said: \u201cThe wearing of a uniform in all circumstances is a mark of respect. It\u2019s a respect to the service. It\u2019s a respect to the people who have given their lives. It\u2019s a respect to their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe uniform that I wear today is the uniform of Her Majesty\u2019s Chief Inspector of Constabulary. It\u2019s an HMIC uniform, it is not a police uniform, although it has similarities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Winsor, pictured with Will Riches, chairman of the constables\u2019 central committee of the Police Federation of England and Wales, was aware his wardrobe decision had attracted criticism.<\/p>\n
He told the Constables: \u201cI realise that in some quarters this has been controversial and has been criticised but I would rather be criticised for showing respect than be criticised for failing to show respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking before the event a spokeswoman for the HMIC said: \u201cInspectors of Constabulary are not police officers, and the uniforms they wear to represent HMIC on such ceremonial occasions are not police uniforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
One relative of a fallen officer at this weekend\u2019s event asked all parties to put their differences aside in Cardiff. He said: \u201cFor one day a year, this event is about remembering those who have sadly paid the ultimate sacrifice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not want Tom Winsor\u2019s attendance \u2013 or what he wears \u2013 being made into a political event. Mr Winsor is coming to pay his respects to fallen police officers \u2013 and that is what the day is and should be about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Winsor attended last year\u2019s event in York in a suit \u2013 although he had been confirmed in the HM chief inspector role, he was yet to take over from outgoing HMCIC Sir Denis O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n
There were rumours Mr Winsor was going to wear a uniform when he addressed the Police Federation of England and Wales annual conference in May this year, but once again, he wore a suit.<\/p>\n
According to the HMIC website: \u201cThe uniforms associated with the role of Inspectors of Constabulary are not police uniforms \u2013 although they look similar.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor instance, the insignia and cap badge contain the letters \u2018HMIC\u2019; the Chief Inspector\u2019s insignia also includes a star.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom time to time \u2013 particularly for memorial and remembrance services \u2013 one or more of the Inspectors of Constabulary attends an event in the HMIC uniform. Wherever practicable, this duty is discharged by Her Majesty\u2019s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, as the senior Inspector of Constabulary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporting Tom Winsor\u2019s decision to wear a uniform, Nick Gargan, Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police and a former HM inspector, said: \u201cIt\u2019s my understanding that the uniform goes with the job that he was selected for, via a competitive process more than a year ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Her Majesty\u2019s Chief Inspector\u2019s uniform and he is Her Majesty\u2019s Chief Inspector. I hope that this issue doesn\u2019t create a distraction from what is always a poignant and moving event.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HM CHIEF Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor risked the wrath of police officers by wearing a uniform at National Police Memorial Day. Mr Winsor wore an HMIC \u201cceremonial uniform\u201d to\u2026 read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":533,"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\/532"}],"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=532"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":553,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532\/revisions\/553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essexfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}