THE future of the police service and officer health and welfare were top of the agenda when PFEW Chairman John Apter met new Home Secretary Priti Patel.<\/p>\n
Mr Apter tweeted to say no issue was \u2018sugar-coated\u2019 during the \u2018constructive and productive\u2019 meeting held earlier this month.<\/p>\n
It was their first meeting since Priti Patel took up the role of Home Secretary in July.<\/p>\n
Since then she has stated she \u2018has the backs\u2019 of police officers fighting violent crime, has vowed to bolster police numbers and has lifted emergency section 60 stop and search restrictions for all forces in England and Wales.<\/p>\n
In a series of Tweets, Mr Apter said she understood the pressure policing is under.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad an honest and constructive conversation about a wide range of issues affecting our members. Officer welfare and safety was a big part of the discussion with a focus on how the Policing Covenant can give tangible support,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about the 20,000 extra officers, Taser, emergency driving legislation, length of IOPC investigations, specials being members of the PFEW and the need for some action to back up the promises being made. Nothing was \u2018sugar-coated\u2019 by me which seemed to be appreciated!<\/p>\n
\u201cWe discussed sentences imposed on those who assault police officers and the feeling from many officers that the Criminal Justice System was letting them down. The impact of \u2018soft Justice\u2019 has a negative effect on officers (victims), their families and the wider policing family.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, a constructive and very productive first meeting with the Home Secretary who made it crystal clear our members views matter. I made it clear the pressure, vulnerabilities and risk our members face. This was fully accepted and understood which was refreshing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"