The Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, has launched an open consultation and the below letter from her sets out its scope and intentions.

NARPO CEO Steve Edwards will be replying to the consultation but urges others to do so as well

https://www.narpo.org/police-covenant-for-england-and-wales-government-consultation/

POLICE COVENANT FOR ENGLAND AND WALES: LAUNCH OF CONSULTATION

We write to inform you of the launch today of an eight-week consultation on the principle and scope of the Police Covenant. Too many officers are paying the price for their astonishing devotion to public duty. They are true public servants, doing an exceptional job in extraordinary circumstances. They deserve our utmost respect, support and protection, and I am determined to do whatever I can to keep them safe and to make their lives easier.

That’s why I have stepped up plans to introduce a Police Covenant to enshrine the rights of those serving in our police forces. This Covenant is a pledge to do more to recognise the service and sacrifice of our police and to deliver the urgent practical support they need.

The daily challenges and dangers our police face can have a serious impact on every aspect of their lives. This consultation asks what more we can do to help protect them from attack and boost their wellbeing. When an officer suffers it is often their families who pick up the pieces, so we will also look at what more we can do to support their loved ones.

As Home Secretary, my mission is to deliver the safer streets that the people want. We can only do that if we support and empower our outstanding police to do their job. They have my full and unwavering support.

Our police are the embodiment of public duty – facing danger on a daily basis so we don’t have to – and I refuse to allow them to pay the price for that.

This consultation seeks views on the principle of implementing a Police Covenant in England and Wales, to enhance support for the police and their families. It will look at the themes of:

• Physical protection

• Health and wellbeing
• Support for families
It will also consider the scope of the Covenant and who should be covered. The consultation is aimed at those serving with the police, those who have previously done so, their families and any groups with an interest in supporting the police in England and Wales.

We would like to hear from anyone who has been affected, indirectly or directly, by the impact of policing work and to hear what more can be done to help. Questions include how officers should be publicly recognised for their bravery and work, and what can be done to ease their burden.

The full consultation is available on :-

https://www.homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk/s/preview/NC12Z/1D0B4C3F305B64C E752B5E99407989 and at www.Gov.uk.

The consultation will close on 22 April 2020.

We hope that you will fully engage in this consultation process by sharing your expertise and experience and using your networks to ensure that the voices of officers, their families and the organisations that support them are fully represented.

Gloucestershire Police Archives – Part of The Heritage Hub

Since the early planning stages of the Heritage Hub, Gloucestershire Police Archives has been an integral part of the project.

Prior to that the Constabulary Archives were supported and run for 16 years as a volunteer group linked to Gloucestershire branch of the National Association of Retired Police Officers (NARPO) operating out of Cheltenham and then Stroud Police Stations.  They did huge amount of the early work in creating this collection.

Since our involvement with the hub the Constabulary has for some three and a half years employed a member of staff to be responsible for these historic archives which are based both in Police Headquarters and The Heritage Hub.

We still rely on volunteers (and welcome new ones) as the group tasks involve:

• answering public queries
• entering information on a database
• managing a website
• providing displays for events
• giving talks
• working with volunteers from other organisations
• providing information within the Constabulary
• helping the Constabulary archive to grow

We are very happy to receive donations to the archives as the Chief Constable has provided us with a room at Waterwells that will take the articles that cannot be deposited in the Heritage Hub.

If you would like to visit us at the Heritage Hub you are very welcome, there is lots of parking and disabled access. You can contact us at:

Gloucestershireconstabularyarchivegroup@gloucestershire.pnn.police.uk or via the Gloucestershire Police archives website. As we are spread across various offices and do not always follow a set routine, the telephone is not an easy way to reach us but we do respond to old fashioned mail and can then call you.

As an example of what we can offer to ex colleagues and the wider public overleaf is a short article about the early role of women in the Gloucestershire Constabulary.

Sue Web

Gloucestershire Constabulary Archives

Communications and Engagement Department

Gloucestershire Constabulary

www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/heritage-hub/

Policewomen in Gloucestershire

Uniformed Staff but not Gloucestershire Police Woman

The photograph opposite arrived in the archive’s inbox recently. The photograph was taken in Gloucester during World War 1

Although the woven hat band said police on it, we were unable to read the initials above to solve the mystery of which organisation she belonged to as there were several at the time.  The person who sent it in assumed that it was one of the early policewomen in Gloucestershire but that is not the case.

Gloucestershire Police Woman

This second photograph of one of Gloucestershire’s Constabulary early Police women and although she is still wearing the hat badge of the munitions police it is clear that the uniform is very different. (Women police in those days usually paid for their own uniform but the design seems to be remarkably consistent within and across organisations).

Although we were able to discount the original photograph as one of the Constabulary’s early women both through looking at the uniform and comparing faces the original query was a success. The woman who made the inquiry has now found enough information to write a book and wants to visit Gloucestershire Constabulary Archives for further information.

Who are Police Care UK ?

Any time of year can be a hard time for Police Officers, Staff, Volunteers and their families

So its good to know that a charity who are funded entirely by donations and fundraising – they receive no money from government or forces for our work – is there

You can access practical, emotional and financial support that is confidential and impartial by submitting a referral for you or someone you know.

Sign up for there newsletter, you wont be disappointed.

policecare.org.uk

The latest NARPO Newsletter has just been circulated.

It contains articles on :-

• Employment opportunity,
• NARPO Conference,
• Pensions for Life campaign.
• Well Being services from Police Mutual
• Later Life Ambitions
• Centenary Celebrations

To sign up for this newsletter visit the national NARPO website at –  https://www.narpo.org/newsletter-signup/