A Christmas Message from Hampshire Police Federation

A VERY welcome Christmas present for Hampshire Police officers would be if the new Government delivers the five key pledges in the Hampshire Police Federation manifesto in the New Year

In a festive message, Alex Charge, Chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, wished all colleagues a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and was very keen to stress that there are a number of Officers who won’t be with their families on Christmas Day or over New Year.

“They will be out in Hampshire looking after members of the public,” he said, “and it’s really important, both as a Federation and as the wider community in Hampshire, that we look after those Officers who look after us.”

The five key points of the Hampshire Police Federation manifesto are Fair Police Funding for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Improving the Deterrents for Assaults on Officers, Hampshire to get a fair share of Taser funding from the Government, recognising the cost of living in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (and increasing the South East Allowance) and Time Limits on Investigations into Police Officers.

Alex said these will be pushed with the MPs in the newly elected Parliament in the New Year.

In the meantime, to hep instil a good festive spirit and as a boost to morale, Hampshire Police Federation representatives have been delivering Christmas packages to Officers.

“It’s really important to deliver a bit of good cheer,” commented Alex.

“That’s why several members of the full-time team have been round the north, east and west with treats, plus diaries and pens and all the other good stuff that people like. A colleague also went over to the Isle of Wight.

“It’s essential that we get some face-to-face time with members so we can understand what challenges they face.

“Some issues are quite simple to solve. We just need to be able to get through the blocks to solve them.”

He gave an example from one of the investigation centres where some Officers are cold because of the way the air conditioning works.

“We can sort this out because we know who to talk to – we can resolve these things.”

Another issue involved a simple fact that a chair hadn’t been cleaned appropriately.

“These are real low-level issues, but if we hear about them we can speak to the right people to get them resolved. We can do it quickly without much fuss.

“Those tiny little things actually really bother people and it’s important that we can solve those for them to make their lives easier,” he added.