Federation Open Meeting On 15 May

Officers are encouraged to attend the Hampshire Police Federation Open Meeting on Wednesday 15 May, so that they can pose important policing questions to chief officers.

Hampshire Police Federation Chair Zoë Wakefield said: “We are one of the few Federations that still hold open meetings. It’s great that our colleagues in Hampshire have the opportunity to ask questions of the Chief Constable and other chief officers in an open forum, to get the answers that they really want.

“It’s really important that officers attend, as it carries so much more weight if the question comes from the officer themselves, in the room. If people can’t attend and they want a question to be asked, email us and we will ask that question on their behalf. But it’s always more impactive if the officer is there in person.”

She continued: “Last year our Chief Constable had only been in force for 11 weeks, so he spoke about his plans for the changes that he wanted to put through. Those have now happened, so it’s a really good opportunity for us and officers to make sure the chief is aware of the positive and negative impact of those changes.

“That way, the chief will understand the reality of what it’s like for the officers out there, doing the job, not just what he’s being told by other senior police officers.”

Other questions Zoë expected to come up included: student officers’ protected learning time, the promotion process, heavy workloads, supervision ratios, and a lack of resources on the frontline.