Conference notes the plans from the Ministry of Justice to impose yet another set of top-down reforms on the Probation Service via its ‘One HMPPS’ proposals. These proposals were published less than 18 months following the reunification of probation in 2021 which in turn followed the collapse of 7 years of failed probation privatisation. The […]
Conference motions
Conference calls on the Service Group Executive (SGE) to explore ways in which to increase Black Member representation within the SGE including the Police and Probation Sectors. The SGE must: 1)Consider best practice with an emphasis on representation and inclusion; 2)Report back to the Police & Justice conference in 2024.
Young members are the future of our union and it is important that we provide as much support as possible within the workplace, enabling them to see the value of trade union membership within the Police Service. Not only do we need to support young members at work, we need to encourage them to become […]
Conference notes that Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections are scheduled to take place on the 2nd May 2024. Of those PCCs elected in 2021, 30 were Conservative, 8 were Labour and 1 was Plaid Cymru. Conference further notes that three police services (Greater Manchester, the Metropolitan Police and West Yorkshire Police) are instead governed […]
Conference notes the impact that the Conservative government’s pledge to recruit 20000 police officers, known in policing as Operation Uplift, has had on the job security and career progression of police staff. Conference believes that the financial arrangements surrounding the pledge are forcing Chief Officers to place police officers into roles that would otherwise be […]
Conference believes that serving Police Staff should have same right as any member of the public to make a complaint against police if they are poorly treated or mistakes are made by Police colleagues from their home force when a staff member becomes a victim of crime or an alleged offender when off duty. Conference […]
Conference police crime scene examiners are often one of the first attendees at crime scenes. During their careers they photograph hundreds of scenes and are exposed to a variety of traumatic and distressing situations. Scene examiners are dealing with the examination of dead bodies, close up photography of post-mortems, and fingerprinting the deceased. They are […]
Conference many of you will be aware that even today many organisations are comfortably functioning in an environment that not only contributes to, but condones racism. In the Probation Service commendable work had been done which revealed that people of colour had experienced racism and the Service had developed a strategy they agreed to immediately […]
There are pockets of policing which are still outsourced to private enterprise. This means that there are staff working for our policing services who are subjected to less favourable terms and conditions than those which many of our colleagues have managed to secure through the Police Staff Council and union influence. The staff affected need […]
The toxic debate ignited by the United Kingdom government’s consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act underlined the importance of our union, including branches in the Police and Justice service group, supporting and representing our trans members effectively. Attacks on trans rights have escalated further in the past year. There has been a sustained attack […]
As a result of the release of Part 1 of the Winsor report, there became a requirement for police officers to prove their ability to remain fit for their role and for this to be tested annually. The JRFT became the test that to be successfully completed before personal safety training could be taken. It […]
Conference notes the success of UNISON’s Year of Disabled Workers 2022. Although the year is not yet complete, we have seen renewed focus on the experience of disabled members in our union, in the workplace and in society, including those in the Police and Justice service group. We have used the year to highlight the […]
Conference notes with concern how many Trainee Probation Officers (PQiPS) are reporting work place stress, feeling inadequately supported, going off sick and in the worst scenarios, abandoning their training. The Probation Service has placed a huge financial investment into recruiting new trainee Probation Officers however, however have failed to ensure that there is enough support […]
Conference, reunification into one Probation Service was a triumph for the trade unions and proof that privatisation has no place in the work that we do. Probation staff in both the privatised and public parts of the organisation absorbed the huge amounts of turmoil and change whilst striving to continue delivering the service to our […]
The Probation Service has existed since 1907 when the Probation of Offenders Act was passed in Parliament and work that had previously been carried out through missionaries, was given official status. The mantra of Advise, Assist and Befriend gave the Probation Service it’s rehabilitative ethos within which it functioned for many years. The 1990’s saw […]