Page 4 - Police World Edition 2 2013

Police World Vol 58 No.2 2013 4
An Update from the NEC
Working on
your behalf
National President, Tom Crozier, takes the opportunity
to update members on National Strategy prior to the
National Council meeting at Torquay in May.
S tructure: this has been on our
national agenda for more than four
years. From the earliest time
feedback from elected Branch and Region
committees generally reflected the view that a
review was neither necessary nor desirable.
However the assessment was that it was
beneficial to keep this on our agenda given the
structural changes affecting police forces
across the UK. More than that however there
were a variety of suggestions coming from
ordinary members that recommended or
supported changes to Region and Branch
structure. The concerns from ordinary
members ranged from the lack of
communication with or support for branches to
the unwieldy geographic make up of some
Regions.
At the meeting of Region Chairs at the NCM at
Cardiff I anonimised and circulated the
suggestions received. Once again feedback
from the Chairs reflected the view that the
structure did not need to be radically altered,
and that change ought to be evolutionary
rather than forced through against the
collective will. Structure was again discussed
at the recent meeting of the Region Secretaries
who unanimously agreed with that position.
Changes will inevitably come about through the
evolutionary process, e.g. the recent merger of
the two Thames Valley branches that were up
to that point in different Regions!
Given the consistent view expressed by elected
members I intend that the delegates at the
forthcoming NCM should decide if this topic is
to be set aside for now.
Roles & Responsibilites: The NEC allocated
responsibilities reflect the International
Commission structure: i.e. Internal (Rules),
External, Professional, Cultural and Finance.
Over and above the general headings there are
a number of other areas that NEC members
have responsibility for. The last few months has
seen the following changes to NEC
responsibilities.
Mark Kernohan now has responsibilty for
Communications including oversight of Police
World and the Website.
Mick Luke has been tasked with producing a
framework strategy that for the first time will
embrace issues around both recruitment and
retention.
Ronnie Dukes has been allocated
responsibility for our Webshop and income
generation.
The day to day management and oversight of
our staff has been streamlined and is now the
sole responsibilty of Dave Taylor.
Fred Boyd will continue to be responsible for
managing our finances that will include
responsibility for identifying cost reductions.
In brief these changes all feed into our
overarching strategy of securing the future of
this association through improved
communication with members, financial
security and sustaining and growing our
membership.
Recruitment and Retention
The succesess of the Publicity Officers who
have been recruited so far has been notable.
Regions and Branches that have Publicity
Officers have achieved the best results in
terms of recruitment, and in particular the
enrolment of serving officers. While the
numbers are growing there are a considerable
number of branches that have not yet
appointed a Publicity Officer. I would ask every
branch to reflect on the success of those
already in position and encourage you to
identify and appoint publicity officers where
practical.
Another success story is our promotion of
Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Three years
ago we had one SIG; the Caravan & Camping
Group. We now boast an additional four
groups:
the Motor Cycle Group , the Triathlon Group,
Defensive Tactics Group and the Bowling
Group. The Motor Cycle Group is now well
established with close to 100 members, while
the Defensive Tactics Group that only formed in
December has a membership of 30 or so.
There is clearly the potential for any number of
SIGs given the varied interests across our
membership. SIGs have the potential to both
attract new members and to cement their
relationship with IPA, committing them to the
Association. Any member who may want to set
up a group will be given both practical and,
where appropriate, financial support to assist
their endeavours. Simply contact BSAC who will
provide further information.
Other areas that the NEC are promoting with
some success include:
Enhancing the reputation of Section UK
across the wider association
To that end UK will: ● Host a meeting of the
International Internal Commission in May
2013. ● Host members of the PEB at the
World Police & Fire Games at Belfast in August
2013. ● Host the International House
Managers’ Conference in 2016.
Furthermore the NEC has nominated Region
and Branch members from 1 and 8 Regions to
represent Section UK at two separate events in
Poland during 2012 and will support a member
from 4 Region who is attending the
International Young Officers Conference in
Australia during 2013. We will continue to seek
opportunities to allow members to represent
the Section at international events.
Professional Exchanges: The NEC recently
changed its policy on professional exchanges.
Up to this point our position has been that we
are not a professional body, therefore could not
support or facilitate professional exchanges.
What the NEC has now decided is that we will
support applications for professional
exchanges, utilising our wide network of
professional contacts in UK and abroad. We
are in the process of formalising agreements
with Sections Poland and Germany, and hope
to be able to offer exchange opportunities in
the not too distant future.
As I have said before our greatest asset is our
members, and your NEC will listen and take
heed to what you have to say. Should there be
anything that you want to contribute to the
discussions around the direction we are taking
please do not hesitate to contact me.
Tom Crozier, President