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Communications development i.e. keeping up with the times is an on-going battle, as I am sure you will
appreciate, to ensure we have the right balance between financial outlay and member benefit.
The website over the last year has been
developed and will continue to evolve reflecting
Sections UK’s values of being ‘A VIBRANT IPA’.
What I mean by this is that we need to ensure
we are a happening Section and this can only
be evidenced by activity with the news stories to
support this. Hence my continual pleas for more
news articles in order to keep the website fresh
and relevant.
The website is our main communication platform
as news is updated daily with regard to events,
competitions, opportunities and so on. Please
take time out to regularly review the site.
Our social media platforms continue to expand
and this is an area I want to address in particular
during 2018. All members who utilise social
media should be part of our national page
(if they so wish) as well as being members of their
own Region and/or Branch page as a minimum.
That way we should be able to ensure nothing
that is circulated nationally from HQ is missed
by members. A significant amount of the
messaging will be to signpost members to the
website which can now be viewed on your mobile
phone more easily.
We shall be reaching out to all members to
update their email addresses so if you are
reading this please send your current email
through to HQ and your Regional Secretary so
that we can communicate with you in the future.
The ‘Triple MMM’, our mid-monthly memo, which
is sent out via email is an example of where you
maybe missing out on various key messages in
between receiving the Police World magazine.
Police World
on-line or through your door under
the stewardship of our Editor Neil Hallam
continues to impress but could be even greater
with more news stories and the accompanying
digital photographs.
The adage of ‘what you get out of something is
what you put into it,’ does to a degree apply to the
IPA. Monetarily you can potentially achieve this
quite easily e.g. go to Gimborn for a seminar once
in two years where you will be given £200 towards
the course against £56 pound investment.
Makes good business sense but there is a lot
more to making a monetary return. Friendship,
networking, social and cultural enjoyment and
hopefully some professional development to
name a few are immediate benefits that spring
to mind. I know through personal experience that
the IPA helped me in this arena on one promotion
board due to attending an IPA seminar which gave
me an example to evidence.
As a member we are all volunteers – as nobody
forces you to join anymore apparently – I was told
that maybe that used to happen back in the day
in some areas but I can’t believe that. I do recall
personally signing up for everything as that was
what I was told to do – however, disappointingly
for me there was no IPA input or IPA form to fill
out during my initial training.
From first joining the IPA to how you use the
tools available is a matter for you, fill in a travel
form, stay in an IPA house, apply for a member
opportunity, go to Gimborn, take part in a sporting
activity or even attend a meeting or two will
all open up other doors for you because your
friendship network will continually grow. Make
time to commit to IPA activity is what I ask of you
in 2018 so that you have the time to enjoy the
many IPA benefits on offer and when you have
achieved this New Year’s resolution tell your
non-member friends about what they have been
missing out on please!
To conclude please remember without members
we have no Association so ‘friendship first’ is
always our goal.
Continue to have fun and keep safe enjoying your
IPA activity during 2018.
Yours in Friendship
Mick Luke
Proud to be President of Section UK.
POLICE WORLD
Vol 63 No. 1, 2018
5
Working on your behalf