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Police Federation must change, says independent review Police Federation must change, says independent review
(about 4 hours later)
Far-reaching changes should be made to the operation, governance and funding of the Police Federation of England and Wales, an independent review has found. The Police Federation of England and Wales should be changed from "top to bottom", an independent panel has said.
Federation leaders commissioned the review after criticism in the wake of "plebgate", which saw minister Andrew Mitchell resign over a row with police. The damning report found a "worrying loss of confidence and competence" within the federation and a "serious loss of influence" outside.
The report - to be published later - follows an interim one which said the federation had "turned in on itself" and risked becoming an "irrelevance". It said the way the federation, which represents officers, had opposed police reforms and launched personal attacks were "strategic failures".
The group represents 127,000 officers. The review was set up after criticism in the wake of the "plebgate" affair.
The review has examined whether the federation still acts as a credible voice for officers, genuinely serves the public good and functions as an organisational democracy. The federation, which represents about 127,000 officers at the rank chief inspector and below, set up the review under former Home Office permanent secretary Sir David Normington last year.
It was conducted by a panel chaired by former Home Office permanent secretary Sir David Normington, with the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) providing the secretariat. Its report said the federation had faced a "perfect storm" of challenges for its members, including job losses, pay being "held down", increased pension costs and changes to working conditions, as well as major policing reforms.
'One voice' But it said there was an "almost universal perception" among members that the federation had been a "weak voice" during the changes.
The review is understood to contain a number of radical recommendations designed to make the federation more transparent to its members, accountable to the public and effective in representing the professional interests of the police. It said the federation had tended to "oppose rather than engage" and put forward ideas "too late to be influential, largely because of internal division at headquarters".
The panel is expected to say it believes the organisation must be re-structured so that it speaks with one voice. A survey carried out for the review found 91% of federation members wanted the federation to change.
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said that in recent years it has sometimes appeared that local federation branches had more influence than the national leadership - in particular over "plebgate" and campaigns against police budget cuts. The report also found:
The panel will also call for reform of the federation's finances after concluding there was a lack of clarity about the way it raised money and managed its accounts. Sir David said: "There is an urgent need for it regain the trust of its members, to be much more open and accountable and to adopt the kind of standards of behaviour and conduct which the public expects of police officers."
The organisation is believed to have large reserves, reported to be in the region of £50m. The report found the federation had reserve funds of £64.5m - about £35m of which was held by local branch boards, which it said "operate almost as separate businesses".
The "plebgate" row began in September 2012 when Mr Mitchell, then chief whip, was accused of calling officers "plebs" after they refused to let him ride his bicycle through Downing Street's main gates. The review panel made 36 recommendations. These included:
Three weeks after the original incident, Mr Mitchell met three officers acting for the Police Federation, who afterwards claimed Mr Mitchell had not elaborated on the row and called for him to resign - which he later did. The "plebgate" row began in September 2012 when Andrew Mitchell, who was then Tory chief whip, was accused of calling officers "plebs" after they refused to let him ride his bicycle through Downing Street's main gates.
But Mr Mitchell secretly recorded the meeting, which showed he had apologised for swearing and expressly denied that he had used the word "pleb". Three weeks after the incident, Mr Mitchell met three officers acting for the Police Federation, who afterwards claimed Mr Mitchell had not elaborated on the row.
'Lost confidence' They called for him to resign - which he later did - but Mr Mitchell had secretly recorded the meeting, and the recording showed he had denied using the word "pleb".
Earlier this month, the police watchdog said it would investigate the three officers who met the MP amid accusations they gave a false account of the meeting. Earlier this month, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it would investigate the three officers who met the MP amid accusations they gave a false account of the meeting.
The federation later announced it was launching judicial proceedings against the Independent Police Complaints Commission, saying its decision to reinvestigate the officers was "unlawful". The federation later announced it was launching judicial proceedings against the IPCC, saying its decision to reinvestigate the officers was "unlawful".
Separately, serving officer PC Keith Wallis has admitted falsely claiming to have witnessed the row between Mr Mitchell and police. The report said the case highlighted the "extent to which some representatives feel they can pursue local action and campaigns regardless of the impact on the wider federation and the views of their colleagues".
A progress report by the independent review team last October said the federation had "substantially lost the confidence of its members" who were "appalled" at the damage the "plebgate" affair had caused to policing. It said allegations that some federation representatives had personally targeted successive home secretaries, Andrew Mitchell and Tom Winsor - who reviewed police pay and conditions - brought the federation into disrepute and risked the police reputation for "impartiality and integrity".
The report also said 91% of police officers believed it was time for the organisation that represents them to change. The survey of 12,500 police officers also found 64% were dissatisfied with the federation's performance. The report did highlight some positives.
It said there was a "general recognition of the value that effective local representatives could bring", particularly in individual disciplinary cases.
The report also said some branch level representatives were "taking the initiative in reducing costs of representation" and it praised national leaders for some decisions - such as setting up the review.
The review's secretariat were provided by charity RSA Action and Research Centre.