Annual Report

Foreword

ANNUAL REPORT FOREWORD

It is with great pleasure that I present the Annual Report of the Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales for the Financial Year 2008-2009.

The four National Officers, myself, Derek Barnett, Pat Stayt and Graham Cassidy continued in our respective roles for what was an extremely demanding and eventful year.

In October 2008 we agreed a three-year pay deal for all officers after a considerable period of negotiation. The agreement means that in the short to medium term the future of PNB is guaranteed and that a Pay Review Body will not be implemented/imposed.

The Government, following the publication of the Green Paper, proposed a single measurement of performance i.e. the level of public confidence which was accompanied by the introduction of the Policing Pledge. We undertook a major consultation exercise to ensure all our members’ voices were heard in our contribution to the document and overall, we were satisfied with the proposals.
However, we took issue with plans to directly elect police authority members and were delighted that the pressure we brought to bear, along with many others, was instrumental in a Government u-turn on the proposals. A definite success story for the Association’s campaign strategy.

Other issues on which we proudly campaigned included our opposition to direct entry and retaining the role of Sergeant in custody units, along with restoring public confidence in the Police, the major theme for Conference 2008.

During the year Boris Johnson was elected as the new Mayor of London.  He immediately appointed himself Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority and declared a vote of no confidence in the Commissioner Sir Ian Blair.  Many saw the actions of Boris Johnson as the single most overt political action ever taken involving Senior Police Officers.

The appointment of Sir Paul Stephenson as the new Commissioner of the MPS after Sir Ian’s retirement was not the only change at the top which led to a year of instability among Service leaders. The Police Minister, Tony McNulty, moved on to a new job and was replaced by Vernon Coaker, Sir Ronnie Flanagan stood down as HMCIC and was succeeded by Denis O’Connor, Jan Berry retired as Chair of the Police Federation and was replaced by Paul McKeever, the General Secretary of the Police Federation, John Francis, retired and Ian Rennie took over. Policing is a complex task which can only benefit from stability and experience. We should not underestimate the impact that so many high profile changes at such senior levels had on the Service, especially in such uncertain economic times

Our own Association National Executive remained unchanged and a full list of those representatives, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for their dedicated service, appears later in this report.

It is my very great pleasure to report that Vice President, Derek Barnett, was elected unanimously to serve as the President Elect. I also wish to personally thank all members of staff at the National Office, Pangbourne who continue to make a significant contribution to the smooth running of the Association.

Ian Johnston QPM
Chief Superintendent
President