Dear Members,
What a year it has been as I look back and reflect on it. The MPS is changing and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. For those of us that remain this will be a constant feature of adjustment but one that we should embrace.
This year has seen a number of promotion boards and in particular I’d like to mention the success that was achieved in the Constable to Sergeants process where 58 out of 119 Black and Asian officers were successful. This process had been long awaited, as there wasn’t one last year and the candidates were also facing a new process.
In my role I continue to work with HR to ensure that the processes are fair and transparent. The key to any success is that candidates have confidence in the process. Over the past 3 years, I have asked for amendments to be made to the written process, some of which you will not have noticed but all of which were based on your experiences. In this way, any bias that is written into the process can be weeded out.
I have also been a part of overseeing the ACAS review that looked at the recommendations from the ‘Carol Howard Employment Tribunal’ and even though there is still some work to be done, this will be an organic process and amendments made to the grievance procedure based on the experience of the users. If you feel that you may have a complaint then remember that you can call the Business Office for help and advice before making it official.
My role as the National President has seen me taking our cabinet meetings up and down the country to show a visible presence to local BPA’s. It has also seen me giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee and travelling to the United Nations in Geneva to present to the Committee on the Eradication of Racial Discrimination. There is also a very embryonic plan to collaborate with similar networks in Europe to share experiences in order to give the best support to our members.
Our involvement in the community is going from strength to strength and we have supported a number of locally borough based projects as well as supporting members in their own community. We continue to have strong links with other staff networks from the BBC Black & Asian Forum (BBAF), The National Black Crown Prosecution Association (NBCPA) and Black networks in the Prison Service (RESPECT), Association of Probation Officers (ABPO) and the Fire Service. Our annual ‘Family Fun Day & BBQ’ was also a great success for the 4th year running so look out for the flyers for 2017.
As you may all be aware we had a successful AGM this year where a number of new executives were elected and I’d like to welcome Jeff Boothe, now the borough commander for Croydon as well as Paul Martin the borough commander for Ealing. We also have June Alison Durant and Loy Hartwell and with the constitution allowing for equal representation from our police staff members we also have Maninder Desoura and John Holmes-Yarde. This year we had two people put themselves forward to be co-opted who are Yvonne Lynch and Syed Shah. And all that in addition to some of your old favourites Ashlee Gomes, Mike Samuel, Sonia Thompson, Lisa Cherry, Gideon Springer and of course myself. To find out more about your Executive and what portfolios they are leading on, please visit our website on the following link. https://www.metbpa.org.uk/executive-committee/
Can I say a massive ‘Thank You’ to all of you because the membership is why I do what I do, and also for the support that you have offered me over the past 3 years.
Lastly, I would like to wish all the best to our Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe who has been an open thinker and has empowered the MetBPA to thrive; may all his future endeavours prove fruitful.
And to the membership:
‘May you all have a peaceful festive season and prosperous 2017’.
Warm regards,
Janet Hills
MetBPA Chair and NBPA President
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