WEDNESDAY24SEPTEMBER2025
CHAIR’SWELCOME
It is my pleasure to welcome Federation representatives from across the force area to the Hilton Utilita Bowl in Southampton for the British Transport Police Federation’s annual conference and Awards ofExcellence.
Policing is facing challenges on all fronts. Effective, professional and reliable representation for our members has rarely been morecrucialthanitisnow.
Our annual conference enables us to confront and debate some of the issuesourofficersandSpecialsaredealingwith.Italsoprovidesuswithan opportunity to raise matters of concern publicly with our Chief Constable andmembersoftheBritishTransportPoliceAuthority.
We are joined for our conference by several guests, including representativesfrompolicecharitiesandcompaniesthatprovidearange ofservicestoourmembers.Gettingtoknowtheseserviceprovidersbetter enablesustoconnectourcolleaguestovitalsourcesofwellbeingsupport aswellasproductstohelptheirfinancesgofurther.
Our conference also offers an opportunity for us to reflect on the service weofferasaFederation.Webuildtalksandlearningopportunitiesintothe agendatobetterequiprepstosupportmembers.
Ours is a small team, but events like this help us to make a big impact on behalf of the people who elect us to represent them. Thank you to everyoneinvolvedinmakingour2025conferencethesuccessIanticipate itwillbe.
StuartCowan Chair,BTPFederation
SPONSORDESCRIPTIONSANDLOGOPYRAMIDPAGEHERE
DIVISIONALREPORTS
DDIVISION,REPORTBYJOHNPAULO’KANE
It is my pleasure and privilege to present the Annual Report for D Division. This has been another busy year, and I would like to put in writing my thanks to the members of our committee for their hard workandcommitmentoverthepasttwelvemonths.
At the time of writing, PC Rep Liam Ward, based in Inverness, has recently left BTP for pastures new. We would like to thank Liam for his hard work and dedication and wish him the very best in his new role as a train driver. Following an election process, PC Raymond Martin hasbeenchosenasLiam’ssuccessor,whichmeanswearebacktoa fullcomplement.
OptimisedPolicingModel
WespentthemonthsfollowingConference2024keepingacloseeye on the developing Optimised Policing Model (OPM) and how this would affect the Division and BTP in general. We were bracing ourselvesforcuts,withparticularconcernastohowthiswouldaffect the North of Scotland, when in December, the Chief Constable announced that the 20525/26 budget was being cut, and we were facedwithsheddingevenmoreofficers.
Specialist units are pretty much non-existent on D Division. We have no drones, no Disruption, no BDO, no Firearms. You can effectively choose CID, Response or OSU or perhaps every 10 years or so, one of twoDogHandlerpostsmightbecomevacant. Inshort,thereisn'tmuchtokeepofficersinDDivision,especiallythose young in service. This perhaps had some bearing in D Division losing almost 20 Officers in 2024. While this may not seem like a lot, it is around13%oftheDivisionalcomplement.
We have been spared in Scotland with ‘only’ three planned office closures: Dundee, Perth and Dumbarton. However, this still represents 23% of our police posts being closed, with the thin blue line being further stretched and massively impacting our response times, particularly in the north of Scotland and as a result, our ability to protectrailstaffandthetravellingpublic.
Naloxone
Naloxone has now been rolled out across D Division. We are the trialistsfortheForce,withofficersoptingtocarryonavoluntarybasis. There have been a few interventions already, including one by our own Michael O'Brien. While we welcome anything that allows us to save lives, we remind colleagues to proceed with caution as, if something were to go wrong following the use of Naloxone, Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (PIRC) enquiries can rumble on, sometimes lasting years and we want to ensure that members’ wellbeingisparamount.
PIRCInvestigations
Again, we have supported Divisional colleagues who have been subject to PIRC investigations. While we absolutely appreciate that any suggestion of wrongdoing must be investigated, in this instance three colleagues were on restricted duties for 20+ months while an incident which lasted 2-3 minutes in a CCTV-rich environment (including Body Worn Video) which has captured the incident in full, was investigated with the officers left in limbo. PIRC concluded their investigation and found, after almost two years, that there was no casetoanswer.
CommonwealthGames
Next summer, the scaled-down Commonwealth Games are set to returntoGlasgowafterAustraliadecidedthathostingthegameswas no longer financially viable. While these Games will be on a smaller scale than the 2014 event in Glasgow, the impact on policing will be significant,withlargenumbersofpeoplevisitingthecityandathletes travellingfromacrosstheworldtotakepart.
As all four venues have railway stations in close proximity, it can reasonablybeassumedthatthoseattendingwillbelikelytotravelby trainandassuch,willhaveadirectimpactonBTP.
We will ensure that all officers who are deployed to the Games, be they D Division or Mutual Aid colleagues, are looked after and supportedinanywaythatwecan.
OvernightAllowance
Towardstheendoflastyear,DDivisionassistedCDivisioncolleagues in providing a Police Support Unit (PSU) to cover a Middlesbrough v Sunderland fixture. On this occasion, the Gold Commander decided that officers travelling to cover the fixture would not be eligible for OvernightAllowance.
This Committee argued that multiple similar instances, including the exact same fixture the previous year, had been paid. However, Gold wasadamantthatofficerswerenotentitled,anditwouldnotbepaid. We escalated the issue, and the officers were eventually paid what theywereentitledto.Whileitisapositiveresult,itisfrustratingthatwe stillhavetoescalateissueslikethis.
Wellbeing
It is a positive that D Division now has a full-time Wellbeing Advisor, Colette Turpie. We have met with Colette and found her to be very passionate about her role and discussed the ways in which we can work together to the benefit of our members. We look forward to a continuing positive relationship with Colette and the rest of the WellbeingTeam.
ChangeofLeadership
MarchofthisyearsawtheretirementofDivisionalCommanderGillian Murray.WewishChiefSuperintendentMurraywellinherretirement.
The Divisional Commander position is currently being covered by T/ChiefSuperintendentLornaMcEwan,whoiskeentoengagewithour Divisional Committee, and we look forward to continuing this positive engagementwithMa’amMcEwan.
I would like to wish outgoing General Secretary, Mark Marshallsay a long and healthy retirement and thank him for his hard work and commitment to the Federation. As Mark departs, he is replaced by RyanGriffiths,whomweareallfamiliarwith.IhavenodoubtthatRyan willmakeanexcellentGeneralSecretaryandlookforwardtoworking withhiminthemonthsandyearstocome.
I would also like to thank Stuart Cowan and Pete Kingham for their continuedsupport,aswellasRunaandYvonneatDulwichforallthat theydo.
DDivisionFederationreps:
PCGordonWason(AreaChair)
PSJohnPaulO'Kane(AreaSecretary)
PCRaymondMartin
PCMichaelO'Brien
PCBryanO'Neill
AsAreaSecretaryforthePennineEastCommittee,itismyprivilegeto presenttheAnnualreportfor2024/25.
This is my first report to conference, and I would like to thank Ryan Griffithsforhissupportduringourhandoverandwishhim allthevery bestinhisnewroleasGeneralSecretary.
IwouldfirstlyliketothanktheCommitteewho,inthemain,areallvery newtotheteam,andhavehadsomewhatofabaptismoffirewitha challengingpast12months!Ourcommitteecontinuestosupportand provide advice to officers across our area, in some really tough circumstances, and they do this to an exceptionally high standard whichIamsureourmembersareappreciativeof.
OptimisedPolicingModel
The Optimised Policing Model (OPM) is now at its conclusion and is being rolled out across our area. This has been an extremely challenging period for our members with a lot of uncertainty regarding the number of officer posts and the potential for new rosters. As a committee, we have been proactively engaging with officersacrossourarea,takingthetimetolistentoandsupportthem, and addressing concerns raised. We will continue to do this as the modelisimplementedandfurtherreviewsareconducted.
LayersandSpans
It has been 12 months since the Layers and Spans review was completed and rolled out in relation to our Inspector posts. We have been supporting our members to ensure that their voice is being heard and that the feedback is getting back to the right people with the hope that it will be welcomed at a strategic level and improvements made that will focus on our members' wellbeing and welfare.
ConductInvestigationTimescales
This is undoubtedly an area where we continue to push for improvementsandoftenholdPSDtoaccountforunnecessarydelays. We continue to see the negative impact the delays have on officers, which is often for arbitrary and avoidable reasons. Recently, we were able to send several local reps to visit London Bridge for an input regarding Misconduct Panels, which was hosted by the Appropriate AuthorityManager.Ihavereceivedsomeverypositivefeedbackfrom our committee attendees, who had the opportunity to ask some insightfulquestions.
Technology
We are finally seeing the rollout of personal issue laptops to all PCs andSergeantsonfrontlinepolicing.Unfortunately,therolloutwasless than seamless and very much relied on the support from our members across the area, helping each other to rebuild and issue laptopswithadditionalsecuritymeasures,withminimalsupportfrom theITdepartment.
Thiswillbesomethingwewillcontinuetomonitor;weareawarethat stations will have no replacement devices, and the majority of stations only have two desktop stations, which are predominantly for theuseofSpecialConstablesandPCSOs,whoweren’tincludedinthe laptoprolloutprogramme.
UpskillingandTraining
As I have previously mentioned, our committee is very new in post, with only one member being misconduct trained. It is great to see thattheExecutiveCommitteehavemanagedtoarrangeanumberof courses to ensure all committee members are trained to the highest level.ThefirstmisconductcourseisscheduledforSeptember2025.In addition to this training, we have had members attending Peer Support training, which was delivered by Oscar Kilo National Police Wellbeing Service. This training will be highly beneficial to our committee.
We were also given the opportunity to attend Blundell Street to receive an input from the Metropolitan Police Federation Rep who represented NX121 though the PIP process. The same input has also been delivered to all of our Firearms Officers and is a really good insightfromaFederationrepresentativewhohasfirsthandexperience ofsupportingofficersthroughahigh-profilePIPincident.
NewInspectorRep
A big welcome to Inspector Richard Price. Richard currently works within the Operations Department but has worked at a number of postsaroundtheforceandwillbeagreatadditiontotheteam.
Whilst I am delighted to welcome new members to our committee, I amsaddenedtohavetosaygoodbyetooneofourmostexperienced members. I want to extend a massive thank you to DCI Mick Jackson forhisdedicationtotheFederationandexemplary49yearsofpolice service.AllmemberswillsorelymissMick;hewasourgo-topersonfor adviceandguidance,andhisdepartureleavesusabigvoidthatwill taketimetofill.
To finish, I would like to reiterate the thanks to the members of my committeeforallthetime,hardworkandsupporttheyhaveprovided our members over the past year. We have more challenges ahead, but I am confident that as a committee, we can continue to deliver thesupportourmembersexpectandneedfromus.
Federationreps:
DCDaveBentley(AreaChair)
SgtPaulWood(AreaSecretary)
PIRichardPrice
PCChloeSewell
PCAnthonySutcliffe
SgtPaulWood
As Pennines West Area Secretary, I am privileged to present the annualreportfor2024/25oncemore.Iwouldliketoacknowledgethe dedication,hardworkandsupportthePenninesWestCommitteehas given over the last 12 months, not only in our area, but throughout all BTPdivisions.OurRepshaveofferedhelpandadvicetoourmembers for issues ranging from gross misconduct to everyday general enquiries,oftendoingsointheirowntime.
Congratulations
IwouldliketocongratulateRyanGriffithsonhissuccessfulelectionas General Secretary and Michael (Tav) Natavio on his election as DeputyChairofourFederation.OurCommitteewishyoubothwellfor thefutureinyourroles.
OptimisedPolicingModel
The big story of the year must be OPM, the Optimised Policing Model, which has undergone numerous revisions, largely due to the budget challenges faced by BTP since the Authority’s failure to honour the budget requirements put forward by the Chief and the Leadership team.
In the Pennines West Area, we have seen the closure of three police posts:Lancaster,StokeandSouthport.Thishasaffectedthoseofficers who booked on at those locations, however, I am thankful that there aresmallnumbersofofficersinvolved.Abiggerimpacthasbeenthe loss of dedicated Neighbourhood Policing Teams, at a time when the Government is championing the benefits of Neighbourhood Policing, and we shouldn’t lose sight of the impact it may have on rail staff at thoselocations.
Rostering,resourcingandretentionissues
OPM has brought with it extra resourcing challenges throughout our area,asifresourcingwasn’talreadyenoughofachallenge.IfeelIam repeatinglastyear'sreportwhenIsaywearefallingbelowminimum resourcinglevelsinplaces,andthisisbecomingmoreregular.
The number of calls relating to mental health issues doesn’t seem to be decreasing, meaning our officers are spending long periods on constant observations, waiting for health service resources to determine how those patients should be dealt with. A team of four officers on duty can be very quickly reduced to a team of two. Some of our officers are facing more roster changes due to OPM, with uncertainty over the implementation date and concerns about the effectivenessofthesenewrosters.
Still, more officers are leaving, or looking to leave the BTP, so it appearsthatthingsmayworsenbeforetheyimprove.
LayersandSpans
Layers and Spans is still having an impact on the availability of our Inspectorsonarea.Weeitherdon’tseeone,ortherearethreeonduty at the same time! I don’t know how best to solve this, but I do know that an Inspector required to work night shift cannot conduct their usual local train operating company (TOC) meetings or be visible to manyoftheirteams.
LFCTrophyParade
We, as a committee, would like to praise the professionalism of all officers, from throughout C Division, who worked during the Liverpool Football Club trophy parade. It was a very challenging deployment, with between 750,000 and 1.5 million people reportedly in the city to watchtheirteam.
City centre stations were at breaking point at times, with massive queues outside the stations for people looking to take trains home. The wet weather didn’t deter people from attending, although it did affect the mood of some in the queues, who grew impatient with the wait. The dreadful incident when a car drove through crowds of supporters understandably raised tensions and concerns, too. A collaborative effort between police and rail staff, as well as the provision of extra trains at the last minute, enabled thousands of passengerstoreturnhomesafely,albeitsomewhatwet.
ITImprovements
WeshouldgivepraisetoBTPwhereitisdue.Therolloutofnewbodyworn video cameras, new mobile phones, and the start of personal laptops being issued to all PCs and sergeants has seen improvementsinthecapabilityofofficerstoconducttheirworkmore efficiently, at least most of the time. We should also praise the improvementswithintheOccupationalHealthteam,whichisshowing anapprovalratingfromserviceusersof9.36outof10.
Thanks
OurCommitteewouldliketothanktheManagementBoardandoffice staff for the continued support they offer to us as reps. Further training, including the Survivors Trust's input, Advanced Misconduct Training, PSD inputs, and Police Treatment Centres events, among others,shouldleaveusallbetterequippedtorepresentourmembers.
We would also like to place on record our appreciation of former General Secretary, Mark Marshallsay’s contribution to the Federation. Over the years, he was a C Division Rep, Federation Treasurer and General Secretary. His help was always very much appreciated. And thank you to all BTP Federation Reps from all divisions for the invaluablesupportweoffereachother.
Federationreps:
PCPhilipAgate(AreaChair)
PSCarolPeters(AreaSecretary)
PIAlexAmos
PCGarryBeardall
PCPaulQuest
I would like to start my report for the 2025 Federation conference by thanking the Midlands/Wales and Western committee for their dedication and commitment to their duties as Federation reps, looking after the welfare, needs and supporting colleagues. As reps, we work long hours to help and assist our colleagues, and it doesn’t gounnoticed.
Supportingmembers
This year, this committee has dealt with 14 gross misconducts, one misconduct, three grievances, nineteen capabilities, two legal tribunalsandtenenquiriesintotheLayersandSpansreview.Wehave alsorepresentedthreeofficersthathavebeenvictimsofcrime.
The BDO/DEO teams across the force have been disbanded. One of thoseteamsisonthisarea.RepscontactedEdivisiontohelpfacilitate and support those officers in finding new roles within the Force. This wasgratefullyreceivedbythosemembersaffected.
Uniformandequipment
Fromspeakingtomembersacrosstheregion,they’reveryhappywith the new Tac-vests that the force has provided. They’re lightweight andpracticalforamodernpoliceservice.
Additionally,thenewpersonalissuelaptopsthathavebeenrolledout havebeenwellreceivedbyourmembers,especiallyat24-hourposts wherecomputersareinhighdemand.Asacommittee,wepraisethe Forceinprovidingtheseessentialitems.
OptimisedPolicingModel
TheOPMisasoresubjectacrossBTPatthemoment.Theuncertainty ofpositionsinspecificteamsandpostsiscausingconcerninsomeof membersinthisregion.
Officers who have passed promotion boards are still waiting for their postings. Some BTP posts require changing rosters, again due to reducednumbersatthoselocations.
We, as a committee, are willing to help and assist the supervision to minimisethedisruptionthiswillcausesomemembers.
OpHampshire
This feels like a broken record, but it needs to be in my report. In my report last year, I highlighted that officers are still being assaulted at an alarming rate, ranging from pushes and abuse to bites and officersbeinghospitalised.It’snotacceptable!
InMidlands/WalesandWesternareafrom1May2024to26May2025, therewere220assaultsonofficersand17closecalls.Thesenumbers arealarming.Outofthe220assaults206werephysicalassaultsand 14werehatecrimes.
Oftheclosecalls,60%wereunsafeconditions,whichincludedlackof clothing and PPE, unsafe process and procedure, inadequate safety and faulty/poor conditions. This is totally unacceptable. The Force needs to take note of these numbers. As a committee, we are willing to sit down and have an open discussion with the relevant area commandersregardingthismatter.
Misconduct
A broken record again… but the timescale of investigations by Professional Standards is still way too long. Officers who are under investigation are waiting months on end, which is causing stress and affectingtheirmentalhealth.
I understand that PSD have a job to do, but their investigations are takingtoolong.
Thatconcludesmyreport.Manythanksandkeepsafe.
Federationreps:
PIMikeJones(AreaChair)
PCJamieBaker(AreaSecretary)
PCRichardCartwright
DCStephenFound
PCLeightonRivers
PCLisaScott-Savage
PSGaryWarren
The B Division TFL (Transport for London) committee is back up to full strength with a full complement of officers. We welcome Insp Alex Yates, who has taken up the Inspector role on our committee. Alex brings a wealth of experience and shares her learnings and experience with the committee. Alex’s appointment shows our commitmenttorepresentthememberswesupport.
Thisyear,theBDivisionTFLcommitteehasbeendealingwitharange ofwelfareissuesthatareimpactingofficers’personallives.Theseare not the performance or disciplinary issues that we usually deal with, but additional issues that affect officers' personal life and time off to bewiththeirfriendsandfamilies.
Ayearofchange
At the crux of this seems to be change. Whether it is the Optimised PolicingModel(OPM)thatisduetobeintroduced,theForceresetthat is being rolled out, or reviews of certain departments within BTP, change in different forms is coming. There has been a fine balance betweenofficers'needsandwantsandBritishTransportPolice’s(BTP) priorities.Anychangetoeitherofthesefactorswouldaffecttheother. We understand the need to modernise the workforce to fit today’s standards,butwealsorecognisetheeffectithasonourmembers.
Since the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) set the budget, the Force has had to make many tough calls regarding funding and operational matters. These effects have filtered to the front line, and the committee has been there to support those who have asked for help. We have echoed our Chair’s efforts in encouraging those making these calls to listen to our members when making decisions, and we have been there to support them so their voices can be heard.
CancelledRestDays
Iampleasedtoreportthatalessonfromlastyearhasbeenadapted as part of the norm going forward. We had the most spontaneous cancelledrestdaysinafinancialyear.OnB-Division,wehavefeltthis more than any other area due to our geographical nature regarding events and protests, and we have campaigned tirelessly for a fairer systemofworking.
The number of cancelled rest days has now been reduced and as a resulthasaffectedfewerofficersthaninyearsgoneby.Thisincludes pre-planned operations where the incorporation of an appeals systemhashelpedtoreducethis.
In my day-to-day role, I sit on the Silver Tactical (Sx) and Bronze Operational(Bx)meetingsforcertaineventsthroughouttheyear,and the discussions around officers wanting their rest days reinstated have always been positive. There is now a real commitment from senior officers not wanting to cancel rest days as they know the impactithasonourmembers.
I have heard them sit there and talk about each circumstance individually and see if they can honour the request. There will be occasions due to the size of the operation or the skill set required for eachevent,certaindepartmentsfeelthebruntofcancelledrestdays, butthepainisoftensharedsothatthosewhoreallydoneedtheirrest dayscandoso.Communicationiskeyforthisprocesstowork,andBDivisionTFLcommitteearekeenforthistocontinue.
Confidenceinourownabilities
We, as a committee, have been dealing with an increase in Unsatisfactory Performance and Attendance Procedures (UPOP) and Unsatisfactory Performance Procedure (UPP), and it seems to stem fromsupervisorswhoarenotconfidentindealingwiththeproblemat hand. Instead, they pass the issue on to another department to deal withordisciplinetheirofficers,ratherthanteachingthem.
We have raised the issue in our divisional meetings and are hoping that those who look to promotion are supported by the force not just inforwardthinkingboardstylequestionsbutthroughpracticalmeans as well. The committee is encouraged by the increase of Reflective Practice (RP) that has been used, but we now aim for supervisors to be more confident in their own ability and take the initiative from whenissuesfirstappear.
Intelligence-basedpolicingvsstatisticalvirtualpolicing
Police officers are inundated with forms to prove what work they are doing. The same information must be input multiple times across multiple systems. Amongst this work, returns are now creeping in to monitorhowpoliceofficersspendtheirtime,buthowdoyoumeasure theunmeasurableaswell?
Crime prevention is just as key to policing as solving it. Intelligence plays an important role in policing the public, but it should not give way to officers being on the front line. The public is interested in seeingofficersoutonthestations.Theywanttoseeofficersturnupin their time of need. They want the reassurance of officers at the stationstheyfrequenttomakethemfeelsafe.
According to a poll (source: https://www.ipsos.com/enuk/understanding-society/future-policing), the public wants to see greater visibility of uniformed police and a quicker response to emergencycalls.
HisMajesty’sInspectorateofConstabularyandFire&RescueServices (HMICFRS) do police force inspection reports based on a PEEL report, so named after Sir Robert Peel. This is based on Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy. These reports do require statistics, but withtheever-mountingreports,paperwork,databasesandsoforthto fillin,theonlypeoplethatwillsufferfromallthebureaucracyarethe public as the police will not be where they are required to be. If we couldalsoadopttheseprinciplesthatthesereportsarebasedon,we would be better equipped to deter crime through our presence. We havelostourwaytovirtualpolicingandareover-relyingonstatistical analysis rather than being intelligence-led. And these pressures are allinterlinkedwiththepublic’sconfidenceinus.
RetirementofDeputyChiefConstable
This year has seen the retirement of Deputy Chief Constable Alistair Sutherland. We wish him well as he embarks on a well-deserved retirementfrompublicservice.Hehasinthepasttakentimeoutfrom his previous busy schedule and helped this committee with issues thatwouldnothavegoneanywherewithouthisintervention.Wehope that the next DCC has the same vigour and interaction that their predecessorhadwhendealingwiththeFederation.
DisciplineandMisconductmatters
Lastly, whilst the number of disciplinary and misconduct matters has stayed consistent over recent years, the time to deal with them has increased. We recently attended an input by Professional Standards Department(PSD)whohavebroughtinamoreformalisedprocessfor misconduct matters. Our misconduct-trained officers are being trained on an advanced misconduct course to incorporate this new wayofworking.
A lot of preparation into members’ cases is done, and it is often the behind-the-scenes work that does not get recognised by our members but is often as important as the things going on in the forefront. We do all of this for our members, but we often forget that this is a voluntary role in addition to our operational role as police officers. On this note, I would like to express my extreme gratitude for having a great committee. John McCrae, Chirag Patel, Alan Spillett, Ian Neville, Andrew Sawyers, and Alex Yates, I thank you for the support and the kindness you have shown our members and for helpingthosewhocometousinatimeofneed.
Federationreps:
PCJohnMcCrae(AreaChair)
PCMichaelNatavio(AreaSecretary)
TPSIanNeville
PCChiragPatel
PCAndrewSawyers
DCAlanSpillett
InspAlexandraYates
Thisyearformycommitteehasbeenayearlikenoother.Thebudget settlement by the BTPA has led to numerous organisational changes. These include closing police stations, disbanding well-established units/teamsandseveraldisplacedofficers.ItwastitledtheOptimised Policing Model (OPM) and alongside the OPM was a departmental reset. The majority of our members have been caught up in this, and some of our Federation representatives. It has been a difficult and time-consumingtimeforallinvolved.
My committee has been challenged in new and different ways this year.LearningandDevelopmenthadafreezeonrecruitmentfornew officers which leaves a significant number of our members working with reduced resources, this left them stressed, overworked, and placedahugedemandonourmembers.
OpHampshire
Rep Thomas Jepson has been involved in OP Hampshire, ensuring that when our officers get assaulted, they are properly supported by the Force. There are still gaps in this area where officers get missed and don’t always get the support from the organisation that is required, and PC Jepson continues to hold the force to account on this.
This is made difficult for us, as the Force no longer provides us with details of officers who have been assaulted which makes it hard for us to reach out to these officers and provide the support the Federation is good at. Some of these officers would be entitled to injurycoverundertheGroupInsurancetoo.IpleadwiththeForceand our Executive to find a solution to this problem as our members are missing out on this lack of a joined-up approach when they are injuredorassaultedwhilstonduty.
PSD
WheredoIstart.First,ImustwelcomethenewheadofPSD,Detective Superintendent Brett Walker. Det. Supt. Walker is someone I have worked with throughout my detective career, as well as in one of my previousrolesasaFamilyLiaisonCoordinator.Ialsowishtheprevious DetSuptPeterFultonallthebestinhisnewrole.
As part of the Executive, we have monthly meetings with the head of PSD, and it was refreshing to see Brett Walker has continued this tradition.Thesemeetingsareimportantasnothingisoffthetableand ourdiscussionsattimesaroundcasemanagementandinvestigation can be robust, especially around the length of time cases are taking to be investigated. I have constantly raised issues around the suspension of officers and managing officers who are restricted, so they are handled correctly, and their mental wellbeing is kept constantlyunderreview.
PSD investigations are still taking too long, and this does have a detrimental effect on our officers who are subject to investigation, andIwillurgePSDtomakethisaprioritygoingforward. Vetting has once again presented its own challenges for my committee. We have been able to appeal several vetting outcomes, however, our Misconduct Lead Nobby Goodband is leading in this area, and I am sure we will have a detailed update when the new guidanceandBTPregulationsaroundthismatterhavebeenreleased.
We were privileged to have a training day with PSD on Misconduct meetings. PSD are upping their game in the way these meetings are held and conducted. I am pleased that the Federation and the Executive have responded to this and are providing additional training to my committee and all Federation representatives, so they arecompetentandconfidentinthenewprocess.
My committee has also been involved in an extensive PSD investigationinvolving17officers.Thisinvestigationlastedoverayear andhasbeenoneofthebiggestmycommitteehashadtodealwith. Iwouldliketothankalltheothercommitteeswhoassisteduswiththe investigationbutalsocoveringourBAU(businessasusual)matters.
Promotionprocess
I have been involved in consulting and modernising the promotion process to ensure it is fairer and more transparent. I must commend thepromotionteamfortheworkthathasgoneintothiscrucialaspect of policing. However, there are still some concerns regarding the postingpanel,andIamprovidingfeedbackonhowwecanmakethis process fairer and more transparent for the officers involved. I have been invited to a few posting panels, and I have found these interesting and was able to ensure that the posting decisions were made fairly, balancing operational needs, with officers wellbeing and performance.
I want us to get a place where, by default, the Federation is present whenthesepostingdecisionsaremadeandtoensurethatarecordis kept of decision making and a full rationale provided to officers if required.
Thanks
At a recent meeting of our committee, I tasked reps to reflect on themselves to ensure that we are always meeting the needs of our members. Being a Fed rep is a demanding role, and our committee doesthiswhileholdingdownfull-timejobs.
With the OPM, department reset, UPP, UPOP, grievance, PSD investigations, sickness and all the other demands, I want to ensure thatourcommitteeisableandcapablegoingforwardtorisetothese challenges.Iamencouragingthatwecontinuallyreflectandevaluate and look at ourselves and feedback as to how we can do things better,soourmembersbenefitandtheFederationbenefitsaswell.
I would like to end this report by thanking my committee, who have beennothingbutdedicated,hardworkingandwilling.Icouldn’taskfor a better set of people to work with. Finally, I would like to thank our officers, who have put their trust in us to represent them. My committee and I will continue to stand by you and challenge every breach of policy, guidance, regulation, and legal injustice that we encounter.
Federationreps:
DCPaulMiller(AreaChair)
PCRodneyForsyth(AreaSecretary)
PSNicholasBrown
PCTomJepson
InspStephenMorrison
PCMarkPerryman
ThelateeminentbarristerGilbertGreyQConcetoldajury,“Thepolice officer is faced with the unlovely task of going down dark alleys at night. They have to stand foul-mouthed abuse in the street and call their foul-mouthed abuser “Sir”. They are, in a real sense, the nightsoilmenofsociety.”
As I look back at the last year, it is clear that as far as the policing landscape is concerned, that address to the jury is as accurate now as it was then. Society still expects police officers to walk down dark alleys. In our fractious and polarised age, though, any consensus on what is expected of the police officer if they come across anything untowardinsaiddarkalleysisbroken.
Over the last year B-South officers continued to do brilliant workarresting wrongdoers, seizing illegal weapons and drugs, recovering stolen property-in the service of passengers and railway staff. They didthiswhilejugglingthedemandsofpatrolwithheavyworkloadsof investigations and casefiles. Many officers are finding this constant juggling act challenging. It remains to be seen if the Optimised PolicingModelimprovesthesituation.
Work-lifebalance
Cancellation of rest days and leave restrictions continued to impact B-Southofficersoverthepastyear.Membersexpecttoenjoyaworklifebalance,allowingthemtospendtimewithfriendsandfamily.The cancellationofrestdaysimpactsthatprecioustimewithlovedones. It is clear that the Force's event planning processes are no longer fit forpurpose.Toooften,weareseeingteamsstrippedtosinglefigures to police an event, most often a football match. This is impacting on morale and performance. We ask for a root and branch review of Forceeventplanningespeciallywhetherthelevelofresourcegivento eventsasopposedtoroutinepolicingisjustified.
PSDandIOPC
Over the past year the B-South Committee has continued to represent members under scrutiny by the Professional Standards Department and the Independent Office of Police Conduct. We saw the impact of prolonged investigations on our members' mental health and well-being. Worryingly, we saw how previously motivated and proactive officers became disillusioned at what they see as a lack of support from the Force for doing their duty. We ask that the Force acknowledges the impact that this is having and take steps to addressofficers’concerns.
ChangesinBTP
This year sees the Optimised Policing Model implemented across BSouth. At the operational level, we will see the disbandment of dedicated proactive teams, with their officers being transferred to uniform response and Hub posts. These were the officers working in plain clothes who found the weapons and drugs and arrested the wrongdoerswhoendangerthesafetyofpassengersandstaff.Weare told that the newly enhanced response and Hub teams will now take upthisroleandwillbeasequallyeffective.Weshallsee.
The Committee raised issues of concern from members with the B Division custody suite in Brewery Road, about lengthy delays and frequent closures. I am pleased to say that the B-Division managementisengagingtoovercometheseissues.
This year has seen the retirement of our Deputy Chief Constable Alistair Sutherland. We thank him for his service and wish him well in thefuture.
I conclude by stating that I am in awe of the work ethic and courage of the officers of B-South. They stand between the thief, the robber andhisvictim.Theymusttolerateattacksbythemediaandactivists which are often unfair and unsupported by evidence. They must risk theirlivestocontainandsuppressviolencewhilehavingtheirownuse offorceplacedunderminutescrutiny.
They deserve the financial awards to allow them to exist in our expensivesociety.Theydeservetheassurancethattheirnumberswill beadequatefortheirtasks.Nolessisthatthesystemsandprocesses they are required to operate are reasonably efficient. But until these things are addressed, it is for them to bear the strains until reason prevails.
Federationreps:
InspMarkStook(AreaChair)
PCBrianWilliams(AreaSecretary)
PCMohtasimPal
RULECHANGES
Rule19.5.2
AquestionwasraisedtothePenninesEastAreaCommitteeregarding eligibility criteria for applying to serve as a Federation representative onourcommittee.Specifically,amembernotedthattheconstitution does not explicitly state that applicants must be substantive in rank andhavecompletedallrelevantportfoliorequirements.
ThislackofclarityledtoconfusionwhenaSergeantwhohadpassed theInspector’sboardbelievedtheywereeligibletoapplyforavacant Inspector position. The situation was further complicated by the fact thatthesameofficerwouldhavebeeneligibletoapplyforthevacant Sergeantposition.
To avoid future misunderstandings, the proposal is to amend the constitutionasfollows:
Any member wishing to put themselves forward for a vacant committee role as a Federation Representative must do so knowing that they are substantive in rank (Sgt, Insp, C Insp). This would require you to have completed your 12-month temporary promotion andwork-basedassessment(ifapplicable).
Submittedby: PenninesEastCommittee
Proposed: DaveBentley
Seconded: PaulWood
AdditiontoRule19.6(19.6.1)
Uponelectiontoafive-yearterm(ormid-term)asanewFederation Representative,youmustundergomandatorytrainingtoensureyour effectivefulfilmentofyourroleandtoenablethebestpossibleservice forourmembers.
This training comprises initial Federation Representative input and MisconductTraining(providedthatsufficientnumbersareavailable), which must be completed within 18 months of election to the post. Suitable course dates will be identified, and you will be rostered to attend as a duty commitment. Failure to attend may affect your suitabilitytoremainaFederationRepresentative.
Submittedby: NationalExecutive
Proposed: RyanGriffiths
Seconded: PeteKingham
Amendmenttorules23.1,24.1and25.1
ThisproposalstotheBTPFederationconstitutionaffectstheroleofthe Chair,theGeneralSecretaryandTreasurerbyremovingthelimitation oftwoconsecutivetermsinthesepositions.
Thecurrentconstitutionstates:
“The Federation shall have a Chair who is voted on by all attending delegates at the Annual Conference [see Schedule 3: Voting Process for Executive Elections] and shall hold a term of office of five years from the date of their election, at such remuneration and upon such conditions as the Management Board may think fit. No person may be appointed as Chair for more than two consecutive terms of five years. For the purpose of this Rule 23.1 and Rules 24.1, two terms shall be considered consecutive unless a period of at least five years has elapsed between the end of the first of those terms and the start of thesecond”.
This rule currently serves members on the management board who arenearingtheendoftheirpoliceservice.Itrestrictsthosewithlonger service left from participating in the process for Executive positions and introducing fresh, new ideas for the Federation's management. If we are to do right by our members, the pool of talent at the Federation'sdisposalshouldnotbelimitedtolengthofservice,butto thetalentwehave.
Removing the limitation of two consecutive terms does not impact the voting process for a third term, as the voting procedure remains unchanged. Additionally, it does not affect the right to remove someonefromanExecutivepositionifneeded.
ThenewwordingforRule23.1issuggestedas:
The Federation shall have a Chair who is voted on by all attending delegates at the Annual Conference [see Schedule 3: Voting Process forExecutiveElections].TheChairshallserveatermoffiveyearsfrom the date of their election and may be re-elected at the end of each term, at such remuneration and upon such conditions as the Management Board may think fit. The retiring Chair will by virtue of their office be eligible for re-election. For the purpose of this rule 23.1, 24.1and25.1shallalsoreflectthisfortheirrespectiveroles.
This, in effect, will require rule changes for 24.1 and 25.1 as shown below,ifthemotionpasses:
24.1 - The Federation shall have a General Secretary who is voted on byallattendingdelegatesattheAnnualConference[seeSchedule3: Voting Process for Executive Elections]. The General Secretary shall serveatermoffiveyearsfromthedateoftheirelectionandmaybe re-elected at the end of each term, at such remuneration and upon such conditions as the Management Board may think fit. The retiring General Secretary will by virtue of their office be eligible for reelection.Forthepurposeofthisrule24.1,23.1and25.1shallalsoreflect thisfortheirrespectiveroles.
25.1 - The Federation shall have a Treasurer who is voted on by all attending delegates at the Annual Conference [see Schedule 3: Voting Process for Executive Elections]. The Treasurer shall serve a term of five years from the date of their election and may be reelectedattheendofeachterm,atsuchremunerationanduponsuch conditions as the Management Board may think fit. The retiring Treasurerwill,byvirtueoftheiroffice,beeligibleforre-election.Forthe purpose of this rule 25.1, 24.1 and 23.1 shall also reflect this for their respectiveroles.
Submittedby: BDivisionEastandTFL
Proposedby: PaulMiller
Secondedby: MichaelNatavio
MOTIONS
Motion1:Adoptionofauditedaccounts
That Conference adopts the audited accounts of the Federation, dated31March2025.
Submittedby: BTPFederationExecutive
Proposedby: PeteKingham
Secondedby: RyanGriffiths
Motion:Annualtraumaassessments
Thatofficerswhohavesufferedrepeatedwork-basedtraumaina12month period, and those officers in roles with repeated potential trauma,aregivenacompulsoryprofessionalyearlyassessment.
Several other police forces already do this for roles such as FLO's, fatality management, forensic body recovery, DVI, etc. This should go somewaytowardsreducingthenumberofofficersgoingsickdueto stress by identifying any issues at an early stage, rather than waiting for the effects to take hold. BTP has a significant number of officers who have been diagnosed and treated for PTSD and Complex PTSD duetothetraumaexposedtoworkingforBTP.
This does not replace the TRIM service but is in addition to the TRIM service. There are enough academic studies that say TRIM doesn’t workorisnotaseffective,anditisatoolfororganisationstosaythey are doing their bit. No one is asking for the removal of TRIM, but to enhancethesupporttoourofficer'swellbeingandmentalhealth.
The Force has a responsibility to not only help but identify those officers that could potentially be affected by repeated trauma. Many officers suffer in silence or see help as a weakness, by making it compulsoryitwouldtakethatstigmaaway.
Submittedby: B-DivisionEast
Proposer: PaulMiller
Seconder: TomJepson
Motionthree:Assessmentforneurodivergence
Currently,theBritishTransportPolicedoesnotfundteststopotentially diagnose officers who may have a neurodivergent condition, outside oftheirinitialtrainingperiodatcollegeinScotlandorSpringHousein EnglandandWales.
The proposal is that every officer in the force who potentially has neurodivergent issues be given the same level of care and be provided funding to be assessed and tested for their specific needs, withouthavingtofinancesuchmeasuresthemselves.
Submittedby: D-DivisionCommittee
Proposed: GordonWason
Seconded: JPO’Kane
Motionfour:Advocacytraining
Thatadvocacytrainingisprovidedtoselectedrepresentativesacross the committees in order to more effectively assist members through thenewandchallengingprocessofmisconductmeetings.
Submittedby: B-DivisionSouthCommittee
Proposed: BrianWilliams
Seconded: MarkStook
Motionfive:Travelpassrequirements
That BTP Federation makes representations to the Force to ask to increase the mileage officers outside of London are entitled to when applyingforaresidentialtravelpass.
Currently, officers outside London can travel up to 8 miles before having to pay for travel, whereas officers working in and around London can travel up to 70 miles. This unfairly disadvantages officers outsideofLondonwhotraveltowork.
Submittedby: Wales&WesternCommittee
Proposed: LisaScott-Savage
Seconded: SteveFound