Police chief goes to war with Suella Braverman over 'woke' policing
Police chief goes to war with Suella Braverman over her crusade on ‘woke’ policing as he hits out at government ‘whims’
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A senior police chief today hit out at Government ‘whims’ and Suella Braverman’s crusade on ‘woke’ policing.
Paul Fotheringham, Police Superintendents’ Association president, criticised the Home Secretary’s claim that confidence in policing has been eroded because forces pandered to ‘politically correct causes’.
Ms Braverman recently wrote to chief constables calling for an investigation into ‘unacceptable levels’ of woke policing.
But speaking at his association’s annual conference in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Mr Fotheringham responded: ‘She (Braverman) references ‘dancing and fraternising with political demonstrators’, which we assume relates to police attendance at Pride.
‘She talks about the displaying of the progress flag and the wearing of badges.
A senior police chief today hit out at Suella Braverman ‘s crusade on ‘woke’ policing
‘These are deeply personal and passionate matters for our staff and our communities.’
He added: ‘What I have actually seen are plenty of examples of effective community engagement and a desire to promote and welcome inclusion in all its forms.
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‘Trust and confidence starts with how we treat our people; if they cannot be their true selves at work, how can we expect them to police our communities in the best possible way?’
‘When the Government uses language in this way to position the police as political rather than inclusive, are we opening the doors to a rhetoric of discrimination against those most vulnerable in our communities?’
Ms Braverman argued earlier this month that forces ‘should be more concerned about tackling knife crime, catching burglars and stopping antisocial behaviour’ than supporting progressive causes.
Mr Fotheringham, former detective chief superintendent for Kent Police, said constabularies were battling with other public services for the ‘title of most underfunded’ as each called out for more resources.
He said: ‘Our service moves at the whim of others, often directed by Government. We must strip back services when our funding is cut; we change our focus when a new priority is mandated.’
‘When the Government uses language in this way to position the police as political rather than inclusive, are we opening the doors to a rhetoric of discrimination against those most vulnerable in our communities?’
Mr Fotheringham told the audience that 21 out of the 43 police forces in England and Wales still have fewer officers now than 2010 – despite a national recruitment scheme to replace them in recent years.
He also attacked the national framework of 43 regional police forces, which he said often left local issues at odds with the national interest.
‘We’re working within an archaic framework that is so rigid in its structure that positive change is likely years away, and it is hampering our ability to do the best by our communities.
‘Crime does not know or respect the boundaries we have imposed through geographical lines, and the power invested in individual chief constables comes with understandably localised priorities that are often at odds with what is best for a national service.
‘Surrounding this 50-year-old structure in a criminal justice service that has been left to break down by a chronic lack of resourcing and we can see why the public are so often left to think nothing but the worst of the police and justice system that is there to serve them.
‘Going wider in the system still and public services are battling for the title of ‘most underfunded’ in their cries for help.’
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