Police Federation Final Report

This Final Report of the Independent Review of the Police Federation of England and Wales brings together all the findings of the Independent Review Panel following in-depth consultations and analysis of evidence gathered during 2013. It follows a progress report, published in October 2013.

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The Police Federation requires a top to bottom change in culture, behaviours, structures and organisation. Reform on this scale will require exceptional leadership and commitment within the Federation. But if the process is managed with determination and sensitivity, the prize will be a Police Federation which has the trust of all its members and the general public, has real impact on police leaders and policymakers and offers clear value for money both for its members’ subscriptions and for public investment.

The Review undertook a large-scale consultation exercise involving well in excess of 10,000 members, Police Federation staff and representatives, and stakeholders from across the policing world and beyond. This report reviews the consultation process and analysis of the evidence gathered and makes a series of recommendations for far-reaching reform. The RSA provided the Review secretariat.

The themes underpinning the reform package are:

• Trust which requires a new openness and accountability to the membership and the public, and effective two-way communications with members and outside decision-makers.

• Professionalism which means the best service being offered to members, professional standards and conduct in the way Federation representatives behave towards each other, to politicians and policymakers and to the general public.

• Unity which means putting aside once and for all the historic divisions between ranks and branches and between branches and Head Office.

• Value for money. The Federation needs to be able to show in a time of austerity that it represents real value to its members and to the public in everything it does. It needs to show that it is willing to find ways of cutting costs and reducing its members’ subscriptions.

Find out more on the Overview of Evidence for this report.