Brunstrom's officers have low morale shocker!!

So morale amongst the rank and file North Wales Police officers isn’t where it should be according to a survey carried out by the Federation. That’s sad news because the general public need to feel both protected and served by officers who are 100% committed to their task.

It doesn’t help when the assistant chief constable says he is ‘surprised’ by the suggestion that morale among staff was low.That's finger on the pulse stuff! Whenever I speak to former colleagues who are still serving, the leadership qualities of senior officers or rather lack of them are what gnaw away at morale. Every time the Chief Constable has to apologise for a latest gaffe (we all know them, so I’m not going to write the list out yet again), the men and women at the pointed end are those who bear the brunt of the sarcastic comments from the public. While the Force’s press office is issuing media friendly responses to placate journalists clamouring for Brunstrom’s resignation, it’s the officer attending a burglary who weathers the anxieties of the stressed citizen who doesn’t see the rationale behind ‘Arrive Alive’ when their home has been violated. When that frustration gets voiced time and time again, eventually it takes it toll. A pal of mine tells me he is tired of copping the flak for management and has consequently become a ‘day-counter’. Ticking each one off to his retirement.

Of course I’d be labelled a dinosaur these days and I probably wouldn’t last a week in the current regime. ‘No fun’ is how someone described it to me recently, ‘you’re watching your back all the time and that’s before you go out and meet the public!’ I wish the Police Federation every bit of luck they can get to put this deplorable state of affairs right. They could always start by petitioning to have officers actually LOOK like officers, not dressed like some quasi-paramilitary outfit more suited to be patrolling the streets of a South American country ruled by a military junta. Baseball caps and Batman’s utility belt might look good in Hollywood, but not in Holywell. Feeling good about their appearance on the street would go a long way towards improving morale.


nick