- Conference
- 2021 Police and Justice Conference
- Date
- 23 June 2021
- Decision
- Carried
In 2010, research commissioned by UNISON and carried out by Incomes Data Services produced a detailed report that looked at the employment experiences of police detention officers in England and Wales and police custody and security officers (PCSO) in Scotland. The report identified the bargaining priorities for UNISON that represents members working in custody.
The report based on focus groups, site visits, interviews and a large-scale survey, identified the issues that UNISON members would like their trade union to fight for on their behalf.
The report was an outstanding campaign document that provided incredible detail into the working lives of our members working in custody from job satisfaction to dislikes about the role, from staffing and shift patterns to the working environment and associated risks, and more; a truly comprehensive insight.
In the decade since the report was commissioned, much has changed in custody that has impacted on our members working lives to include:
1)Detention officers routinely booking in detainees;
2)The introduction of virtual courts;
3)Reduced detention officer and PCSO to cell ratios;
4)The impact of a decade of Austerity that includes;
a)Cuts to staffing numbers;
b)Closures of dozens of cell blocks;
c)The privatisation experiment;
d)Pensionable age changes that will require staff to work longer;
e)And more.
Coupled together, much has changed in custody since the last report and a revised understanding of working in the area of business is needed so that UNISON can effectively campaign on behalf of our members.
Conference calls on the Service Group Executive to:
i)Commission an updated ‘In Custody’ report that identifies the issues that are important to our members working in custody;
ii)Share the findings widely;
iii)Use the findings to campaign for improvements throughout the police service.