I’m Carrie and I’m Head of Corporate Communications at South Yorkshire Police. I say this now with real pride. I used to say it as though I was sat in an awkward circle declaring a life altering addiction.
As a PR person, I don’t want to detail all of the negative headlines and crises I, or my Force have faced, but I do want to tell you that those crises presented many opportunities to learn. Many of the issues we faced, could have happened to any one of you. This includes everything from a suspended Chief Constable to giving evidence in the High Court.
If I were to be elected as Vice Chair, I would use this opportunity to help protect you from these concerns as much as possible. I believe the way to do this is through two routes. The first is to establish recognition of our collective expertise.
We are all facing challenges daily and it’s unlikely in most cases, you are the first to experience this. By developing theme leads across the Forces, I believe we could provide a useful port of call to one another. Where appropriate, this may be in very practical terms such as sharing a filming agreement form, or the process for issuing a ‘wanted’ appeal, or even sharing campaign material. But it could also be about identifying a critical friend for an objective opinion or perhaps a mentor.
The second is to provide relevant training. It’s often difficult for forces, particularly some of the smaller forces or teams, to provide the latest training. It’s difficult for any of us to attract the best speakers or faciliators to a single force. By facilitating this through APComm, we have real buying power and better attraction allowing us to progress our profession at a greater rate.
Anyway, you have just read 300 words of my ramblings, so thank you and I hope you have seen something you feel able to support.
