UNISON's sword of Police & Justice sharper than ever

Representatives of UNISON's police staff, probation services and Cafcass membership gathered in Cardiff over the past two days for a very successful service group conference. The dominant issue was the growing threat of privatisation in the police and probation services. Delegates unanimously backed the union's campaign against privatisation and staged a demonstration outside Cardiff City Hall yesterday (Friday) morning to show the strength of feeling on the issue.
http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2836

Alun Michael and Hamish Sandson Labour candidates for Police and Crime Commissioner(PCC) in South Wales and Gwent respectively attended conference, so too did General Secretary Dave Prentis who pledged that UNISON would only support PCC candidates who opposed privatisation.

Delegates listened politely to Damian Green MP, the Minister of State for Police and Criminal Justice, a strong advocate for a greater role for the private sector in police services. After his speech, the Tory Minister took questions from the floor during which he endorsed the important role of PCSO's. Other influential guest speakers included Labour Shadow Minister David Hanson MP and Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service.