Dyfed Powys Police Federation branch secretary Roger Webb says this year’s online national Federation conference gives members a chance to get involved.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) flagship event takes place online this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be held on 9 and 10 June.

The theme for conference is Policing Under Pressure and Roger is encouraging as many members as possible to join in.

“Ideally we’d want to hold our conference so we can come together but the pandemic means that’s not possible this year,” he said.

“But that does create other opportunities and where members might not have been able to physically attend, they may be able to attend some of the sessions virtually and have more of an opportunity to get involved.

“This year’s conference will give us the chance to examine the last 12 months and everything that’s happened, from the pandemic to mass protests and everything in between, and I’d encourage our members where possible to join us.”

The conference will bring together practitioners, policy decision-makers and key policing stakeholders as well as guests from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), College of Policing (CoP), Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to debate and examine the top issues in policing today.

Delegates will have the opportunity to ask questions, participate in polls, attend keynote speeches, and listen in to panel discussions in the online auditoriums and break-out rooms.

For the first time, the conference will also include a virtual exhibition; an online space where key policing partners will each have a virtual, interactive stand. Attendees can navigate the exhibitors using the floorplan and either drop by to speak to someone or arrange an online one-to-one meeting.

John Apter, national chair of the Federation, said: “The pandemic has affected everybody but certainly within policing it’s impact has been significant.

“The pressure on our colleagues has at times been intolerable and that’s why I think it’s really apt that the theme of the conference is Policing Under Pressure.”

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