GPF Publishes Survey Results
The Gibraltar Police Federation has published its survey results for 2022. Once again, the annual exercise has highlighted the low morale and bullying reported by many RGP officers.
A summary provided by the GPA follows below:
The Gibraltar Police Association was established in 1961. Its Regulations were drawn under Section 52 of the Police Act.
The main objectives of the Association were to enable police officers, under the rank of Superintendent, to consider and bring to the notice of the Commissioner of Police, the Gibraltar Police Authority or the Government matters affecting the welfare, (health and safety) and efficiency of the Force.
On the 15th June 2018, Parliament unanimously approved the legislation and the Gibraltar Police Federation was enacted in law as an independent body.
In August 2018, the Gibraltar Police Federation carried out its first online survey to give members a voice on what issues affected them. The results were subsequently shared with the media for everyone to see. Several issues were highlighted.
The Gibraltar Federation Board agreed then, that they would carry out an annual survey for a period of three years to assess whether there had been any improvements in the issues raised by members.
We recently asked our members to complete our fourth online Staff Survey, which has been conducted from the 1st March to the 11th April 2022.
The survey covers many aspects of members working conditions as well as certain aspects of welfare issues and procedures in the RGP.
This survey has been conducted completely confidentially by an independent marketing agency.
The completion rate of 77% has been lower than the previous year, which stood at 83% year although the survey has been open for less time. Nevertheless, we feel that the response has once again been extremely positive and this years’ survey results once again highlight the issues that officers feel need to be addressed.
The results below are a summary of the survey results, which was completed by 177 out of our 231 members. These results show that:
A mere 12% of the members expressed their personal morale to be high, whilst 90% of officers perceived the morale of other within the organisation as low or very low.
54% of the members have stated that they have contemplated in leaving the RGP in the last twelve months.
44% of the officers have reported that they have been a victim of bullying/victimisation at work, this past year.
41% of these officers’ state that they have been bullied within the last year.
The 44% of members who state they have been bullied represents a total of 78 officers. 32 members state that they had been bullied in this past year. 46 officers state that they have been bullied by either middle management with a further 24 officers stating that they had been bullied by Senior Management.
62% have stated that they have witnessed bullying /victimisation at work in the last year.
Only 15% of officers are confident of reporting matters through the grievance procedure process.
63% of members think the RGP should operate a different Response Team pattern (12-hour shift system 4 on 4 off) as many feel current manpower levels are not properly sustained with rest days and change of hours constantly changed to meet operational demands.
Although 44% of the members are satisfied or very satisfied with their current salary, only 9% are satisfied or very satisfied with their allowances.
A meagre 6% of the members, are satisfied with the current staffing levels in their shifts and departments with respect to low manpower levels and continued higher operational demands.
A worrying 11% of officers reported that they feel safe whilst carrying out operational duties.
72% feel overworked with 55% of members state they are currently suffering from work related stress.
Only 11% were satisfied with the level welfare and aftercare provided to officers by the organisation after an incident.
43% are satisfied with the general level of counselling offered by the organisation although 57% of officers are not satisfied with the level of counselling offered by the organisation.
68% of the members have reported that they have had instances of their rest days changed with 46% not been given the required 15 days’ notice.
20% of members have reported that they are satisfied with their refreshment breaks and facilities.
42% of members were satisfied or very satisfied with their personal safety equipment. 91% of officers are unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with I.T facilities.
In general, the results of the survey are very similar to those of previous years.
Year in year out, the issues highlighted by our members remain the same and continue to be unaddressed by management.
The perception of morale of members within the organisation is now at an all-time low. A staggering 90% of our members’ express low or very low morale.
A high workload, added to the non-functioning & poor IT hardware and its maintenance, compounded by an appalling recording management system adds to the already high stressors of general policing.
Over the last few years we have seen an increase of officers suffering from mental health wellbeing issues which are being caused directly by work, or at least being aggravated by this.
Our mental health well-being referrals have gone up significantly. 40% of our members have been referred since the system was implemented several years ago.
If this is not a red flag, I do not know what is.
Credit must be given to the organisation for implementing a triage system where officers are signposted in the right direction and fast-tracked and given the assistance, they require.
However, emphasis must be put on prevention rather than cure, and management must acknowledge that our procedures are over complicated, non-user friendly, and in most cases duplicitous and excessively bureaucratic.
When it comes to mental health wellbeing, in a period where we are asked to do more with less, it can come as no surprise that our colleagues are suffering from poor mental health.
And, this is an issue which transcends all ranks and which must be taken seriously. The organisation does have Wellbeing Champions, which are trained in Mental Health First Aid. The next step now should be to train supervisors in Mental Health training for managers, so that they can also identify the initial signs and symptoms of poor mental health.
Simplification of certain offences by means of Fixed penalty tickets for minor anti-social offences needs to be implemented soonest. This would streamline the process for offences dealt with by officers on a day to day basis and remove the red tape, so officers work smarter and not harder.
For years now, officers have been shouting out for management to adopt a different shift pattern. The most requested is that of the 4 on 4 off, 12 hour shift pattern as other essential services In Gibraltar have already implemented.
It is clear to see, that the organisation cannot sustain the current 5 Shift system, with response teams operating on minimum manning levels most of the time, which is not conducive to a happy working environment.
Civilianization of certain posts also needs to be formalized ASAP. This was agreed by HMGoG in the RGP Business plan, which dates back to 2016, and which has still has not materialized.
Over the past few years the organisation has seen the creation of numerous departments, many of them as a result of HMIC recommendations.
Whilst these may be imperative for the way that the RGP conducts its business, the reality is that no further officers have been employed to complement these newly formed departments.
Currently, officers are poached from the shift response teams to supplement these new departments, leaving these depleted.
When there are a limited number of officers at your disposal and these are transferred elsewhere to accommodate for the birth of new departments, this is a recipe for disaster, as you are stretching your resources to the limit, with the subsequent impact that this can have on individuals.
Needless to say, a happy workforce will promote morale and will increase productivity.
It cannot be disputed, that the most valuable asset of any organisation are its officers and staff. Employee satisfaction stems from working for an organization that values employees’ talents, qualifications, expertise and loyalty.
Officers need to feel valued and treated with respect. They need to have their proper refreshment breaks and unbroken rest days to be fresh, ready and able to deal with the strenuous demands that come with the job.
In 2020, the organization implemented a Bullying at Work policy and revamped its Grievance procedure. Presentations on Bullying in the Workplace were given to all officers including office staff, by Dignity at Work, which was a far cry from the “persona non grata” attitude that Dignity at Work personnel used to have under the previous management.
Still, it is disappointing to see that the bullying stats have not improved more than they have in the last year. Further presentations and training from Dignity at Work are being planned for officers later on in the year.
An RGP anti Bullying advisory committee, which will include Dignity at Work personnel, Federation Convenors and RGP officers is being established.
A mere 11% of our members believe that senior management will deal with the problems that have been highlighted in this years’ Survey. In other years working groups have been established and subsequently fallen by the wayside.
On this occasion we have approached the Gibraltar Police Authority, [with which the Survey has been already been shared] so that they put actions and timelines as they see fit to deal with issues that have surfaced.
The Gibraltar Police Federation wants our members’ views to be taken seriously, in the same way that HMIC recommendations are actioned.
The Gibraltar Police Federation looks after the welfare and efficiency of its’ members. We have and will always be willing to work alongside Command in order to improve any aspect that could better working conditions of our members.
