PW_4_2021

Professional Development

IPA and The G7 Colin Gameson , 7 Region Chair IPA and The G7 looks like a title for an Enid Blyton Famous Five novel, but it certainly was much more than that.

I t all started when I contacted Devon and Cornwall Constabulary , and their Police & Crime Commissioner, with an offer to assist with the non- operational side of the G7 event. The offer was welcomed with open arms. D&C initially wanted us to help at the welcome centre in Exeter, and at the feeding & briefing stations in Cornwall, with a possibility of helping at the media centre in Falmouth. As far as I know, this is a first for the IPA. We were ultimately given the opportunity for a presence at all the venues across the two counties, helping to welcome the mutual aid officers and assisting them with directions and transport. The Region put together a working party, and a single point of contact (SPOC) was established with the Chief Inspector responsible for volunteer coordination. Our secondary objective, as well as assisting D&C Constabulary, was to raise awareness of the IPA among the many Police Officers and staff working at the event. We wanted to promote all the personal and professional benefits that IPA membership can bring. A call was put out to the Region, and we had a fantastic response from Branches. Ultimately, we had 36 members and spouses volunteer their services over the G7 period. It soon became clear that there would be a cost to this level of promotion, which would exceed the Region’s resources. We contacted our regional representative on the NEC, VP Sean Hannigan, who joined our working group. With Sean’s help, we sourced equipment such as magazine stands, pop up banners and application forms. Just as planned, we had an IPA presence at the welcome centre in Exeter, and the three feeding and briefing stations in Cornwall. Then, completely unplanned, we were able to post members on a cruise ship moored in Falmouth Docks and at Newquay airport. We assisted with distribution of rations and Police professional Supplements to many hundreds of operational officers, and helped them relax after their 12 to 14 hour shifts. This was all thanks to the IPA volunteers, who gave their time and energy to promote our Association in a friendly and professional manner. Thank you all, firstly for volunteering and secondly for your flexibility in the work you carried out during the ever-changing requirements of the G7. We have learned many lessons from our presence at the G7. Not least of which was that Regions do not hold the resources to cope on their own, and should involve HQ from the very start. HQ have equipment such as magazine stands, pop up banners, IPA flags and even collapsible tables and chairs that can be sent out to regions. There also needs to be suitable merchandise available to display and sell. The merchandise sales not only bring funds back into the Association, but also attracts people to our stands, and encourages conversations which can lead to applications. A remote form of payment for merchandise and joining fees is also very useful, and should be discussed with HQ. Police World and its supplements, as well as a good stock of application forms need to be readily available. Finally, we have learned that although many officers and police staff may not have known about the IPA before the G7, they do now. Devon and Cornwall Constabulary were very pleased of our help, and were very supportive of our efforts to make the International Police Association better known throughout the Police Service.

POLICE WORLD Vol 66 No.4, 2021

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