Latest News

August2024

DIY SOS

My name is Natalie and I am a producer at South Shore https://www.southshore.uk/

We’ve been recommissioned for another two series of DIY SOS and are on the hunt for families around the UK that may need our help. 

I am contacting you to ask if there are any police families who are in need of Nick’s help and would like to be considered for the next series, they can get in touch with us.

Please let me know if you need anymore information from me. I am happy to have a chat over the phone so I can explain in more detail.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Natalie




210 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7HD
Tramshed Tech, Pendyris Street, Cardiff, CF11 6BH

T: +44 (0) 208 124 7777

NARPO have added a new section on the national website called The Welfare Hub which can be accessed by clicking on the below link

Welfare Hub

Saturday 20th January 2024

Reminder the Withdean Police Reunion will take place at 12:00 noon – 5pm for any retired or serving officers, staff and families from any force. The Spotsman Bar, Withdean Stadium BN1 5JD

28th January 2024

Branch trip to see ABBA Voyage in London.

11th March 2024

Michael Ball one night show at the Brighton Dome

23rd May 2024

Branch trip to London to see Moulin Rouge in the Picadilly Theatre

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Thank you letter from our chosen charity

9th January 2023

Sir Bradley Wiggins helps NSPCC pilot new campaign in Brighton and Hove to help many more of us play a part in preventing child abuse

LISTEN UP, SPEAK UP

The NSPCC is piloting a campaign in Brighton and Hove. 

It’s called Listen Up Speak up and it’s designed to let adults know what to do if they are concerned about a child, and encourages local residents to take part in workshops so communities are empowered to safeguard children. Workshops will be held in various locations over the coming weeks and are free and open to any community groups or workplaces who want to help create a city of safeguarders.

The campaign will also encourage people to take an engaging, free 10-minute digital training session followed by a series of emails from experts with actions people can take to help keep children safe.

Any questions about this compaign should be addressed to:

Kelly Evans (she/her)
Senior Media Officer – South of England

kelly.evans@nspcc.org.uk
01634 564 734 | 07825 780 242

Working days: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday

Weston House, 42 Curtain Road, London, EC2A 3NH
020 7825 2500 | nspcc.org.uk

Those who sign up will complete a 10-minute digital training session and Brighton and Hove is offering in person and online workshops

It has been endorsed by Olympic cyclist, Sir Bradley Wiggins, who last year spoke out publicly for the first time about being groomed by his training coach when he was thirteen years old. Bradley buried his experiences and struggled to cope and he said that if someone had spotted that he was suffering and had spoken out, he might have been able to get the help and support he needed much earlier.

This is a pilot phase, and in the long-term, the NSPCC’s ambition is to reach at least a million people in communities and organisations across the UK to equip them with practical advice and confidence to know what to do and who to speak to if they’re concerned a child might be experiencing or is at risk of abuse or neglect.

To find out more and to sign up to take the Listen Up Speak Up training in Brighton and Hove email Lili.Dunn@NSPCC.org.uk.

  

11th December 2022

CSSC (Civil Service Sports Club)

This organisation is open to all retired officers and provides members with offers, wellbeing and benefits which many of you would enjoy.

The monthly cost is £4.50 and what’s on offer

can be seen here: https://www.cssc.co.uk/cssc-offers One significant benefit you can get through joining CSSC is that it enables you to buy a Totum Pro card as below.

Totum Pro Card –saves money

Intended for students, this card is also available to CSSC members and gives access to a huge range of discounts across many outlets, including

10% off all Co-op transactions. As well as a free TASTECARD which gives

 ‘buy one get one free’ on all courses in hundreds of popular restaurants

plus 40% off cinema tickets and other benefits. Cost for a three-year

subscription is a one-off payment of £39.99 and you could save that in your first meal for two!

BLUE LIGHT DISCOUNT

A blue light discount card offers discount in a lot of places such as cineworld/odeon, starbucks, halfords,samsung and many others retailers. ASDA supermarket also frequently give 10% discount to all blue blight card holders.

Very easy to apply and only £4.99 for 2 years.

To apply please click on link below:

https://www.bluelightcard.co.uk

21st October 2022

Dedicated ‘Quiet Sessions’ for COVID-19 vaccinations to be held in Brighton and Hove

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust is pleased to be able to offer a dedicated ‘Quiet COVID-19 Vaccination Session’ for people requiring their first dose COVID vaccination.

The details are:

  • Thursday 20 October, 10am-3pm – The Whitehawk Inn, Whitehawk Rd, Brighton BN2 5NS
  • Thursday 27 October, 10am-3pm – St Richard’s Community Centre, Egmont Rd, Hove BN3 7FP
  • Thursday 1 November, 10am-3pm – The Brighthelm Community Centre, North Road, Brighton BN1 1YD

For further details;

https://www.sussex.ics.nhs.uk/dedicated-quiet-sessions

26th September 2022

Any one thinking about private medical Insurance or Travel Insurance

Towergate Health Insurance Telephone 0800 389 7724.

Google TOWERGATE NARPO and  go direct to the relevant

Section of their website. 

They are brokers , the policy will be with AXA

11th September 2022

INJURED ON DUTY?

If you have been unfortunate to be injured on duty then you may be eligible for an Industrial Injury award.

The amount you get depends on your individual circumstances.  You could also be entitled to attendance and or carer’s allowance.

The level of your disability will affect the amount of benefit you may get.  This will be assessed by a medical adviser on a scale of 1 to 100%.

Normally you must be assessed as 14% disabled or more to get the benefit.

For further details go to:

https://www.gov.uk

9th August 2022

Latest pictures of the summer lunch can be found on the social page of the members area.

27th July 2022

Flint House Rehabilitation for Retired Officers

For a minimum monthly donation of just £5 a month, you can apply to benefit from world class physical rehabilitation and mental health support throughout your retirement.  We know that physiotherapy is expensive in the private sector and there are long waiting times within the NHS, so what we offer if incredible value for money, geared to your precise needs.  Whether it’s for a new injury. Post-operative rehabilitation, physiotherapy for cancer, long standing back or knee pain – we are here to help you recover.  You can also apply for our mental health support programme which includes exclusive sessions to deal with stress, anxiety and depression alongside other retired officers.  Just as importantly, your £60 a year donation supports servicing colleagues to recover and rehabilitate from injury so they can continue to serve their communities.  To start making your monthly donation via direct debit please use this link

htts://www.flinthouse.co.uk

Once your first payment has cleared you will be able to apply for either physical rehabilitation or mental health support.  To be eligible you will need to be in receipt of a police pension or in receipt of a medical pension. – And you must not have been dismissed as a result of gross misconduct.

12th July 2022

Employment opportunity

https://www.ukroed.org.uk/scheme/trainers/

Employment opportunities that might be of interest to members, either those retired or retiring in the near future.

UKROEd is the governing body of the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS). The scheme is delivered by 21 licensed course Prividers.

 Currently these Providers are seeking to

recruit new trainers to deliver the suite of NDORS courses either physically in the classroom, virtually or both.

Information can be found on the above link

9th April 2022

The Dogs Dinner

A new Social Event for a night out at the Coral Greyhound Stadium in Hove. See the Social Events page and also the new link there to the Branch Events Diary for the rest of the year.

11th March 2022

Are you interested in Kayaking ?

As part of the new Social Activities drive for members of the Branch, Ivor Fabb is offering to provide training sessions for all abilities from novice to expert and is will to run a regular group session for any of you who share his interest in the sport. Simply contact Ivor on fabbs@tisali.co.uk and he will provide you with all the information you need.

8th March 2022

HELP FIND A KIDNEY DONOR TO SAVE A LIFE

In February 2020 an urgent appeal was broadcast by NARPO resulting in a young man in Australia successfully receiving a Kidney and saving his life. Following this success NARPO are now appealing for members to come forward to help another young boy.

Adam, originally from Northamptonshire, was unfortunately born with a genetic kidney problem and notwithstanding relevant issues were identified by a north east hospital when he was only 5, due to an error with record keeping etc. that information wasn’t communicated back to us, his parents, or to other medical professionals. Had that been the case then Adam’s condition could have been medically managed until later in life. The hospital has since admitted medical negligence. Adam desperately needs to find a live kidney donor. His kidney has now ceased to function, is surviving only on dialysis with 4 hour sessions 3 days a week which is something which cannot go on forever. Importantly, the donation of a ‘live kidney’ rather than a kidney from a deceased donor provides a much better chance of success.

Adam turned 24 on the 13 February, and the knowledge that he might be successful in receiving a donated live kidney would be a massive boost for him both physically and mentally and a wonderful birthday present. Of course we realise that our request is a ‘Big Ask’ for anyone to consider but we would be indebted to anyone who could help. Any related expenses [travel, hotel costs, loss of wages etc.  Will be paid in relation to potential donors. Potential donors can contact Adams stepdad Trevor Fordy  07825811101  Email:  fordetj@gmail.com OR if they would rather not they can make direct contact with the Live Transplant Coordinator Julie Wardle at Newcastle upon Tyne’s Freeman Hospital on tnu-tr.LiveRenalDonor@nhs.net

8th February 2022

Derek’s Blog on being treated for cancer

On being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Derek, your former webmaster, started a blog for the information of his kids, updated as and when, to save them asking how he was every time they spoke. Anyone else under threat of something similar, or merely being concerned about their PSA results, is welcome to read it. He blogs under the name of The Old Blugger, so what better title than:

Blugger and the big C. As he says “It’s not medical advice. It’s just what happened and what is happening to me. (I refuse to use the word journey.)

Request for experiences of the 84-85 miners’ strike

I am a third-year history student at the University of York conducting research for my dissertation on the miners’ strikes of 1984-5. As part of this, I am looking to speak to police officers who were active during these years about their experiences of the Strike. I am looking to write my project from the Police point of view as the police’s voices have been neglected in events around the 1984/5. Much of the historiography on the miners’ strike has painted the police as an institution poorly, but I wish to investigate this and perhaps overturn this.

I have been motivated to undertake this project because my grandad was a police officer himself called Phillip Moore based in Rochdale and Bury and he used to tell me lots of stories about the profession which I was enthralled by. The questions I am looking to ask will not be intrusive, nevertheless, all the information would be completely anonymous and participants would not have to answer anything they did not want to. The paper will only be read by me and my supervisor.

I can be contacted at this email address which is jm2208@york.ac.uk or by telephone on 07551225556

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Joseph Moore

Decorators, Trades and Handymen

Location: Brighton & Sussex
Flexible Self-Employed Full Time and Part Time Opportunities
Location:  Brighton & Sussex
£11-32 per hour (varies by trade and location)
We are looking for community minded individuals with extensive decorating, trade or other property maintenance experience. We need excellent communicators who can put people at ease and clearly explain proposed works.
We welcome applications from general skills handymen and women as well as qualified electricians, carpenters, bricklayers and other trades. Qualifications are not required but trades will earn more, in line with their specialism.
For full details register your interest online:  https://www.trustinblue.com/work/

ABOUT TIB
Trust in Blue (TIB Services Ltd) is an organisation which exclusively recruits retired police officers and undertakes decorating, disabled adaptations, kitchen/bathroom refit, responsive repairs and planned maintenance.
We work with domestic clients and as a maintenance and decorating contractor for regional and national organisations such as property managers, housing associations, schools, care homes and other sensitive locations. We operate in over 50 boroughs across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We primarily work with vulnerable, elderly and disabled clients bringing new levels of integrity, peace of mind and customer service to the maintenance sector and we need solid and reliable people to help us do this.
WHY JOIN
Enjoy the freedom and flexibility of being self-employed:

New Service- ‘Get your State Pension’

DWP is inviting people to use and help test a new digital service to get their State Pension

About the service

‘Get your State Pension’ is a new digital service for people who want to start receiving their State Pension. This new service is about to be tested with a small random number of people, starting with those living in England or Scotland, as part of a gradual roll-out. In the future, it will replace the current State Pension Online service, but until then both services will run in parallel.

Some people approaching State Pension age will receive a letter inviting them to use the new service to get their State Pension. The letter will include instructions on how to find the service, and a unique invitation code which is needed to access it. This unique code is personal to each individual and should not be shared.

Only people invited to use the service can do so. The service will not be available to the wider public, and won’t sit within GOV.UK during this time, nor will it appear on internet searches. This is standard practice while the new service is being tested and improved. It will still be controlled by DWP, and be safe and secure to use.

If people don’t want to use the new service, they can call the State Pension claim line.

How you can help

Because this is a new service, some people may be unsure about the authenticity of the invitation letter and the service itself.

Please make members aware of this new service and letter, the final version of which will be sent to NARPO.

If you get questions from a member who has received an invitation, please reassure them that ‘Get your State Pension’ is known to our organisation, and is a genuine and safe government service.

NB. Please don’t promote ‘Get your State Pension’. DWP will confirm when this is good to roll out.

Fake Bank Letters

This is a message sent via Neighbourhood Alert oh behalf of Action Fraud, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.

Lloyds customers should be on the lookout for a new sophisticated fraud that involves fraudsters sending fake bank letters.

The convincing letters being sent are a replica template from Lloyds and include their logo, address and signature from a customer service representative. The letter tells recipients that there have been some “unusual transactions” on their personal account and asks them to call a number highlighted in bold to confirm they are genuine.

When victims call the number, an automated welcome message is played and the caller is asked to enter their card number, account number and sort code followed by their date of birth. Victims are then instructed to enter the first and last digit of their security number.

The fraud was spotted by the Daily Telegraph who was alerted to it by a reader who had three identical letters sent to an office address. On separate occasions the Daily Telegraph ran some tests using fake details and were passed to fraudsters who claimed to be from a Lloyds contact centre. The bank has confirmed that the phone number and letters are fake.

The letters are essentially a sophisticated phishing attempt and serves as a warning to consumers to question written correspondence from their banks. If you are ever suspicious about correspondence from your bank you should call the customer serviced number on the back of their card.

To report a fraud and cyber crime, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud. Action Fraud is not an emergency service.

6 December

Staying anonymous online

It is not fanciful to be concerned with regards to the loss of personal details when identifying oneself online. The media is full of reports of massive ‘hacks’ with the details of millions of subscribers and members of various institutions which have an online presence, and that’s just the ones who’ve admitted it.

There is a way to reduce the risk to minimal levels.

First the good news: most of the hackers are not that interested in the likes of us. If they have the necessary skills to hack into these databases then they’ll probably go for the plumpest fruit.

It is a fact that all information, even of us plebs, has a certain intrinsic value so our details will be harvested alongside more valuable ones.

What strikes me as odd is that people seem willing to share their personal details with online companies when mostly they do not have to. Anyone signing onto Facebook (explained in Wikipaedia) is required not to use false details, but in the main you can legally call yourself anything you want to. I believe Julian Clary had some problems when he called himself the Joans Collins Fan Club, but few others have had to endure legal challenges.

I have five persona that I use online. The one I use least is my real name and address. All the rest are rather fanciful. I write under the name of Harvey Yates with a date and place of birth that bear little relationship to my real ones. It’s a nice way to lose a few years.

For a while I was Maud Cockshott-Smyth, born in India of UK parents, under which name I submitted articles to the more staid magazines aimed at women. I didn’t fool one editor as I once received a letter addressed to Mr Maud Cockshott-Smyth.

I write articles on email marketing and use a dedicated non-de-plume to subscribe to email marketing lists. This is a gmail address, free to use, which separates incoming emails into type, with a high degree of accuracy, and so email marketing ones are all under one tab. It’s a great feature.

My needs are a bit unusual but I reckon everyone should have an email address that bears no relationship to whom they are. First a few suggestions.

1/ Use a name that sounds like a name. Mr Epicyclic Trunnion is a no-no.

2/ Don’t go for John Smith or, at the other extreme, Henry Charles Albert David Windsor. You will want your email address to be treated seriously. Many people will use their own initials, so that’s a good reason for not doing so yourself.

3/ Identify the facets of your new persona that might be security questions. Mother’s maiden name, favourite colour, last school, place of birth, hobbies, that sort of thing. Make each of them different to you. See below.

4/ Write down all the details you’ve made up. This is an essential, especially now memory problems might be sneaking up on you.

And that is your new personality. All that remains is to obtain an email address for it.

You email service provider, for instance BT, might allow you to have a number of email addresses. If so you can generate a new email address using your new assumed name with the respected btinternet.com suffix. Alternatives are the likes of gmail.

There are fake personality generators online. For instance, www.fakenamegenerator.com will not only provide a name but all details, including phone number, postcode and much more.

I have a pay-as-you-go mobile that is the ‘family’ one. No one makes calls on it, but it receives them, so a handy way of not revealing who you are.

The risk of identity theft is very low. Let’s face it, the risk of being stalked at our age is lower still. However, taking steps to anonymise your online activity is more or less common sense.

20 August

The Old Police Cells Museum, Brighton

The Old Police Cells Museum for Sussex Police is housed in the basement of Brighton Town Hall. It offers visitors a unique insight into the history of policing in Sussex from its inception through to modern days. We are desperately looking for people who have served in Brighton (or other divisions) who could give up a few hours a month to be a guide. Full training and support is given to all guides and it is an incredibly rewarding way to relive those golden years! If interested please contact Paul Solis on paul.solis@hotmail.co.uk

Facebook – Sussex Police Friends

This is for those who have access to Facebook on their computers; if you don’t, you will have much more time on your hands than those of us who do! It’s a ‘secret group’ which apparently means that you must be ‘introduced’ by a current member, and then you can read what has been ‘posted’ by other members and also contact former colleagues, swap memories, photos etc.

I’ve had a look and recognised some names and it’s good to note that recently retired members have the same rose tinted glasses and selective memories as those of us who left 20+ years ago!!

For more info try your e-mail contacts, or as a last resort, me. (I would prefer not to be ‘introducing’ 300+ members one by one!) p.dacey@btinternet.com

Appeal to trace people potentially exposed to asbestos after the Brighton bombing

We are working with ambulance and fire colleagues to trace those who worked at the scene of the Brighton bombing in 1984.

We have written letters to a small number of officers we have identified as working at The Grand hotel, as it is possible that they have potentially been exposed to asbestos fibres within the hotel debris. While we know that those working at the scene were issued with personal protective equipment, this was some days after the explosion.

I am informing them now as we have become aware that a Metropolitan Police officer, who had worked at the scene, sadly died from an asbestos-related disease in December last year. While the chances are small that anyone was exposed at any length to asbestos, we want to offer reassurance and health advice. The risk to health from short-term incidental exposure to asbestos is very small.

I am leading an emergency services group to identify and inform those who may have been affected. We are offering health information and support for anyone who is concerned, providing them with a letter to be taken to their GP as well as answers to some questions that they might have.

In addition to contacting relevant partners and local companies to make them aware of what support we are offering our own staff, who may be concerned about the possible effects on their health, we will also be publicising this issue to help inform and trace anyone who may have potentially been exposed. 

I understand that on hearing this news you may be concerned. I would like to emphasise that the possibility of being affected is very small but I feel it is the right thing to pass this information on.

If you know of anyone who might have been at the scene please can you pass on their details so we are able to offer them support.

If you would like more information please contact Occupational Health, available Monday to Friday, from 8am to 5pm, on 01483 639888.

ACC Steve Barry