The POA podcast

By POA Podcast

The podcast of the Prison Officers' Association UK... more

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FAQs about The POA podcast:

How many episodes does The POA podcast have?

The podcast currently has 66 episodes available.

The POA podcast episodes:

March 25, 2024 Time to banish blades from prisons!
Weapon related assaults of prison staff have increased from
10% of all assaults in 2010 to 25% in 2022 – and knife and blade attacks have increased by 16% in the most recent year that statistics are available for.

Despite awful assaults with life-changing consequences, the
response of the employer and of government has been slow. The union is awaiting the outcome of pilot exercises on the removal of razors.
This is expected imminently but the union has persistently said that this over complicates and delays what should be a straightforward decision. The signatories to a
Parliamentary Early Day Motion on the subject clearly agree.

In this episode, national chair Mark Fairhurst and General
Secretary Steve Gillan set out the union’s campaign to banish blades from jails, why there is some optimism about progress towards this, and what members can do to most effectively keep themselves safe in the meantime.

More information on the ongoing campaign is to be found in
April’s issue of Gatelodge and on the union’s website
where you can also find more on Risk Assessments and Safe Systems of Work, and the union’s Parliamentary work.

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13min
February 28, 2024 The POA Welfare Fund and Firefighters' Charity
The POA Welfare fund is one of the union’s “jewels in the
crown.” Funded by and for members, £1 of each month’s union subscription is ring-fenced for the Welfare Fund, whose objectives are “the relief of the poor and sickness.”

In this toolkit podcast, POA General Secretary Steve Gillan
talks about the origins and workings of the Fund and of the amazing
rehabilitation work done by the Firefighters’ Charity, which POA members can naccess through the Welfare Fund.

These are two important and highly prized member benefits. You can find out more at www.poauk.org.uk/support/welfare-fund/

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14min
February 14, 2024 Private Sector membership and organisation
For better or worse, the private sector is now part of the
landscape in the prison and custodial sector.
The POA has a fast growing private sector membership and local officers who have to engage with a different breed of managers and employers. In this episode we look at the work of the union’s Private Sector Consultative Committee and talk to reps about their experiences of dealing with Sodexo, Mitie, G4s and Serco.
More information at www.poauk.org.uk
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19min
December 19, 2023 The POA at Manston
In this episode we meet the newly formed POA Committee at Manston Short-Term Holding facility and discuss the unique work of POA members at the juxtaposed sites in France.
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18min
November 16, 2023 The challenges of working in the Youth Custody Service (YCS)
Terry McCarthy is the member of the POA’s National Executive
Committee who has lead responsibility for the union’s members who work in the YCS. What he has to report may surprise
or even shock POA members who have only worked in the adult sector. www.poauk.org.uk
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17min
November 09, 2023 New First Aid/Emergency First Aid standards explained
HMPPS have recently issued mandatory new standards for First Aid at Work and Emergency First Aid at Work. In this Toolkit podcast, Deputy General Secretary Joe Simpson explains the background to the new standards, and the practical consequences of them. POA circular 078 of 2023 refers - you can access that here.
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15min
October 17, 2023 Union victory on Fitness Tests, and what's happening at Wandsworth?
National Chair Mark Fairhurst on seeing the union's persistence on Fitness Tests yielding results, and the truth behind the HMP Wandsworth Independent Monitoring Board report. For information on all POA activity, visit www.poauk.org.uk
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11min
October 10, 2023 The POA and political activity
The union’s political activity is at the heart of this
episode. General Secretary Steve Gillan and Parliamentary Researcher Charley Allan discuss why political activity is
unavoidable, how the union makes sure its voice is heard loudly in Parliament, and the importance of the union’s Political Fund. More information at poauk.org.uk . Follow the union on Facebook and X
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40min
September 10, 2023 Behind These Doors - in conversation with Alex South
In this episode we are joined by former Prison Officer and POA
rep, author Alex South. Her book Behind These Doors detailing Alex’s 10 years in the prison service was published earlier this year to great acclaim from critics and readers. Extracts were serialised in the Sunday
Times and it was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.

Alex’s writing journey was kick started when she entered and
won the Beachmore Life Writing Competition with a piece that eventually became her book. She also received the prestigious Winston
Churchill fellowship which enabled her to study the treatment of prison
staff in other countries.

Despite the Prison Service doing its best to keep Alex, with
promotions and specialist training, the desperate under-resourcing of the
service meant she eventually felt unable to continue in post.

Behind these Doors, stories of strength, suffering and survival in prison, by Alex South is published by Hodder and Stoughton and is also available as an audio book. The recommendations and policy ideas discussed are, of course, Alex’s own thinking rather than POA policy.

For the latest union news, visit poauk.org.uk and you can also follow the
union on social media.
...more
31min
August 22, 2023 Transferring to F&S? Here are the facts
Members in closed grades are being urged to seriously consider opting-in to the F&S structure. In this special episode, DGS Joe Simpson, AGS Andy Baxter and NEC member Sarah Rigby (herself in an F&S grade) look at the facts of the matter, and dispel some of the misunderstandings that have surfaced. There is a real decision for closed grade members to make and this podcast gives the facts members need to choose what is right for them. More information from your branch committee or area NEC representative.
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12min

FAQs about The POA podcast:

How many episodes does The POA podcast have?

The podcast currently has 66 episodes available.