Home Secretary Priti Patel has formally opened the refurbished headquarters of the Police Superintendents’ Association today, Thursday 3rd September.
Almost 40 years since Home Secretary William Whitelaw opened the building on behalf of the association, Ms Patel visited the base in Pangbourne, Berkshire, to officially open the headquarters and meet with the national team.
The headquarters is a former Thames Valley Police building and today houses the administration function of the association, which supports and represents police officers in the rank of superintendent and chief superintendent in 47 forces.
The building is a central point of the association’s work and serves as a base for the association’s assistant national secretary, personal assistants and finance officer, with national officers regularly using the headquarters for association meetings.
The association’s National Executive Committee approved the funding of major refurbishment works in 2019 and this year work began to modernise and improve the buildings offices, meeting rooms and technical infrastructure.
With staff working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic, the headquarters is now ready for a phased return to work, following distancing guidelines, over the coming weeks.
President of the PSA, Paul Griffiths said, “We were delighted to welcome the Home Secretary to open our Headquarters today. It was a poignant moment for us after her predecessor from almost 40 years ago did the same for its original opening back in 1983.
“Our positive relationships with the Home Office, government officials and national policing leads are extremely important to us in our efforts to help shape and influence our Service, and we’re grateful for this continued public support of the work of our association.
“Covid-19 has meant our staff have been away from the office for some time, but I’m delighted that when they return, our facilities will be the best they have been. We also look forward to welcoming colleagues to Pangbourne in the coming months.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “It was a pleasure to open the Headquarters today alongside Paul, and to meet several members of his team.
“Since becoming Home Secretary I’ve seen first-hand how important the Police Superintendents’ Association is across policing.
“The PSA have been instrumental in backing us to deliver for the police, including recruiting 20,000 extra police officers, and therefore helping keep the British people safe.”