Re-connecting with grassroots officers is a top priority, Fed leaders have said.

The gap between frontline officers and their leaders is a critical issue, senior Feds have vowed.

The opening day of the Police Federation annual conference included discussions with regional chairs on how the Fed hierachy can reconnect with its members.

New Chair Steve Hartshorn used his keynote speech to reach out to Fed reps working “at the coalface of the organisation”.

He said they are the crucial connection not only with the leadership but they are also a lifeline when officers are at the point of either “giving up or coming back stronger”.

The event is a changing point for the organisation as many of the key positions have yet to be filled.

Results of the Vice Chair election will be announced at the end of the week and elections to the national board are due next month.

And they will be part of the Fed’s reboot which will finally address issues raised in its own 2014 review.

But Mr Hartshorn has already begun to open the organisation up by starting a working group that will decide what reforms need to happen.

Fed Chairs said the leadership needed to be open around decision making and improve the way it explains to members what it is doing.

Brian Booth, West Yorkshire Chair said: “We’ve got to make sure we’re transparent and make sure members see why we are making decisions.”

New Chair of Dorset Police, James Dimmack, said: "I want to get into the nuts and bolts of how we are going to make progress, re-establishing relationships."

Cambridge’s leader, Liz Groom, said the engagement was starting at the event: “[This] conference is really, really important for us to show members what we’re fighting for, to get the most recent updates for members."