Page 12 - WMPF Federation Magazine February / March 2018

Response driving

Tim drives forward

campaign for

change in law

campaign calling for a change in the the road and killed several people? He would
law to offer better protection for have had that on his conscience forever so, of
Apolice and emergency service drivers course, his training kicked in, as one would
is continuing to gather momentum. expect.”
The campaign is being led by West He told MPs about the case of a police
Midlands Police Federation deputy secretary pursuit commander who was suspended for
Tim Rogers, national Federation lead on police 18 months (so far) and forbidden from leaving
pursuits, who has highlighted concerns that his home for more than three days. And a
there are currently no legal exemptions from moped rider ‘doing wheelies and going up the
the offences of careless or dangerous driving wrong side of a dual carriageway’ who injured
for officers responding to calls for help from himself but it was a police officer who was
the public. pursuing who was suspended and then
And it has now been supported by a investigated for grievous bodily harm.
senior backbench MP who has also called for a Sir Henry added: “The driver recovered
change in the law. from his head injuries very quickly and, two
Sir Henry Bellingham, MP for North West weeks on, was committing further crimes
Norfolk, believes too many officers have been while the police officer, who was doing his
hauled before the courts and accused of Merseyside police officer James Ellerman at duty, ended up being suspended. There are
dangerous driving simply for ‘doing their jobs’ conference 2017, talking about his own many other cases but what runs through
and while following approved tactics. Their experiences of being prosecuted for them is the significant impact they have on
advanced driver training is not taken into dangerous driving. the officers who are doing their duty to and
account and they are judged by the universal serving the public, and the forces.
standard of a ‘careful and competent driver’. support for a change in the law. “The Home Office guidelines are not
Current legislation means that He cited a number of examples in which working. Time and again, the IPCC takes the
regardless of their training and experience, officers had faced disciplinary procedures for view - perhaps while wrapped up in the
officers are judged by the standards of the doing their job including the case of PC emotion and under a lot of pressure from
‘careful and competent driver’ who is Richard Jeffery, a Norfolk officer who pursued families - that it should take action, but it says,
unlikely to go through a red light, cross the a stolen car being driven by a drunk driver. The ‘We won’t deal with it, we’ll let the courts look
wrong side of bollards and so on. This means vehicle crashed and the driver was killed. PC at it’. That, I think, is a cop out. It is quite
those engaging in a response or pursuit are Jeffery was suspended and investigated for wrong that these officers are being
vulnerable to a prosecution charge of gross misconduct for two years by the prosecuted in this way.”
dangerous or careless driving. Independent Police Complaints Commission During summer 2017 the Police
Welcoming the progress, Tim said: “It was (IPCC). Federation of England and Wales wrote to all
good to see this issue getting the support at Sir Henry said: “The key point is that the of its members to remind them that ‘there are
Parliament that it deserves. There is still a way Crown Prosecution Service and the IPCC could no legal exemptions from the offences of
to go in this process but I am optimistic that, not look at the extra training and expertise of careless or dangerous driving’ for officers
after seven years of watching our members the police officer. This officer faced a dilemma. responding to calls for help from the public.
falling foul of the law just for doing their jobs, He could easily have said, ‘It’s the end of a long The letter was sent to more than 120,000
we will get legislation that supports them in day, I won’t take the risk, I’m going back to the Federation members across England and
the difficult job they do.” police station’. What would have then Wales and was intended to correct the
Sir Henry introduced his Emergency happened if this car, which was being driven assumption, also held by many members of
Response Drivers (Protections) Ten-Minute by a driver four times over the limit with the public, that police officers can break traffic
Rule Bill on 20 December, and won cross-party broken lights and on a wet road, had gone off rules.

12 federation February/March 2018 www.westmidspolfed.com