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terms of the life of a police officer.
“The team at Brierley Hill knew that I
had applied to be an officer and knew I
really wanted to get stuck in and learn the
job, so they took the time to work with me
and support me as a Special Constable. In
return, I volunteered over the 16 hours
expected each month and worked
full-time during school holidays,” she says, Roads policing
April had originally considered policing
as a career when she was at school but
instead went into education. Having had a
change of heart, she joined the Specials to ‘inadequate’
get a taste of policing and then applied to
join the regulars.
The recruitment process took about 18
months. uts to roads policing budgets our roads safely. Between 2015 and 2018,
Despite no longer working at the leading to a drop in the number of an average of just over 1,600 people lost
school, she hopes when she starts working Cdedicated roads policing officers their lives each year on our roads network
in the community that she can visit the have been blamed for a gradual increase in and many more were seriously injured. That
primary school where she worked to serve road deaths after more than 30 years of should be impactive enough in itself to
as an inspiration to the young pupils. steadily declining fatalities. make police leaders decide to take action.
“I want to show them that you can do A new report by Her Majesty’s “This report is putting the blame for
anything if you put your mind to it,” she Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & these figures squarely down to cuts to
says, “I have worked closely with Rescue Services (HMICFRS) called “Roads funding and an apparent decline in the
vulnerable children and their families and I Policing: not optional” highlights the fact priority given to roads policing. So will this
hope that when they see me in my that £120 million cuts to roads policing be sufficient to prompt a reinvestment in
uniform, working as a police officer, I can budgets between 2013 and 2019 were roads policing? I really hope so. We need
inspire them and show them that the reflected in a ‘substantial decrease’ in chief officers and Police and Crime
police are here to support and help our police enforcement activity in particular Commissioners to act on the
communities.” the targeting of the Fatal Four of drink and recommendations in this report to halt the
For now though, she is back to online drug driving, not wearing seatbelts, excess steady increase in deaths on our roads and
training which she says is quite difficult speed and driving while distracted, for also tackle the criminal elements making
because you miss out on the conversations example, by using mobile phones. use of our roads network.”
with trainers and the interactivity with the It found roads policing in some forces Tim acknowledged that West Midlands
rest of the class. was inadequate, that often capability and Police was one of only two of the seven
She will then move onto the capacity did not meet demand and that a inspected – the other being the Met –
investigations team at Wolverhampton for lack of co-ordination hindered effective where HMICFRS praised strategic leaders,
eight weeks, before taking annual leave, engagement with partners and the public. officers and staff for demonstrating a
embarking on another two weeks of It also called for roads policing to be strong commitment to roads policing and
university training and another eight-week standardised and accredited, as one of 13 the positive effect this had on road safety
placement on response at Brierley Hill. recommendations to improve the but called on the Force to properly analyse
“There have been some changes to our effectiveness of roads policing in England its commitment to roads policing and
schedule along the way due to coronavirus and Wales, and also urged the continue to further improve. The other
but, as a group, we are taking each week Government to include roads policing forces inspected were Devon and Cornwall,
as it comes and we are all learning that we within the Strategic Policing Requirement. Dorset, Humberside, Staffordshire and
need to be flexible,” she explains. “Sadly, this report does not come as South Wales.
While working within the Force, the any great surprise to me at all,” says Tim Only 19 of the 43 forces in England and
students will be given protective learning Rogers, deputy secretary of West Midlands Wales listed roads policing or road safety as
weeks so that they can keep up to date Police Federation and response driving a priority in their police and crime plans.
with their studies and the onus is on them lead for the Police Federation nationally, The report concluded: “There is a clear,
to make sure they keep their tutors up to “The inspectors’ views echo what we have and pressing, need for government, Police
date with the deadlines they are working been saying for some time. Roads policing and Crime Commissioners, chief officers,
to with their course work. has been allowed to slip down the list of and the College of Policing to recognise the
“You really do have to manage your priorities. It has been under-funded importance of roads policing in reducing
own time,” says April, “But I am very meaning that it has become under- death on the roads.”
grateful that, having been a Special, and resourced and people have been paying for Read the full report and
knowing others who have already been that with their lives. recommendations at
through the recruitment process, I already “I am not sure what it is going to take https://tinyurl.com/y7ssen84
had an understanding of how the Force for the Government, chief officers and More details will appear in the next
works and what is expected of you.” Police and Crime Commissioners to realise edition of our Federation magazine.
Aware of the work of the Federation, what a critical role roads policing officers l Read the views of some of our roads
she also signed up as a member as soon as play in helping ensure that people can use policing officers on Page 14 and 15.
she could.

www.polfed.org/westmids federation August/September 2020 13