Page 7 - WMPF Federation Oct-Nov 2020_Neat
P. 7
Officer safety
‘Officers at risk due to
delays with training’
he Force will continue to put officers at recommendations for a year now and the video. This should have been the first stage
risk while it fails to prioritise the lowest level response was to put together a followed by design and implementation of
Tproduction of a better training training video which it has done but, frankly, useful practical training. It has taken over a
package to ensure they can safely deal with this falls short of what is required unless year for a basic video to be launched, and
incidents involving vehicles, according to there is a compliant member of the public in now the Force is saying it’s OK to wait until
West Midlands Police Federation. the car. the recommendation for the national review
The Federation has been calling on the “This is something we will raise again comes out.
Force to do more to protect officers after a with the Force to reiterate our concerns. We “The figures quoted by the Force in terms
spate of incidents in which officers, locally feel the Force has had more than enough of officers injured by vehicles are low but the
and nationally, have been injured by people evidence to show that there is an issue and next officer injured as a result of an
making off after a police stop. that officers are being left vulnerable to being attempted vehicle extraction needs careful
But, at the most recent Force assaults seriously injured or even killed. It appears the scrutiny from a legal perspective. The Force
meeting, it was announced the Force was Force is willing to take that risk and wait for knows there is a risk, it identified this. It
waiting for the College of Policing to re-write national changes but meanwhile that leaves concedes officers have no tactics nor training
the training package and this would not be our officers in danger. It is totally to deal with these incidents yet it is content
ready for launch until April next year. unacceptable that, having recognised officers’ for them to continue to face this danger
“The fact that the training is being vulnerability, the Force is prepared to wait untrained. This is a foreseeable risk and one
updated is, of course, good news. I even longer before implementing change.” that would make any injured officer eligible
understand it will be a scenario based Tim Rogers, deputy secretary of West to pursue a personal injury claim.
package, giving officers guidance on how to Midlands Police Federation and national “Having identified a clear and serious risk,
deal with people in a vehicle; something we Federation lead for pursuits and driver 13 months on we still do not have
feel is needed,” says Jon Nott, chair of West training, is equally frustrated with the Force appropriate measures in place. Leaving
Midlands Police Federation. stance. officers in a position of known vulnerability is
“But while this is progress of sorts, we are He explained: “The five options put incomprehensible. The first duty of any police
disappointed and frustrated at the slow forward to the Force to address the increase force should be the protection of its
progress on this issue. in incidents in which officers were being workforce.”
“The Force has had the internal injured at police stops started with the basic
www.polfed.org/westmids federation October/November 2020 07
