Fed rep gives insight into PFEW Post-Incident Procedures seminar

10 December 2024

With figures representing Fed branches from across the nation, Chris attended the seminar on behalf of Derbyshire and said he was pleased with the opportunity to deepen his professional knowledge of PIPs.

The 45-year-old has held his Federation role for three years and is particularly passionate about helping members at the centre of PIPs and Professional Standards Department (PSD) cases, having been faced with the adversity of both processes himself as a police officer.

A PIP is an investigation, stemming from Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, into police action or inaction, most commonly in cases of death or serious injury (DSI) following police contact.

Post-incident

Key figures in the procedure will typically include Federation representatives, a force’s post-incident manager and PSD, and members of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Day one of the seminar, which was held at Federation House in October, focused on the internal and human factors within a PIP, presenting new research on the impact of high-stress situations on memory recall.

Chris said: “This was very interesting and extremely relevant to PIPs, seeing as they basically revolve around an officer’s ability to provide an account of what happened during the incident in question.

“In a nutshell, it looked at the impact of perceptual distortion.

“I learnt that memory really is so specific to the individual. During a presentation, we were given information on a chain of events, and to our surprise, were then quizzed on this the next day.

“What was interesting was everyone had their own areas of strength and weakness – one part someone could recall perfectly was a blur to someone else, and vice-versa.

Intense

“These disparities proved it is human nature to have gaps in your recall – especially in the immediate 24 hours after something so intense and distressing has happened.”

Drawing conclusions on this section of the seminar, Chris believed these ideas on perceptual distortion strengthened the argument for the delay of a stage four account – the most detailed input to a PIP from an officer – to a minimum of 48 to 72 hours after an investigation’s commencement.

He said this would not only reduce the risk of inaccuracy rising from a misinterpretation of events, therefore aiding the overall integrity of the PIP, but also lessen the damage of trauma and cognitive overload on an officer’s mental health.

Meanwhile, the theme of day two was on matters external to a PIP, where attention was placed on the operational environments shaping the outcome of a procedure.

Speakers stressed the importance of ensuring only pathways of communication which are clear and purposeful exist ahead of a PIP and during its intervals, ideally leaving no room for public gossip and speculation to undermine proceedings.

Reports

Chris emphasised this, adding: “I always tell the officers I represent in PIPs to block out all external noise from public hearsay and social media. In between meetings and interviews, I advise them not to pick up their phones and certainly not to go Googling for reports of the incident.

“When it comes to a PIP, I know how important it is to keep a clear mind because then you stay in control in a situation that can make you feel pretty powerless and like the net is closing in on you.

“I’m glad the seminar touched on that.”

Some technical and legal properties of PIPs were also discussed in the latter stages of the two-day event, such as charging standards and strategies for achieving the best evidence.

“Currently, the bar feels pretty low when it comes to the IOPC’s charging standard. Their burden of proof is currently levelled around possibility – lower than the force’s, which looks at the balance of probability,” continued Chris, who has been in the police for 24 years.

“It wasn’t fully clear from the seminar whether that might be reviewed in the future, but I think it’s something that should be thought about.

“What was more promising, though, was that an IOPC speaker did acknowledge the impact of their rigour on officer welfare. They were clear about welcoming feedback from officers on their experiences in a PIP, so they can always try to make things as comfortable and unimposing as possible.”

Suspects

One message clearly echoed throughout the seminar, Chris says, was that officers involved in PIPs are called key police witnesses for a reason – because that is exactly what they are, and as such, should never be treated as suspects.

This crucial principle remains at the heart of his aims as a Fed rep to improve officers’ overall handling of the procedure and to reduce their feelings of intimidation.

Overall, Chris reflected on the seminar positively, regarding his first attendance at such an event as beneficial to his drive to assist members in these difficult circumstances.

“I think it was valuable. It was good to get into a room with other Fed reps with an appetite for this sort of thing and have some proper discussion and learning time.

“This also reminded me that Derbyshire’s PIP operation is regarded as a good standard by other forces, which I am proud of.

“But there is always room to improve – and that is what I will always work towards, helped by events like this seminar along the way,” he ended.