10 October 2025

Officers’ Initial Recall Of Incident Is Crucial

It is vital that an officer involved in a serious incident subject to a Post-Incident Procedure (PIP) is able to put forward their honestly held belief of what happened, before viewing body-worn video, Dorset Police Federation has said.

Andy Robertson, Conduct and Performance Lead Officer for Dorset Police Federation, was speaking following the Police Federation of England and Wales’ PIP Seminar this week. The annual seminar aims to keep Federation PIP practitioners up to date with legislation and regulations so that they can best support their members.

PIPs are carried out in all situations following police contact that have resulted in death or serious injury; revealed failings in command; or caused danger to officers or the public.

A number of Dorset Police Federation Reps have been trained to the same level as a Post-Incident Manager (PIM) and can support officers through the PIP process. Effective PIPs mean officers are more likely to be able to keep working in the job they love.

This year’s PIP Seminar focused on how body-worn video may not always reflect what officers saw and experienced during a split-second incident, and how PIP investigators should understand that this is normal and has scientific explanations.

Andy said: “It is imperative that, following a death or serious injury incident, nothing interferes with an officer's initial honestly held belief and that this is integral to everything else an officer does during the course of that incident.

“Not conferring and not viewing body-worn video before stage 3 accounts should be viewed positively by officers. The seminar looked at the complex ways in which the brain processes information, and showed that recall can be affected by many external factors, not just by what officers think they saw.

“It is natural for officers to worry that their stage 3 accounts [accounts prior to seeing BWV or conferring] may differ from their stage 4 accounts, and how this may be interpreted in a negative way by a PSD or the IOPC. But a large body of evidence suggests this is perfectly normal and that there are rational and scientific arguments why stage 3 and stage 4 accounts might not always mirror each other precisely.”

Andy added that he believed that PIPs were still the fairest and most transparent way of obtaining the best possible evidence from police witnesses.

He added: “Quite rightly, there is an expectation from the public that officers are open, honest and accountable, and the PIP process provides the right environment for all the details of an incident to be obtained in a fair and structured way.

“The PIP process balances the needs of the officers involved with public expectations of accountability, while at the same time providing the best possible evidence to assist the IOPC or PSD in their investigations.”

 If officers are involved in a PIP, they should consider the following:

• You may be treated as a suspect or a witness. This is a very fine line. It is in your interest that if you are being treated as a suspect you should say nothing until legal advice has been obtained. You have legal rights under the PACE Act 1984 and these should not be compromised.

• If, however, you are being treated as a witness, remember all conversations are disclosable.

• Ask the PIM to contact the Police Federation, which can arrange legal advice and other support including contact with relatives, refreshments and so on.

• Initial notes should only be made subject to medical and legal advice.

• The Manual of Guidance recognises that statements should only be made after officers have overcome any initial shock of the incident. Be guided as to when you are ready by medical advice, a solicitor or the Federation.