Safety review confirms need for better protection for officers
3 September 2020
A report on officer safety is calling for new legislation that makes it a specific indictable criminal offence for anyone to use, threaten or attempt to use a vehicle to deliberately target a police officer or front-line staff member.
The Officer and Staff Safety Review (OSSR), published yesterday, has been compiled by the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and follows the largest ever survey of police officers, staff and volunteers in England and Wales with more than 40,000 people responding.
Tim Rogers, deputy secretary of West Midlands Police Federation and response and driver training lead on the national Federation, has welcomed the report and its findings, particularly in relation to measures to improve the safety of officers dealing with motorists at the side of the road.
He is already heading a Federation campaign to amend two sections of the Road Traffic Act 1988 which would give police officers the authority to require drivers to turn off their engine when stopped and also to demand that all occupants leave a vehicle.
“This report further highlights the risks officers face when they stop motorists and adds further weight to our campaign for a change in the law,” says Tim, “We know that more and more people are prepared to use their vehicles as a weapon against the police and the review has clearly brought this to the fore again.
“However, I really don’t think having a new indictable offence is what’s needed to tackle this. The law already outlines offences with which these people could be charged. If someone deliberately drives at another person they should be charged with dangerous driving or attempted murder. In my opinion, it’s the failure to apply charging standards that is causing these offences not to be properly dealt with.
“The Federation has successfully campaigned for an increase in the sentences available to courts when dealing with offenders who have assaulted officers but still we find that the tougher sentences are not being handed down. It’s the same with people who drive a vehicle at others, the more serious charges are not being laid and therefore the sentences don’t fit the crime.
“Just as frustrating though is the fact that the Force identified risk and vulnerability with regard to a lack of training and tactics when dealing with uncooperative people in vehicles in August last year and yet, to date, there is no remedy being put forward for this and no officer training plan. This is totally unacceptable. The Force knows it putting officers at risk yet 12 months on we have no tangible solution to this known issue.”
The Federation wants the Department for Transport to get behind changes to the Road Traffic Act as part of the Police Powers and Protections Bill which is due to come before Parliament in the autumn
It is calling for the bill to include:
• An amendment to S163 of the Road Traffic Act to extend the obligation on motorists to stop to an obligation to stop and switch off the engine
• An amendment to S164 of the Road Traffic Act to require occupants to get out of a vehicle when required to do so by a police officer.
Tim has already written to transport minister Grant Shapps to ask him to support these legislative changes
The OSSR report includes 28 recommendations for improving officer safety covering training for roads policing officers, improved equipment and further research on the link between shift work and safe driving practices with the review having identified the high number of officer deaths as they travelled to and from work.
It also highlights the number of assaults on officers with the College of Policing estimating there were 328 recorded assaults per 1,000 constables in England and Wales in 2018/19 – roughly one offence for every three constables – up from 284 the previous year.
Almost 90 per cent of police officers who responded to the National Police Safety Survey said they had been assaulted at some point during their career with nearly 40 per saying they had been assaulted in the previous 12 months.
The OSSR was commissioned by NPCC chair Martin Hewitt in September last year after a spate of attacks on officers.
The Police Federation of England and Wales has welcomed the report’s recommendations but national vice-chair Ché Donald said it must not just become another doorstop and be forgotten in a year’s time.
He explained: “There are many good points raised in this review, with much good work already in play.
However, chief officers must now take swift action to implement all immediately, so they are meaningful, make a tangible difference and are directly felt by officers on the ground.”
And he added: “Along with the majority of the public, the Federation is appalled by the atrocious levels of violence colleagues have faced recently and has been demanding action. That’s why we welcomed this review and want to see its finding make a real difference.
“All too often my colleagues are not treated as victims when they are assaulted, leaving them feeling failed by supervisors and the criminal justice system, as they have made clear in this officer and staff survey.
“It is only right officers have the very best equipment, training and support for the dangerous job they do; we made this crystal clear in PFEW’s evidence to the review.”
The recommendations include a review of equipment, the overhaul of safety training, and a new Police College-led national curriculum so every officer receives the same standard of tuition.
In addition, the findings contain a commitment to officers and staff about the minimum standard of support and communication they would receive should they suffer an assault, and a pledge to further consider rolling out ‘Operation Hampshire’ - the seven-point plan to reduce assaults started locally in his home force by John Apter, who is now national Federation chair.
