‘Double crewing is a no-brainer’ says Fed chair

12 October 2022

The chair of West Midlands Police Federation has welcomed research that shows double crewing positively impacts the force, with results revealing that sending out cops in pairs sees serious assaults on officers drop to almost zero.

Rich Cooke, who said the study ‘reinforced what we already know’ added that he believes ‘double crewing should be the norm’.

His comments come after research that focussed specifically on West Midlands Police revealed that double crewing also increased detection rates by 44 per cent, while increasing charges summonses and cautions by 82 per cent.

“If doubling up our crews means that the number of serious assaults on our officers is dramatically reducing then, for me, it is a no-brainer,” said Rich.

“Assaults on officers can have a major impact on their physical and mental health, so simply doubling up crews could prevent officers from being off sick and improve retention within the Force. Surely, doubling up crews is just common sense?

“Speaking on behalf of the West Midlands Police Federation, I can firmly say we are in favour of double crewing.”

Rich, who first joined the police 22 years ago, said this is an ongoing debate that has been going on since he can remember.

“Some argue that sending single crews out increases visibility of the police but what happens is those officers aren’t as proactive or aren’t as confident - and that’s understandable,” Rich explained.

“Officers are clearly going to be more effective if they are together. If they see a stolen car, they are more likely to be able to stop them if they have immediate back-up, or if they see a gang who looks like a threat, then they are more likely to do a stop and search if they aren’t alone. And that’s not officers being lazy, it’s just assessing the risk of the situation.

“And inevitably, if there are two officers or more, then a potential offender is less likely to resist or cause trouble.”

The study, which was carried out by the Policing and Crime Research Group at the London School of Economics, also found that doubling up crews financially benefited the Force too, with every £1 spent, they would see £2.75 in return.

“The list of benefits that come with doubling crews goes on. Consider this, you send a single officer to a 999 call, but the officer won’t get out of their car until there is back-up. What does that mean for the victim who has made the call? They will be wondering why that police officer is not coming to help them.

“Or what about when three squad cars turn up, all with one person in? The public will be asking questions, as to why we’re not making the most of our resources. Sending single officers out causes problems for us.”

Rich continued to say that he believes a minimum of two officers should be sent to each job.

“I want our officers to feel confident to take the necessary action if they need to, without having to wait for support from colleagues,” he added.

“Double crewing not only ensures our officers are protected but it’s financially effective too. I think it’s great that this research has highlighted such an important issue.”