Extra shelter for officers

21 August 2022

The Force has taken delivery of 20 tents to provide shelter for officers deployed to protect crime scenes.

The idea for the tents came from a sergeant in Force Support who first contacted West Midlands Police Federation deputy secretary Chris James in November 2020.

The sergeant had been inspired by Facebook posts advertising tents with transparent sides which are commonly used by parents at children’s outdoor sporting events such as football and rugby tournaments.

Chris drafted a proposal for the Force’s Senior Leadership Team and then the Uniform & Equipment Committee and was asked to make further enquiries and obtain some quotes. But, on closer investigation, it quickly became clear the equipment that was first suggested would not be suitable for use at crime scenes.

He said: “They looked the part but were not made from durable enough material and were not really designed for regular use.

“They certainly weren’t police officer proof.”

Undeterred, Chris decided to broaden his search and his enquiries eventually led him overseas and to a USA-based company called Under The Weather which supplies the New York Police Department and various sections of the US military with sturdy tents.

Potential pitfalls from purchasing from a non-UK supplier, such as tax and import duties, were overcome and Chris was given the green light to place the order last September with the tents finally arriving in Birmingham in February before being distributed across the Force Support Unit hubs and the response bases.

They are now in regular use and have gone down well with officers deployed at long-term crime scenes.

Chris said: “The tents can be used at any crime scene which is not suitable for an officer in a vehicle. So that could be areas such as woodlands or fields but also in back gardens because obviously if a house is the scene then we need to maintain the integrity of both entrances so we would normally have someone at the front in a car and someone round the back.

“I have sat in the freezing back garden of a murder scene just before Christmas and that is quite a regular occurrence.

“The tents are primarily to keep officers sheltered, warm, dry and out of the wind and it gives them somewhere to sit and fill in their scene logs and that sort of thing.

“I have spoken to a handful of colleagues and the feedback is that the tents have been really useful, do the job and seem like a decent bit of kit. They are being used regularly now.”