Police drivers: training session on new assessment of skills

21 February 2022

Representatives of the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service, Independent Office for Police Conduct, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the Police Federation joined specialist lawyers for a training seminar based on changes to the law in relation to police drivers which are due to come into effect in a few months’ time.

The seminar, held at Guardians House, the West Midlands Police Federation office, aimed to prepare all stakeholders for when the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill becomes law.

The legislative change, which will mean officers’ driving will no longer be judged by the standards of the careful and competent driving member of the public, follows a campaign led by Tim Rogers, secretary of West Midlands Police Federation and national Federation lead for driver training.

“The aim of this training is to ensure that we have an established framework for how police drivers’ skills will be assessed under the new legislation so that once it lands we have everything in place,” says Tim.

“In short, where a driver’s driving needs to be considered in terms of possible conduct or legal proceedings, it will go through the NPCC driving lead and myself before being considered by a panel of experts to ensure that all evidence is considered.

“It was clearly unfair for police officers to have their response driving judged by the standards of the careful and competent driving member of the public. As part of their duties, we expect police officers to respond quickly to calls for assistance. This can involve driving through red lights, crossing to the wrong side of the carriageway and speeding.

“So we fully welcome this change in legislation but we have to guarantee that those assessing police drivers fully understand the standard by which they are judging them. A breach of policy under the new legislation could lead to a breach of law and that is why we need to ensure that those assessing drivers have the professionalism and expertise required so that officers can have the confidence to use their skills and training in the way intended without fear of prosecution.

“In the past, we have seen cases where only selective evidence has been presented and this has been to the detriment of our members. So far, this training is working well and we are now in a position where the reports only will be completed with all available evidence being submitted to the expert.

“This was a suggestion I put forward in 2018 to rid the system of the inconsistent approach that was damaging to both officers and public which we are pleased to have seen supported and implemented.”