Home Secretary urged to overturn W80 ruling
12 August 2024
The Home Secretary could show she truly supports police officers by legislating to overturn the ruling in the case of the W80 firearms officer (see bottom of page for case details), according to West Midlands Police Federation secretary Tim Rogers.
Tim has welcomed both the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, and the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, supporting the police in terms of the use of reasonable force to quell the riots and protests in recent weeks, but says there is clear tension between their assertion of support and the reality of the vulnerability of officers when they use the powers at their disposal.
“We see so many officers dragged through force conduct processes and criminal investigations for simply doing the job they have been trained to do in terms of serving and protecting their communities,” says Tim.
“Firearms officers, for example, have to make split-second decisions, assessing the threat and risk to them and the public, before pulling the trigger but then find that their actions are analysed, frame by frame, by people who it would sometimes seem just want to catch them out, and apply judgments of their actions with the benefit of hindsight.
West Midlands Police Federation secretary Tim Rogers (inset) has called
for the Home Secretary to overturn the W80 ruling.
“The same is often true of police drivers who may come across an incident that is not included within their training, due to the evolving nature of crime. They act instinctively, assessing what’s in front of them in quick-time, and again find themselves facing conduct or criminal proceedings based on the subjective forensic analysis after the event by some who seem intent on finding matters to criticise the police.
“The Home Secretary’s comments over the last couple of weeks have really been at odds with the Government’s failure to remedy the flaws in legislation which allows these situations to arise.”
Government
He believes the Government could show that it really does support the police and will stand behind officers when they follow their training and use their powers according to that training.
“The Government could achieve an easy win which would ensure all officers are confident to use force as is necessary in order to keep their communities safe by legislating to overturn the ruling of the Supreme Court thus allowing officers to rely on their honest held belief relevant to the situation and be judged in the agony of the moment,” says Tim.
“The last thing that society needs are officers charged with, and assumingly trusted with making critical decisions, who need to use force being reticent to do so. Any delay in taking swift appropriate actions could be disastrous, for the police officers involved but also for the communities they serve.
“But would anyone be surprised if hesitancy were to creep in as it stands? Officers are fearful because they may have an honest held belief in the need to use force but the ‘VAR’ assessment through watching body-worn video frame by frame allows investigators to conclude that the officers’ actions were in fact unreasonable. This forensic analysis and ability to overturn an officer’s honest held belief is flawed.
Firearms
“While the obvious effects of the W80 case are generally discussed in terms of a firearms perspective, it was a ruling that reaches much further and, as we know, extends to any use of force by an officer.”
Tim says the effects of W80 have already been felt much further than the ‘firearms world’ and have been discussed by police drivers but also most officers who are trained to expect to use reasonable force as part of their role in order to keep the public from harm.
“The Supreme Court’s judgement in the WA80 case needs to be overturned urgently – only Parliament can do that by expressly worded legislation. But, if it is not overturned, the Federation will need to universally explain the potential jeopardy officers face because of it remaining in place.
“Warm words of support from the Government are appreciated but meaningless if followed by acts of betrayal through retrospective criticism and potential prosecutions.”
