Page 14 - Bedfed Conf2016 Flip Book

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taser needs to be rolled out to all officers who want to carry them, says John apter, the Hampshire Police Federation chairman who has spearheaded a successful campaign to improve the way officer assaults are handled.
John told conference that body-worn cameras were a fantastic piece of equipment when it came to recording incidents but it did not prevent assaults.
“It’s a disgrace to say Taser shouldn’t be rolled out further. It is an essential piece of kit. I accept it’s expensive, but what’s the cost of the safety of officers?” he asked.
He also called for officer safety training to be standardised across all 43 forces in england and Wales and said he would raise the matter with the College of Policing. “It isn’t right that there isn’t a standard. It isn’t good enough. If we get it right, we can look after our people,” John said.
And he argued that being assaulted should never be accepted.
“Policing is dangerous and unpredictable, but if you say being assaulted is part of the job then that makes it right, and it is not right,” he told delegates in his Wednesday afternoon session at conference.
He drew attention to problems in finding out accurate statistics on officer assaults. Figures taken from health and safety records suggested there were 23,000 last year but not all officers actually logged assaults on this system so he felt this was ‘fundamentally flawed’, a view supported by Alex Marshall, CeO of the College of Policing in his address during the session.
Forces, John said, should find a way to
record figures accurately so that the service could get a true picture of assaults on officers and staff.
“If we are to deal with this issue, we need to identify how big this issue is and, believe me, it’s bigger than 23,000 assaults,” he argued, adding that while he appreciated nothing would prevent every incident, better training and better access to equipment would help.”
Work needed to be done with the CPS in relation to sentencing of those found to have assaulted officers while nationwide the roll-out of Hampshire’s seven-point plan had also helped improve the support offered to victims of assaults.
The College of Policing is working with Hampshire Police Federation and is studying the Force’s assault figures. early findings have revealed a link between assaults and alcohol, as well as domestic violence incidents and dealing with those with mental health issues.
Alex Marshall praised John and Hampshire Constabulary for pioneering the seven-point plan on officer assaults saying it’s beauty was in its simplicity. He welcomed the fact that it had been adopted, and in some cases adapted, in the majority of other forces but urged other forces not to over-complicate the plan.
John Montague, senior district Crown Prosecutor at CPS Wessex, said he was ‘absolutely passionate’ about the issue and urged delegates to build a relationship with their local CPS so cases could be better understood.
John Apter.
Taser: an essential bit
of kit in preventing officer assaults
OURREPsAYs
“This was a really good session with a review of what had already been done and an update and look at where it is now going. It was good to have Alex Marshall there and John Apter asked some very good questions about officer safety training, body-worn video, Taser roll- out, recording of officer assaults and links to possible future issues for officers such as PTSD.
“Progress has been made on this with the majority of the forces across the country having signed up to the seven-point plan and I’m glad Bedfordshire has signed up to it. I think it is fantastic that something that started in one force only a short time ago has now taken off nationally, although there is still work to be done around working with the CPS and improving that relationship. Also, I am not sure that all officers’ assaults are being recorded or always dealt with according to the seven-point plan, but it is early days and we are heading in the right direction.” Sharon Nissen