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National news round-up
Campaign calls for change of law to protect pursuit drivers
Talks have begun with the
Home Secretary over
concerns about officers
taking part in police
pursuits being subject to
prosecution.
T/Deputy Chief
Constable Andy Holt, who
is ACPO lead for police pursuits, has
started the ball rolling on a change or
amendment in legislation which will
potentially offer more protection to police
officers. He has also spoken to the Director
of Transport.
In 2009 in a Court of Appeal case, the
court prohibited a jury from taking into
account a police officer’s skill and training
in determining whether the driving was
dangerous. As a result, a police officer
cannot argue that his driving ought not to
be considered dangerous because he had
the skills to deal with the apparent hazards.
And more recently, in a case involving
officers from Hampshire, a
further problem was
highlighted in that the
prosecution argued that a
police driver is criminally
liable for the danger caused
by the subject vehicle
because, by pursuing or
continuing to pursue, the police driver has
caused the dangerous driving of the subject
vehicle.
In a letter to chief constables, Mr Holt
said: “The Police Federation are rightly
concerned that officers are at increased risk
of prosecution whilst merely seeking to
discharge their duties as constables. It
would pose a serious risk to the operational
delivery of the police service if officers do
not conduct pursuits and do not respond to
emergencies promptly. I am working with
the Federation to address this issue, but it
seems likely that a change or amendment
to legislation is required and, as you may
imagine, this could take some while.”
The Police Federation of England and
Wales has written to all branch boards
outlining the position.
In the letter it states: “The Police
Federation acknowledges that police
officers cannot be exempt from such
driving standards, but takes the stance that
the uniqueness of the role and the
requirement to respond to emergencies of a
very wide nature requires that the driver’s
training and expertise should be taken into
account. It falls to the individual officer to
justify proportionality, reasonableness,
necessity and judgement if called to
account as to why they drove in the way
they did.”
Mr Holt said the issue has also been
raised with the Director of Public
Prosecutions to ensure that before any
prosecution the public interest test has been
appropriately applied.
National standards planned for
roads policing officers
A project that will lead to the creation of national accredited
standards of training for officers involved in roads policing has
been launched.
West Midlands ACC Garry Forsyth, vice-chair of the ACPO
Roads Policing Business Area, gave details of the project at the
joint ACPO and Police Federation Roads Policing Conference in
Leicestershire earlier this year.
The project will run for up to two years and will engage with
forces across England and Wales to establish what training is
currently being delivered.
The national package is expected to be in a range of modules
which will enable chief officers to have a variety of options that
they can tailor to their force’s circumstances. The team will work
with a view to embedding the standards within the new College
of Policing.
Alan Jones, the Federation’s roads policing lead, said:
“Although we already have some excellent in-force training
provision it is too patchy and non-consistent.
“The establishment of a national standard is long overdue. I
really do have a long term vision of a national roads policing
academy which has tremendous opportunities to embrace all
aspects of the role, supporting officers in the best possible way.”
MP’s praise for roads policing
officers
The Department of Transport has thanked police officers for the
incredible job they do, day in day out helping make Britain’s roads
among the safest in the world.
Stephen Hammond MP, the under-secretary of state for
transport, addressed officers via video at the joint Police Federation
and ACPO Roads Policing Conference earlier this year.
He spoke about new proposals to reduce drink-driving and to
allow a widened range of registered healthcare
professionals to use blood and specimen samples in evidence.
He said: “The concluded drink-drive consultation will support
more law enforcement. Under new proposals, this will allow us to
close down some loop-holes used by some drink-drivers to escape
prosecution. We will be looking at replacing a breath test with a
blood or urine test.
“We are also looking at proposals to widen the range of
registered healthcare professionals who are allowed to take blood
samples and specimens in evidence.
“I am grateful to ACPO, the Police Federation, other police
groups and authorities who have responded to this consultation
and look forward to working with them as we decide which
measures to implement.”
The Department of Transport is giving more than £1 billion to
local councils to improve the transport infrastructure, including the
design of better and safer roads.
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