Officer Safety: Is Enough Being Done to Protect Our Officers?
| Date | 01 January 1999 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X9907200103 |
| Published date | 01 January 1999 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
ERIC BASKIND, LLB (Hans)
British
Self
Defence Governing Body, Cheshire
OFFICER SAFETY:
IS ENOUGH BEING DONE
TO PROTECT OUR OFFICERS?
Officer safety is crucial to police training yet in many areas it is
far
from
satisfactory and leaves officers exposed to the many dangers associated
with modem-day policing. This article examines some
of
the most
important components
of
officer safety and explains why officers are
being placed at risk by a lack
of
coordination
and
poor methods
of
training. It also sets out the law relating to the use
of
force.
Introduction
The term officer safety has been defined as "the measures taken at the
strategic, tactical and operational levels to minimize the risk
of
harm
from violence to officers" and its importance requires it "to permeate
every aspect of policing, visibly and coherently throughout the entire
structure of the Service".' It is because officer safety incorporates a
number of inter-related components that a fragmented approach is
bound to be fraught with danger. It is for this reason that a thorough
review of the various systems and strategies needs to be undertaken and
a more coordinated approach to officer safety developed.
Officer safety strategies must be overseen, both at national ACPO
and individual force levels, by the appointment of officers with
sufficient seniority and authority toensure they are afforded the highest
degree of importance. This process would be enhanced considerably by
the further appointment of an external agency, competent within the
field of personal safety and related training matters, to work alongside
these senior officers and add valuable externality to the process.
The benefits to be gained from pursuing effective officer safety
programmes are enormous extending far beyond a reduction in the
number of officers who sustain injury as a result
of
their police work.
Considerable financial savings will be seen through reduced levels of
sickness, as well as greater efficiency resulting from improved officer
morale. There should also be a reduction in the high costs of litigation
associated with defending claims both from members
of
the public and
from officers.
Officer safety has improved considerably over the past few years.
However, without further improvements, especially in connection with
training, the level and severity of assaults against officers will remain
unacceptably high. Assaults on police officers can have far-ranging
effects extending beyond those to the individual officer to the police
service as a whole:
14 The Police Journal January 1999
"For the individual officer, assault victimisation can lower morale,
threaten individual authority, lessen situational control, and lead to
the infliction of serious injury or death. High rates of assault upon
officers can adversely affect the police profession, as well. It can
hamper the ability of agencies to recruit new officers; it can
undermine police-community relations and it can threaten the
professional image of practitioners."
It
was noted above that officer safety incorporates a number of inter-
related components.
It
is important to identify some
of
these
components and to see how they can be improved.
Risk Assessments
Officer safety training must concentrate on those situations which
statistically show a high probability of assaults on officers. This is best
achieved by the monitoring of management information and the
carrying out of risk assessments.
Risk assessments should form the basis for the development of any
officer safety strategy and should be seen as a key part of the proactive
approach to health and safety management. The approach is proactive
because it involves identifying the potential for injury rather than
relying on a reactive approach where remedial action is not taken until
after the damage or loss has occurred. A risk assessment should not stop
at officer safety and should include an assessment of risks to other
police personnel, the general public and others who may be affected by
the police activity.
The information generated from a risk assessment is of little value
unless it is put to effective use. Training, equipment requirements and
deployment strategies must be developed from this information.
Although police forces had, in a spirit of voluntary cooperation,
previously recognized the provisions
of
the Health and Safety at Work
etc. Act 1974,' it was not until the Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997
came into force that the 1974 Act, as it applied to police officers, was
placed on a formal footing.'
The management of information should be seen as an integral part
of
the assessment process and relies heavily on a comprehensive system
of
recording incidents." All incidents should be recorded, not just those
that result in injury or the use of force. This is because those incidents
otherwise than when force has been used or where injury has occurred
may indicate a failure within the overall officer safety strategy and
should be seen as helpful predictors
of
potential future problems.
Incidents which should be recorded include:
• where the officer has used force (whether or not to make an
arrest or an arrest is made)
• where the officer draws his baton (whether or not it is
subsequently used)
January 1999 The Police Journal 15
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