“It is important that we make Officers aware of the vulnerability they face”
Staffordshire Police Federation were yesterday (1 February) joined by over 200 Officers from across the force as they hosted the third annual Post Incident Management Seminar.
Focusing on response drives and pursuits, the seminar held a packed agenda, hearing from many guest speakers, as well as force and federation representatives. Those who attended heard real life stories of the vitality of a PIP, alongside picking up best procedure practices.
Force lead for PIP, Ch Insp. Pete Owen, took some to time fully explain to Officers the practical process of a post incident procedure within the force. His advice was “Take the time to protect yourself”
The National Police Federation’s Jayne Willetts and Tim Rogers also took to the stage to discuss the current issues around response drives and emergency pursuits and offering their advice to Officers.
Case studies from PCs from both PC James Ellerton of Merseyside and PC Jim Holden of Hampshire were also shared. Their stories were both examples of where things had gone wrong Post-Incident, resulting in both Officers facing criminal charges for what they described as “Just doing their job”
The seminar also heard from Staffordshire Occupational health, Retired Metropolitan Police Officer Dave Blocksidge, Tim Coolican of Slater and Gordon and Tim Goodwin of the IOPC, who all discussed how important their roles were in a Post-Incident procedure.
Keith Jervis, Staffordshire Police Federation Chairman, highlighted the importance of these seminars in making Officers aware of how they are protected. He said:
“Holding these Post Incident Procedure seminars is really important.
“It’s important that Officers are aware of the vulnerability that they face, and what the process is should they need to put in place a post-incident procedure.
“Focusing on pursuits and response drives was particularly important, given how high profile the issue is at the moment, and especially with the Police Federation campaigning nationally to get this legislation changed.
“Police Officers are still not clear enough about what protections they have. They think because they’re doing a good job, and that they’re enforcing the law, that they will be protected. From the examples seen at the seminar, this is clearly not yet the case, and it was important we got that message across.”
Glyn Pattinson, Staffordshire Police Federation Secretary, added:
“It is my hope that Officers have taken two key things away from the PIP day.
“Firstly, I hope Officers understand just how vulnerable they are within the law, and they appreciate that no matter the federation and force support them. And secondly, I hope that Officers do something themselves about trying to change and influence the decision makers within government.”
ACC Nick Adderley, who spent the whole day at the seminar, concluded by praising the Federation saying: “The support you will receive from Staffordshire Police Federation is second to none”
You can see the highlights of the day over on twitter @StaffsPolFed using #StaffsPIP
