Staffordshire Police Federation secretary Glyn Pattinson says the Policing Protests session was a highlight of the two-day virtual national Federation conference.
Glyn explains: “The panel for this session was really good and I liked that they explained the complexities of policing protests and disorder but also stressed the need to ‘educate’ the public in as much as seeing officers wearing full kit and personal protective equipment should not make them assume that there will be violence.
“First and foremost, the equipment officers have and the uniform they are wearing should be geared towards keeping them safe, however the protest unfolds and it was good to hear national chair John Apter reiterate that he would always fall on the side of officer safety.”
The session on the second day of conference centred on the protests over the past year and whether more needs to be done on educating the public on the role of the police during these sometimes violent demonstrations.
The national chair warned against taking advantage of the goodwill shown by officers, who continue to want to protect the public, despite the situation.
“No matter how difficult and dangerous the work is, they love it,” he said, “Don’t take advantage of that and their willingness to step up. They need to be looked after by all forces.
“We have the best police force in the world. We don’t have to do a lot to make people feel valued and wanted.”
Speaking about the fact that frontline officers are not always required to wear protective kit when working at protests, he argued that there were more concerns about how they will look in the protective gear rather than prioritising staff safety.
“That’s how it feels,” added John, who also voiced his concerns for new recruits, especially the younger ones, saying that public order policing “is a skill and can be scary”.
“We have good people on the frontline but there just aren’t as many staff anymore and a lot of them are young.”
Looking to the summer ahead, John said the service will ‘throw whatever’ it needs to, to protect the public.
“Policing reacts to crisis,” he explained, “The pressure cooker of frustration has built up and we had a taste of it last summer.”
He continued to admit forces needed to look at the way they respond to protests and ask themselves if it is right.
“What does the future look like for us?” he asked, referring to new legislation expected later this year which would give officers extra powers to protect themselves and the public.
Among those who joined John in the session was Metropolitan Police Sergeant Nikki O’Malley, who spoke about her experience working on the frontline at riots, including one in which she was not wearing a protective kit, resulting in her getting injured.
Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Andy Marsh and inspector Kim Brown of Cumbria Constabulary were also part of the conversation.
The group discussed whether the public and media should be better educated on the role of the police, especially at protests.
John said: “I’ve been relentless in my messaging to the media, not only in support of officers but also educating the public too on why we do something in a certain way.”
He recognised that some chief officers worked closely with the media, locally, he also said that there is so much more that could be done nationally.
“The Police Federation has got a part to play, and we will continue to do our best to provide that education,” he added.
