ISSUE 12 £2.00
TOP COVER THE POLICE FIREARMS OFFICERS ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE
OUT &
ABOUT WITH THE PSNI
HEALTH & FITNESS DEALING WITH FATIGUE THE PUBLIC RIGHTLY EXPECTS PRESSURE ON POLICE WITNESSES ACKNOWLEDGING YOU NEED HELP A PFOA WELFARE COACH VIEW BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIERS STAFFS FED PIP SEMINAR WWW.PFOA.CO.UK FOR ONLINE NEWS & LATEST UPDATES
POLICE FIREARMS OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
2 TOP COVER ISSUE 12
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TOP COVER ISSUE 12 11 3
OCIATION
TOP COVER
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MEET THE TEAM Our regular columnists Mark Williams Editor Steve Howson Post Incident Management Dave Blocksidge Science on the Street Justin Conway Health & Fitness
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WELCOME TO ISSUE 12 OF TOP COVER. Since our last magazine we have seen firearms officers yet again making national and international headlines. Events in London recently have seen members of the public callously mowed down by a terrorist who went on to murder PC Keith Palmer at the gates of Parliament. The terrorist was stopped by the swift and professional actions of a firearms officer. We are proud of the firearms officers who dealt with the threat before them and the professional and effective way they dealt with the individual concerned. We have the best intelligence services in the world and probably the best technology available to thwart terrorist attacks, but in the cold light of day it comes down to brave men and women who put their lives on the line to effect the arrests of these people, and who take what action they deem necessary to do so. You deserve our respect and support, and so do your families. Recent times have also seen firearms officers under protracted investigations which in some cases have seen them suspended for over 3 years. We have also seen an officer on bail for 18 months following a fatal police shooting. This is clearly not acceptable and has a traumatic affect on the officer and his or her family. We will do all we can to highlight these cases and support all those involved. Following events at Westminster our Welfare Support Programme assisted many officers and support staff who had suffered extreme trauma during the event. The WSP Staff have received much praise from officers and Federation Reps alike. I thank all our phone staff for their dedication and commitment in helping others. In this edition we look at Policing in Northern Ireland and the challenges faced by officers. Dave Blocksidge looks at perceptual distortion, and one of our Welfare Coaches Rak Nathwani looks at welfare issues around actually getting help! I hope you enjoy the magazine…if you want to see less photos of me in the next edition ☺ please feel free to write an article about a hobby, your work or anything that others may find interesting! Look after yourselves and thanks for all you do.
MARK WILLIAMS EDITOR | mark@pfoa.co.uk
Gift Aid is available for charities to claim 25p in the pound back from donations made to the charity. We submit a return to HMRC with name of the person donating. We do not submit the actual Gift Aid forms. You can ask for Gift Aid to be claimed on your behalf for your PFOA donations by emailing Debbie in the office at info@pfoa.co.uk (put ‘Gift Aid donation’ in subject box). Please state your full name and house number and postcode. Gift Aid forms at the office have address/house number and postcode – we have these records in case HMRC want to dip sample that the name on the return is from the bona fide taxpayer! We then do the rest and claim the Gift Aid back, which goes towards supporting our colleagues and their families all over the UK. Thank you!
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IN THIS ISSUE
CONTENTS FEATURES & REGULARS
6 8 18 23 29 32 32
THE PUBLIC RIGHTLY EXPECTS! Pressure on Police witnesses
KRAV MAGA A student’s view KNIFE SURVIVAL What you need to know AROUND & ABOUT PSNI - Forgotten force? QUO VADIS Direction in Firearms Training BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIERS Staffordshire Federation PIP seminar THE PUBLIC RIGHTLY EXPECTS! Pressure on Police witnesses
PFOA NEWS
16 17 35
VISIT TO THE ISLE OF MAN Local Fed supporting Armed Policing OBITUARY Mike Waldren QPM JOIN THE PFOA! Why wouldn’t you?
WELLBEING
6
18
AROUND & ABOUT PSNI - Forgotten force?
KRAV MAGA A student’s view
13 15 26 37
HEALTH & FITNESS Dealing with fatigue WELFARE SUPPORT PROGRAMME 24/7 Help for you and your family ACKNOWLEDGING YOU NEED HELP A PFOA Welfare Coach view NATIONAL PTSD CONFERENCE Police Dependants’ Trust event
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HEALTH AND FITNESS
KRAV MA – A STUDENT’S V A fter the article in TC11 by Dave Wignall on Krav Maga I was interested to learn more about it and thought it would be a good way to stay fit and be able to protect myself and my family if need be. I arranged with Dave to have some one to one sessions in his dojo, conveniently just up the road from PFOA HQ. Now, although like many men of my age (52) I like my food, the odd drop of wine and a certain Irish whiskey, I have always trained and go to the gym most days. My weight is steady, although I could probably do with losing a bit! The reason I mention all of this is that sometimes, particularly when you are older you worry whether you are fit and able enough to participate in activities
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AGA VIEW! WRITTEN BY MARK WILLIAMS
such as Krav. My first visit in January was spent accessing my fitness with a series of exercises. I am saying that as politely as I can, as I was reduced to a pool of sweat on the floor! Dave was careful to ensure that I did not injure myself and in fairness I enjoyed being pushed to my limit physically. After the thorough warm up, we got on to the ‘art’ itself and how to defend and deal with attacks. When I was a kid I did Judo regularly and won many a playground fight taking my opponent to the ground, however I have vivid memories of one incident, when my opponent, who I happen to be friends with on Facebook punched me straight in the face! This shocked me as I was unable to defend this. As I went through my Police career I had a few scuffles and relied heavily on a mixture of Judo and officer safety techniques. Krav is different. What felt alien to me
was the idea of moving towards the threat when necessary (getting away is always the best idea!). Securing the delivery system, whether it is a fist or weapon, is essential if you are to survive. Dave very quickly realized that I was more about either talking the threat down or making a preemptive strike and backing off. This is all well and good if you have time to chat, but if someone is determined to cause you harm he or she is not interested in me discussing the issue with them. I have also learnt that striking and backing off is a total recipe for disaster. This will probably result in an angry/ violent person becoming even more angry and violent! During the class we talked a lot about reactions, reading situations and use of surroundings to protect yourself. The good thing about Krav is that it’s not a Gucci textbook art, where you can look at yourself in a mirror and admire your kicks and punches. It’s a controlled form of real life survival during a confrontation. It may not look pretty but it’s very effective! As my lessons have progressed so has my fitness. I now have a boxing bag at home and regularly practice strikes, kicks and take down techniques. I also push myself hard with circuits. This ensures that if ever I get into a confrontation I am able to sustain a defence or attack until the treat has passed.
In recent weeks we have been concentrating of knife attacks. We discussed double and single knife attacks and how to deal with them. The bottom line is, if there in no escape and you have to deal with it, the closer you get the better. You have to secure the delivery system. By getting in close you restrict the ability of the aggressor to move, swing or strike you. It also enables you to bite, gouge, punch, kick and scream at the aggressor. This is all about surviving. You will probably get injured in the process but if the result is you survive the encounter then that’s all that matters. Krav Maga has certainly improved my fitness and my ability to defend myself. It is hard work physically and mentally and you do get the occasional knock, but the ‘feel good’ factor after a training session far outweighs this. ■
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KNIFE SURVIVAL HEALTH AND FITNESS
WRITTEN BY DAVE WIGNALL SKM CHIEF INSTRUCTOR
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nife survival. On hearing that term, what sort of images and pictures are conjured up in your mind? Some of you may be used to the vernacular of ‘knife defence’ but I really don’t think that tells it like it is. If you are confronted by someone that wants to hurt you, you are looking to survive the attack. If the attacker is armed with a knife, for example, and wants to do you some damage, the objective doesn’t change – you still look to survive, but by the introduction of a knife into the arena, things just got a whole lot worse for you. So what do you picture then? Graphic images of knife attack victims? You and your partner training in the dojo practicing some great knife parry? Maybe you even struggle to think of something relevant. Realistically, of course, you could be thinking of anything, but to push the point home, if you could picture for a moment the harsh realisation that you are confronted with an armed attacker, ready to stick you with a knife, what would your feelings, thoughts and instincts be? Fear and shock, maybe even questioning your ability to respond, how you train or don’t train, whether you should scream, try to run, remain static and freeze? You have the image and the thought, so now what? Tough to imagine, isn’t it? Well
that’s because there are so many contributing factors to consider. There are so many variables to take on board in such a short space of time that it could prove to be almost impossible to respond and survive. That is why I feel that almost all of the knife attack responses I see within the world of martial arts and self protection fail. The reason being they are based heavily on technique without much thought or consideration to anything else. Technique does play a part of course but if that technique is not based, even loosely, on what your reflexive flinch response is, then you veer away from reality. Everybody has their own ideas about knife survival. That’s ok of course because everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but when someone is teaching something as important to life preservation as knife survival, why do we still see completely unrealistic and ambitious responses taught? There are a number of reasons for this which I will not cover in this article, but I do think an underlying factor is the lack of tactical implementation. First off – and let’s assume here that we have no alternative but to engage – if you do nothing in response to the attack, then you could quite rightly assume it’s game over. Doing nothing is highly unusual because of our natural survival instincts, unless of course your ‘fawning’ tactic of collapsing to the floor and feigning being dead has actually worked and your attacker leaves you alone.
Not the best tactical road to take of voluntarily going to the ground and destabilising yourself I have to say, but you do see this happen at times. If we try and deflect the knife attack as we back away, and offer little or no physical counter attack, then we stand a good chance of still suffering severe injury or worse. Next option, how about we try and fight back as we try to parry off and bat away the knife hand? This can work but again, it usually involves the victim trying to grab at the knife hand in a panic, generally being unsuccessful while suffering stab and slash wounds. All of these examples of defence, although very real and not made up responses, are assumptive, generally futile and simply prolong the inevitable. Whatever we do to our attacker is never guaranteed to work, and this is a major problem with techniques I currently see out there. Students and instructors alike are far too ready to believe their response will have the desired effect. You see things taught so easily and with such fluidity, and all with the false belief that what you are learning will work because you are well trained or your instructor shows it working against someone who is compliant. It’s quite scary to watch such vulnerability being taught to students. Here’s a thing. Other than my fair share of bar and street fights during my earlier years, in my experience I have had two incidents involving a knife and one involving what I thought at the time to be a firearm.
TOP COVER ISSUE 12 9
In one of the knife threats, I avoided engaging with the attacker and had time to run and notify the Police. In the second instance, I closed range and did what was necessary to stop the attack from continuing. What I did when I was within range of the attacker was to apply a strategy. A strategy to unbalance, damage and disrupt. How I did the damage is not important as what may work for one person may not work for another but closing range aided my survival. There was one other situation many years ago when I was threatened with being shot. Although scared, and momentarily freezing to the spot, I closed range and did what I needed to do to eliminate the threat. As things would pan out, the ‘firearm’ that was concealed within a plastic bag was in fact sealed packets of cigarettes and although there was
a lead up to the interaction, both the Police and myself were puzzled as to why such a false threat of shooting me was made. There are of course people who have dealt with far less and also dealt with far worse, but my point is that I took the initiative and reacted with speed and force and closed range. Would this happen the same way if it was to happen again? Who knows? Again, there are so many contributing factors to consider and bear in mind that this was all working within striking range. To run a few metres at an armed attacker could prove to be stupid and/or fatal, but such is the nub of the problem – situations and scenarios dictate different responses. Closing down the attacker and moving towards the threat is the hardest part because it is so counterinstinctive. It requires confidence
and guts to drive forward. However, if we don’t close range and take the initiative then we allow time and space for the attacker to move. Remember, we have no idea what the attacker’s thoughts are. If we don’t act and think fast then we could well struggle to maintain our objective. By responding tactically and implementing and adhering to a strategy such as disrupting the thought processes of our attacker, by causing them damage, by unbalancing them, by securing the delivery system (the delivery system is usually the arm of the hand that holds the weapon), by restricting movement of the said delivery system, by maintaining our own structural integrity, I believe that these are ways we can achieve our main objective. That being, to stay alive and get home safely. ■
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TOP COVER ISSUE 12 11
PRESS RELEASE
THE EMERGENCY SERVICES SHOW:
T
IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU
his year’s Emergency Services Show will feature a host of new learning opportunities including CPDaccredited seminars which are all free-toattend. Returning to Hall 5 at the NEC from 20th to 21st September 2017, the growing event gives emergency responders access to the very best knowledge, training, technology, kit and support networks to prepare for future incidents. Register now for free entry at: www.emergencyuk.com A new seminar theatre dedicated to the health and wellbeing of emergency services personnel will cover issues such as fitness, nutrition, mental health and health and safety. Meanwhile terrorism, traffic incidents, urban SAR and mass gatherings are among the topics planned for The Learning Zone, where emergency services and partner agencies will share their experiences of responding to real incidents. Other free seminars covering road safety, ICT and innovations are also being developed. All of the free seminars will be CPD-accredited. West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) will host an Extrication Challenge judged by United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) officials. Teams of firefighters from WMFS as well as other brigades across the UK will be briefed on road traffic collision scenarios and
Hall 5, NEC, Birmingham, 20-21 September 2017
then compete in extrications from two car wreckages using the latest kit and rescue techniques. The aim is to bring together teams of fire and rescue personnel to display their ability while also expanding their practical skills by learning from and teaching others involved in the same field. The Challenge will take place live on the exhibition floor enabling visitors to get up close to the action. A Medical and Trauma Challenge will also take place in an “immersive environment” tent which will provide a realistic backdrop to the trauma scenarios. To add to the authenticity WMFS Casualty Simulation Group will be providing casualties with realistic make-up and prosthetics. Meanwhile WMFS Road Casualty Reduction Team (RCRT) will be demonstrating virtual reality goggles which simulate a car journey, showing drivers the consequences of their choices and actions. Together with the Central Motorway Police Group, WMFS RCRT will be offering road and motorway safety advice and there will be a presentation from an emergency services blue light response driving instructor. The College of Paramedics will once again deliver a programme of free 30-minute CPD workshops which all emergency responders are welcome to attend. Subjects covered will include
paediatric resuscitation, basic and advanced life support. Around the indoor and outdoor exhibition visitors will be able to see and handle the latest kit and discuss their needs with over 400 suppliers. Communications, IT, PPE, public safety, training, rescue kit, fire safety, vehicles, emergency planning, road safety, medical kit and operational equipment will all be covered. Many exhibitors will be demonstrating solutions and technology on their stands, while water rescue demonstrations will take place on the Pendigo Lake outside the exhibition hall. In the networking hub of the show, The Collaboration Zone, over 80 voluntary groups, charities and NGOs will be sharing details of the support they offer, while members of other blue lights services will be available to discuss co-response, current trends and share ideas. Entry to the exhibition and seminars, as well as parking, is free. The NEC is physically linked to Birmingham International Station and Birmingham Airport and is directly accessible from the UK motorway network. ■
To register for free entry and to find out more visit www.emergencyuk.com
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TOP COVER ISSUE 12 13
HEALTH AND FITNESS
I
t is often misdiagnosed by the medical profession, with its symptoms being similar to many other conditions such as difficulty sleeping or insomnia, muscle or joint pain without inflammation, headaches, poor mental function such as difficulty thinking, feeling unwell or having flu-like symptoms, with symptoms getting worse after physical or mental exertion. Unfortunately the condition is not helped by the even more common response from the GP that they haven’t really got any form of treatment plan, opting for blood tests, urine tests and scans to rule out other conditions, such as anaemia (lack of red blood cells), an under-active thyroid gland, or liver and kidney problems. They really aren’t interested or have the time to explore the idea of how a change in lifestyle and the addition of good nutrition, etc. can help a multitude of health issues, so unfortunately it seems unless they can write a prescription for something, they can’t do a lot else for you. I have had numerous clients come to me for advice on what they can do to help this condition as they have had literally nowhere else to turn. Luckily
DEALING WITH WRITTEN BY JUSTIN ‘GOJI’ CONWAY
FATIGUE
Burn out, myalgic encephalopathy (M.E.) , chronic fatigue syndrome, exhaustion or whatever you want to call it is a very real condition that seems to be an all too common problem, affecting an estimated 250,000 people in the UK.
JUSTIN ‘GOJI’ CONWAY
for them I have had some experience and success with helping people ‘get back on their feet’ and beat this crippling condition and the advice I will share with you here should really help you get back to a better level of health and fitness. Although not proven to a ‘scientific’ level of satisfaction, there are a number of medical theories that believe these conditions may be caused by either viral or bacterial infections, problems with the immune system, an imbalance of hormones or psychiatric
14 TOP COVER ISSUE 12
problems, such as stress and emotional trauma. This being the case, I strongly believe, a holistic and nutritional approach seems to be the most effective way of helping the body deal with any of these types of problems and literally reset and rebalance itself. The first thing that is needed is to give yourself a break. Stop training, limit your workload to only essential tasks and if necessary take a week or so off work. Although these symptoms may not necessarily be as a direct result of over training or working too hard, if your body is trying to recover from hard training, overwork or trying to compensate for long shifts, it hasn’t got the time or the necessary reserves to start healing anything else. It becomes locked in a chronic ‘vicious circle’. This is normally the hardest part for most people who train regularly but I would advise taking at least 2 - 4 weeks off any gym work, running and exercise, full stop. Whilst muscles, tendons, etc. recover very quickly our central nervous systems take a lot longer. So, having stopped any form of exertion, your nutritional intake becomes your next big priority. What foods you eat, what you drink and what supplements you take will allow you to give your body the vital vitamins, minerals and nutrients it needs to begin the repair process. These type of conditions creep up on you over time and are cumulative. If you’re not supplying your body with exactly what it needs (which can be difficult at the best of times) you will eventually run it into a state where it will start to breakdown and this can express itself in any number of ways - low iron levels, poor sleeping patterns, fatigue, frequent cold and flu symptoms, etc. etc.. So, what do you need to do to start the repair process? Please go through the below list and try and implement all of the points in turn and this should really get you to where you want to be with a little time and patience,… 1 Cut back, all the way back, on refined sugars and starches. Too many of these can set your hormones on a wild ride and cause real upset with everything on the inside of your body. Even better, eliminate sweets, sugars and starches altogether for two weeks to see how your body reacts.
You’ll probably be surprised at how well you respond and just how well you start to feel in general - just watch for hidden things like sugars in sauces. 2 As well as sugars and starches, start reducing your grains, legumes and high sugar fruits for two weeks. You may unknowingly be in a state of carbohydrate intolerance. Over-doing it on these carbs can cause metabolic problems for those of us who are insulin-resistant or who don’t process carbohydrates efficiently. 3 Eat more healthy fats. (And let go of fat-phobia.) Too few good fats on your plate will shortchange your body’s ability to produce the hormones that provide an even supply of energy, feelings of satiety and suppress cravings. Get plenty of foods like salmon, mackerel and nuts which are full of healthy Omega 3s. A good quality krill oil supplement will also do a great job at boosting these essential fatty acids and bring about real benefits. Krill oil, as opposed to cod liver oil, has nearly 50 times the amount of healthy Omega 3s. 4 Be good to your gut!! Feed your gut with plenty of immunitysupporting fermented foods and belly-benefiting fibre to support good bacteria and keep bad bacteria in check. This will not only keep digestion and elimination running smoothly, but help hormone function too. Also supplement with a good quality probiotic supplement. I can’t recommend probiotics enough - and I personally always take my probiotics everyday. Pretty much all of my clients who end up purchasing probiotics from me continue to use them long term due to the benefits they experience. 5 Avoid reactive, inflammatory foods. For starters, stay away from sugar (as I have already mentioned above), gluten, processed foods and junk food as they overtax your immune system, gut and endocrine system. In short clean up your nutritional intake. 6 Aim to sleep more and sleep better. Not easy I know if you work shifts, but not enough sleep or poor quality sleep wreaks havoc on your system, limiting your body’s ability to release the hormones necessary to repair, restore and refresh cells as you snooze. You need to aim
for 7 to 8 hours a night, consistently, to enable your hormones to do their job. There is a school of thought that suggests that every hour you sleep before midnight is the equivalent to 2 hours after. 7 Cool it on the stimulants. Too much caffeine in the form of coffee, energy drinks, sodas and sometimes even tea or chocolate interfere with the hormones that promote restorative sleep. Try and cut back or completely eliminate caffeine, where possible. 8 Cut the chemicals. There’s no upside to ongoing low-level exposure to common chemicals in your food, air, water, household cleaners, personal-care products and cosmetics. In fact, they interfere with optimal hormonal function. Make an effort to switch to the least toxic, most natural products possible to limit exposure to chemicals. The less chemicals, the less toxins in your system and the less hard your liver has to work to get rid of them all - weight gain can also be a symptom of too many chemicals as toxins are stored in fat cells. 9 Minimise the medication. Ongoing exposure to meds, including both over-the-counter remedies and prescription drugs can stress our micro-biomes and throw hormones out of whack. Antibiotics are also something that kills off everything living in your system - I call them ‘A bombs’ due the damage they cause and another reason I always recommend taking probiotics to counter the effects and repopulate your ‘good’ bacteria. 10 Train yourself to unwind in ways that enhance healthy hormone function. Whether you’re dealing with unremitting life challenges or bouts of intermittent stress, remember to blow off steam regularly. The key to balancing your hormones and your body, and staying more relaxed, fit and trim is to get rid of the stress…..easier said than done right ?? I hope this advice helps…. There are a number of things you can do to help yourself by slight changes in your nutrition. If you would like further information or help then please feel free to contact me or visit my site at www.gojinutrition.com, where you will find a range of highly effective supplements that will help you. ■
TOP COVER ISSUE 12  15
THE WELFARE
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SUPPORT PROGRAMME
Mick Crozier and Tina Howson from the WSP Team
he Welfare Support Programme is a 24/7 Phone Support Line for PFOA members and their families. Please make sure your family has the number, as they may want to call us if you are involved in an incident at work. Plastic key fobs are available from the PFOA Office if you have not received one as yet. The WSP will support you and your family by providing you with:
n A confidential call line where you can speak directly to our independent staff who are certificated in Mental Health First Aid and suicide awareness, or we will call you at a time that is convenient for you to discuss your concerns. n Assistance in accessing follow up support services such as PFOA Welfare Coaching and Counselling. n Signposting to other support services. n A welfare team to manage your case.
WSP Phone Number 01354 669 749 Further information on the Welfare Support Programme is available at www.pfoa.co.uk
16  TOP COVER ISSUE 12
OTHER NEWS were keen to learn about the Welfare Support Programme and the work of the PFOA.
The Defence Police Federation continue to fund PFOA membership for their 2100 members and their families. This incredible support is now in its third year. We are delighted to be assisting Ministry of Defence Police Officers who carry out an essential armed policing role in the interest of national security.
We have recently visited West Midlands Firearms Unit. You can read more about how they operate in the next Top Cover magazine due out in the Autumn.
The PFOA recently visited the Isle of Man after their Federation agreed to pay for all their firearms officers to be members of the PFOA. This is a wonderful gesture of support from the Federation that was very much appreciated by all the firearms officers. Whilst on the Island Debbie from PFOA HQ arranged meetings with local counsellors and the Federation to ensure we have a good network of support when required. Our thanks go to Kevin Williams and Carl Woods for showing Debbie around the island and for their hospitality.
Make sure you have your immunisations up to date. As firearms officers you will often come into contact with blood. Check your Hepatitus and Tetanus in particular!
The PFOA recently attended the British Transport Police Federation conference in Cardiff. Mark Williams met with a number of people including Bryn Hughes, the father of Nicola Hughes
who was murdered on duty along with her colleague Fiona Bone in 2012. Bryn set up the Nicola Hughes memorial fund in honour of his daughter. www.pcnicolahughesmemorialfund.co.uk Those present at the conference
You may have noticed our Website has changed! We needed to update the site to ensure it was mobile phone friendly as well as implementing a number of improvements. We also have a great online shop. Many thanks to Richard at GingerWeb (a former firearms officer) who has done a fabulous job! If you want a new website yourself give Richard a call on 0843 289 7127 or email richard@gingerweb.co.uk â–
TOP COVER ISSUE 12 17
OBITUARY
O
n the 27th December 2016 the PFOA lost a friend and UK Armed Policing lost the custodian of its long and distinguished history. Mike Waldren was my ‘boss’ and my friend. The first time I met him was when I joined SO19 in February 1996, fresh from borough policing I entered the world of armed policing. Mike was the Chief Superintendent. One of my first conversations with him was whilst on base room duties at Old Street. This was not the most satisfying posting, but one we all took turns performing. Mr Waldren walked in to the base room, smoking his familiar pipe, and asked me whether all was okay. I replied ‘Yes Sir’, paused and then said ‘Whilst you’re here Sir, when are we going to get folding stock MP5s and baseball caps on the ARVs’. He took another puff from his pipe, removed it from his mouth, looked me straight in the eye and said ‘Never’. He smiled at me as if to say ‘cheeky sod’ and walked out with a waft of pipe smoke following him. I remember him retiring, and seeing him at the occasional conference over the years.
In 2009, shortly after starting the PFOA, he contacted me. I will always remember his words as they gave me much needed encouragement to push on with the PFOA. He told me it was a great idea and a long time coming. That meant so much to me at that time. From that day we regularly communicated and would meet up in London for lunch when we discussed mostly police firearms history. He also attended the AGM each year as well as writing articles for the website and magazine and keeping the timeline of armed policing up to date. He is responsible for all the amazing history articles available on
the PFOA website. More latterly he had started visiting our new HQ in Chatteris. He was so excited about the Museum of Armed Policing. At the last AGM he attended we announced that the main museum room would be named the ‘Waldren Room’. He was embarrassed and flattered at this recognition. In December last year his wife Sue called me and informed me that Mike was very poorly after an operation. His condition worsened. I met up with Sue and went to see Mike a few days before he passed away. I will remember him as my ‘boss’ who became my friend. I am proud to say that the main room in the Museum of Armed Policing will be named after Mike and his QPM will be on display. He leaves behind his devoted wife Sue and their son Robert. ■ Rest in Peace Mike Waldren QPM
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WRITTEN BY MARK WILLIAMS
AROUND AND ABOUT
Forgotten The PFOA visits the Police Service of Northern Ireland
I
n the last Top Cover magazine we featured an ARV workshop that was organized by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The event was a success, and we made many friends in the process. I have since returned twice to Belfast. On the first occasion I went with Gary Cable, who sorts our website news and shop, and also sits on the Museum of Armed Policing working group. My second trip was more Federation focused accompanied by Dave Keen, Chair Notts Fed and PFOA Trustee, and Che Donald, the PFEW Armed Policing Lead. I wanted to find out more about the work and demands that PSNI officers face on a daily basis, and look at having a dedicated area in the Museum of Armed Policing to recognize the great sacrifice so many RUC and PSNI officers have made over
the years. I had set up a meeting with the Chairman of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland, Mark Lindsay, to look at ways the PFOA can support PSNI officers and their families. There was no doubt in my mind we would find the visits interesting. I had little knowledge about the PSNI apart from what I had learnt at the workshop, and seen on the news. Like most of us, particularly my generation, I have vivid memories of regular newspaper and media headlines informing us of yet more violence and death in Northern Ireland during the ‘troubles’. I remember working with RUC officers when I was a soldier. After 5 months I returned home whilst they continued policing their communities in what can only be described as a hostile and very dangerous environment. During the troubles, culminating in the Good Friday Agreement, 303 RUC Officers
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were murdered , 270 by the IRA alone. Over 7000 were wounded, many with life changing injuries. Years of violence in Northern Ireland took its toll in many ways on officers serving in the RUC. Terrorist groups have bombed, shot and beaten RUC officers to death, sometimes killing relatives and other civilians in the process. Levels of stressrelated illness have been higher than in any other police force. Almost 70 officers have committed suicide, many with their own service issue weapons. There were many acts of bravery by officers, which is borne out by the number of bravery medals awarded to RUC officers since 1969: 16 George Medals, 103 Queen’s Gallantry Medals, 11 Queen’s Commendations for Brave Conduct and 69 Queen’s Police Medals. The difficulty and danger of the RUC’s task in the face of years of terrorist violence was recognised by
the award of the George Cross to the Force in April 2000 by Her Majesty The Queen. During my first visit I went to the Remembrance Garden at PSNI HQ. What a fitting tribute it is to all those that have lost their lives serving in the RUC and PSNI. On 4 November 2001 the RUC became the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The first PSNI-trained officers took up duty in April 2002. Our host for the visit was Neil Luney, who is the Inspector in charge of ARV training. Neil took us for a tour around Belfast, which was totally eye opening! The ‘Peace Wall’ and the close proximity in which those that basically hated each other lived, amazed me. Life now is very different to how it was during the ‘troubles’. Tourist coaches now stop at prominent locations and people have their photos taken. Those from both sides of the community will happily tell you their stories. So whilst it’s fair to say it’s relatively safe, there are still regular attacks on the police. Just 2 weeks prior to our visit a male with an AK47 opened up on a patrol. Several shots were fired at the officers who were in a petrol station at the time. The officers involved stated that their training along with their ballistic protection helped save their lives. In the two days we were there, five pipe bombs were discovered, a man and a woman were shot and several officers had their houses/vehicles attacked. Very little news of these events reaches us on the ‘mainland’, which in itself is somewhat concerning. It does leave you wondering if it’s bad now, what was it like during the troubles? Never at any time did I feel threatened or in danger. The problem would only arise if I were to tell certain people what I used to do for a living, and even then I would suggest it would have to be in a hotspot area where you wouldn’t normally drink! We were able to visit an ARV course who were in their third week. Even though they are a fully armed service there is a substantial step between AFO and ARV. They also have their CT SFOs who deal with mostly pre-planned Ops. Standard issue weapons for all AFOs include the Glock 17 and G36. Whilst all officers are armed it is worth mentioning that the reason they are all armed is because of the threat against the police specifically.
This threat is still present which means many officers ‘carry’ off duty as well. We met some new recruits who were 2 weeks into their 22-week basic training. They were on the range for the first time. These are young (mostly) men and women who will have to carry a firearm on the streets when they conduct their normal duties. Because they are armed for their own protection their training reflects this. New officers have 2 weeks firearms and 1-week tactics training. If officers decide to apply for ARV work there is a very steep learning curve. The ARV course is some 11 weeks long, with lots of late nights. The course is very demanding both mentally and physically. We went along to firearms training at Ballykinler Camp and met some of the ARV course who were in week 3. They told us how difficult the ‘step up’ is from an armed officer to ARV level. I suppose the big advantage they have is that basic weapon handling skills are already in place, and the eventual carrying of a firearm in public is already built in to their policing module. ARVs patrol in either armoured Land Rovers or unmarked vehicles. Not all vehicles have ballistic protection. Officers also carry Taser and AEP baton launchers as part of their less lethal options. There are approximately 60 ARV officers in the PSNI. On any one day there are normally 2 sections of 12 ARV officers patrolling the whole of Northern Ireland. We were offered the opportunity to go out on patrol in Belfast with ARV officers in an
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AROUND AND ABOUT
armoured Landrover. We didn’t need much persuading. This was the best way to get a feel of what policing is really like in Northern Ireland. The first thing obviously is the fact you are in an armoured vehicle because of the threat against the police officers themselves! Here on the mainland we would use them as a tactical option/ containment etc. When driving around, depending on the area, the front seat passenger will have a G36 shouldered. The driver will keep the vehicle on the move as much as possible. During the ‘troubles’ they seldom stopped. Strangely, other road users give way at all times, at least it seems that way, particularly the older generation! We drove around several ‘hot spots’ where you only have to look at the murals on the walls to absorb the bitterness that exists between the various communities. I have deliberately avoided going into detail about this as it is very complex and would probably need
an article to itself to do it any justice. Suffice to say, there are organised criminal gangs on both sides of the fence. There is also still a ‘peace wall’ and gates that are closed at night, protecting the communities from each other! It’s quite surreal really, a parallel universe compared to the
way we police on the mainland. So how does normal day to day policing work? The PSNI is split into 11 districts. During the ‘troubles’ reporting a domestic incident or burglary would require several armoured vehicles, soldiers and lots of intelligence before attending. Thankfully today it’s not as
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bad. But every call needs to be assessed, and anything where there is a potential weapon involved would normally warrant sending an ARV. It again reiterates the fact that just because they are a fully armed service, they still require fully equipped specialist officers such as ARV officers and CT SFOs. This led to a lengthy discussion with Che Donald, about a subject that arises regularly. Should all UK police officers be armed? In Northern Ireland there is a specific threat against police officers, and this threat has been around for decades. The call to arm police on the mainland seems to be in reaction to terrorist attacks and when we tragically have a police officer murdered on duty. It’s a complex argument, but if everyone was armed the training would not be as comprehensive as it is now, and not everyone would be capable of handling a firearm. You would have to start at a point in time when part of the conditions of service are that you would carry a firearm, but where does that leave those currently serving that do not want to carry? It seems to me that the answer at present to this is to have more specialist trained officers such as ARV and CT SFO officers and
ensure they are spread evenly. The argument against would be the use of these resources in quiet areas. It’s a difficult one! I did go on record a couple of years ago and suggest we have some kind of ‘retained’ firearms officers in rural areas, to respond to any threats and support ‘regular’ armed officers.
Going back to the PSNI, they are a unique service with unique problems. They also have a history that has seen hundreds of officers and their family members murdered, seriously wounded and intimidated. I did find myself asking the question of whether I would like to have been a police officer in Northern Ireland. Nowadays, probably yes. Back in the troubles, probably no! On the mainland we walk beats, patrol anywhere at any given time (mostly!) and would not think twice about having a cuppa with someone in their house. We take this for granted. This is what makes the PSNI a remarkable service. They never give up, they are continually finding ways to engage and bring communities together. Of course there will always be those that hate the Police, nothing new there wherever you serve, but they keep going because they want a better future. The other question of course is would you visit Belfast as a tourist? That is a big yes! It’s now one of my favourite cities. The people are welcoming and warm. I can’t wait to go back for a long weekend and visit the various museums and sample the culinary delights and of course the fine whisky they produce! My thanks go out to Inspector Neil Luney, Frank, Ivan, Matt, Graham, the ARV Teams who spent time speaking with us, TFC Gerard and Andy and his firearms Training staff for allowing us to observe the ARV course. ■
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TOP COVER ISSUE 12 23
DR VINCE LEONARD
DR CHRIS BEIGHTON
WRITTEN BY DR CHRIS BEIGHTON AND DR VINCE LEONARD
QUO VADIS: ON THE NEED FOR DIRECTION
IN FIREARMS TRAINING
Dr Vince Leonard is the CFI for Kent and an experienced trainer, having been an AFO for just over 30 years and a firearms instructor for 31 years (the latter including employment following retirement from uniformed service).
R
ecent developments in the way policing will be managed across the south east mean that now is a time of questions and opportunities for firearms. To find out more, I asked him a few questions about the present and future of firearms work in the region. There are big changes in the air: what are they? VL Undoubtedly, the most significant change at this time, in the UK, is the “uplift” of firearms officers in response to the Government led initiative to increase the armed response to the threat of terrorist attack. Forces and Collaborations are responding to this in their own way to cater for local needs and in line with the available funding, and of course because not all Forces received Government funding but they still have, potentially, the same problems as those who have been funded.
CB
It sounds like the response might be quite fragmented. Is it intended that way?
CB
Actually, this is very much a national project that seeks to develop and enlarge the available national response to a terrorist attack. More than ever before, we are going to rely on each other for support. Of course, all this has come in the wake of stringent cuts to police budgets, the Winsor “reforms” and a consequent dip in available resources. The underinvestment in this area of police work is now harshly spot-lighted and we are hurrying to prepare before we are caught out. CB How far would you say these changes are linked to the current issues in national security? VL I think there are two main strands to the change that is taking place in armed policing and both are linked to the issue of national security. The most obvious is the establishment and growth of the CTSFO hubs. There is no disguising the national angst that has been the driving force behind their development. Preparing for the worst or at least having a viable option available in response is a sensible precaution and when protecting the public against the scale of attacks
VL
witnessed in France, Belgium, Spain, the USA and here in the UK, having a response that is trained, equipped and prepared to fight fire with fire is, regrettably, essential. The other strand is the change in the public face of policing and the “rehabilitation” of armed policing. Once regarded as the unacceptable face of policing, the armed officer is now a familiar and frequently more welcome sight on the streets of the UK. So too with officers who carry Taser. What was once a rare and unusual aspect of policing has developed into a fundamental requirement for modern police forces. There is, I suspect, now a public expectation that armed officers will be quickly on the scene of any incident where the public are faced with a potentially lethal threat and there is a growing public awareness of the duties and responsibilities of armed officers. The fact that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police recently appeared on television to explain the role of his armed officers, encouraging the public to interact with them, to me demonstrates a desire to recruit public support, remove the mystique and store up good will against the day of
24 TOP COVER ISSUE 12
a response involving fatalities and the inevitable criticisms that will follow. However, the need to reduce the “fear factor” and reassure the public with a public demonstration of available armed resources is inextricably linked to the current terrorist threat. So, there have been some positive changes in the way armed response is talked about, but are you also expecting changes for AFOs on the street? VL With national demands growing for CTSFOs, it is inevitable that more responsibility for the delivery of tactical options on a day-to-day basis is shifted onto ARV Officers and AFOs. The advances in armed policing that I have witnessed over the past thirty years do not seem to be slowing down, indeed, if anything, they are accelerating and all armed roles are becoming more generally relevant whilst at the same time developing specialist roles.
CB
Do you mean that a “jack of all trades” approach is likely to be expected? VL By this I mean that all officers meet standards that allow them to work together as a team in emergency situations without having to “muddle through” provided the current level of investment in and demand on CTSFOs is maintained. I foresee a need for armed officers outside these hubs to have the ability and capacity to deal with all armed situations within their force or collaboration boundaries without recourse to CTSFOs. Some of this will relate to response times and some to the level of threat and local expediency.
CB
OK, but is this a tactical or strategic choice, or is it just a question of funding? VL Probably both. The establishment of force collaborations in the face of stark economic realities coupled with the need to provide effective policing, means that we have to use resources in increasingly creative ways and to rely upon each other to support armed operations. Mutual aid in large operations is common-place and cross-boundary cooperation a growing factor in the strategic planning of chief officers. Therefore,
CB
I see that AFOs will, if they have not already done so, move away from providing a general policing response to become a specialist resource that will be increasingly deployable outside their own force or collaboration area. This will probably mean the “brigading” of AFOs into local or regional teams of specialists, enabling a continued review of numbers and need, for example where a force has, say twenty Protection Officers, by cooperation within a region, this number may be reduced through the support of other forces. Whether this is economically viable in the long term is questionable but it would mean that the demands on part-time Protection Officers would grow and make them more and more experienced and specialist. In summary, I think the role of the AFO will develop and become more transient. It sounds like training might be even more important than it has been in this kind of climate. Do you think this reorganisation will affect the way things are currently done? VL Almost inevitably. As forces and collaborations draw together and mutually support each other, particularly if joint operations become more frequent, it will be vital for officers to have the same equipment and to train together. So, although I do not underestimate the difficulties, I see that forces will draw together and share resources, training facilities and trainers. This should be facilitated by the growth and development of national role profiles and the sharing of best practice identified during the (re)licensing processes of the College of Policing. We will all have to recognise that we can no longer stand alone as wellperforming forces that do things in a particular way to cater for local needs. In order to support and be supported when significant events occur we must be part of an organism that works in concert.
CB
OK, but how realistic is it – surely that level of collaboration will be difficult? VL Perhaps, but this change process is already in train and we can either embrace it or risk
CB
becoming barriers. All change is painful in some way and requires effort from all sides. It cannot be imposed on an unwilling workforce and it cannot be demanded from an uncooperative management. There must be compromise and understanding and willingness to work towards an outcome that benefits everyone. Do you think that’s true form a training perspective? Yes. Management teams that VL force change on AFOs, or AFOs who exploit their position as an expensive vital resource will not be lightly forgiven when the pressure eventually eases. But training teams also have an important role to play in helping to manage and explain change, putting it into context and providing bridges to other forces and their trainers, exchanging ideas, programmes and, where possible, resources.
CB
You sound very optimistic. Do you see any problems ahead? There is a national imperative; VL the dearth in available resources for AFO training is a national disgrace. Many forces have invested over many years but others have ignored the needs of firearms training and now find it prohibitively expensive to acquire and maintain facilities suitable for firearms training. The facilities used in years gone by, such as old military bases, schools, hospitals and industrial units are becoming increasingly scarce and it is highly questionable whether we should be asking firearms officers and their instructors to source and use such facilities rather than meet the cost of providing relevant, purpose built and safe training venues. The Government have identified the importance of firearms officers in the counter-terrorist response; perhaps they should also recognise what it costs to maintain that response or, perhaps, what it will cost not to do so! Dr. Chris Beighton is a senior lecturer from Canterbury Christ Church University. He teaches on the National Firearms Instructors Course at Kent Police College and publishes on various aspects of training and professional development. ■
CB
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26 TOP COVER ISSUE 12
WELFARE COACHING INSIGHTS
When do you acknowledge that you need help?
S
ometimes people are scared to try something different, jump outside the box with an alternative therapy or maybe they just have too much pride? That means that they live with problems and issues that restrict their choices making their lives much more difficult for months and years, whilst the stress & anxiety dismantle their confidence, motivation & self-belief piece by piece in front of their very eyes. There is definitely something within the human spirit that makes us all reticent to reach out for help until ‘we have tried everything we can to fix ourselves’ when that doesn’t work, sometimes the light dawns & that moment of clarity
WRITTEN BY RAK NATHWANI
arrives & we understand that we must look outside of ourselves to help resolve our issues & tackle the demons. Some examples: fear of a variety of things from ‘failure’ to ‘social interaction’ to ‘returning to work after illness’ & an inability to cope having lost confidence from daily stresses and strains of life and work, an over reliance & addiction to coping enablers such as smoking, gambling, drinking or prescribed drugs. Or even more emotionally driven issues such as trouble coping with traumatic & challenging deployments (with or without proper debriefings), or bereavements and relationship break ups - which often lead onto other habitual troublesome issues such as eating and sleeping disorders, which can wreak havoc with the life of the person & those around them.
Officers & people alike often carry around their burdens for months if not years, wearing an ‘I’m OK mask’ whilst trying everything in their power to ‘shake off’ their demons.
RAK NATHWANI
TOP COVER ISSUE 12 27
Admitting you need help is not a sign of weakness, because it’s actually the smart thing to do...to get ‘your life back on track’. To see & hear things clearly again, having regained control over your own life rather than other people and other things dictating how you live your life day to day. The PFOA Welfare Coaches are here to help individuals who are suffering and stuck in painful situations, guiding them to look beyond their blocks and limitations (often self-imposed). As a master practitioner of Hypnosis, Neuro Linguistic Programming, Time Line Therapy™ & NLP Coaching, I favour a bespoke blend of techniques to treat the people I see. Because everyone is an individual they all have a unique perspective, with their own unique blend of stresses & strains that affect them & their mental resilience. When symptoms have been ‘buried down deep’, these tend to leak out in physical manifestations, (I have seen many examples from Psoriasis to Alopecia, more commonly Sleeping disorders through to Bell’s palsy). Nowhere is safe. These stresses and strains affect a person’s working & home lives, depending upon the variety of stressors that combine to determine the intensity of the real or perceived fears, blocks & limitations each individual experiences. Invariably the majority of issues the person is currently experiencing & struggling with are being triggered in the background by historic (sometimes traumatic) emotional events which hold a strong negative emotional charge in those events & memories which result in the person feeling emotions (of anger, sadness, fear, hurt, guilt, frustration, rage, jealousy etc.), whenever those memories & events are brought to mind. The Welfare Coaches assess & address these emotional triggers, releasing their hold of fear & limitation over the individual, ‘like pressing a big reset button’ & returning the individual to a much more resourceful positive state.
SO…., WHAT DOES HELL LOOK LIKE?
(Insights from my own personal journey from ‘Top Performing Officer’ to ‘Full Mental Breakdown & Burnout’). The journey from one end of the spectrum to the other (& who knows, you may even recognise some of the sights along the way yourself?). From being a capable confident, motivated top performer, when the stresses, strains & time pressures of work & home lives converge, sometimes mental resilience takes a bashing and when it does, you find your focus disappearing along with your strategic thinking & may find yourself ‘firefighting’ a lot more than you’d like. “Can’t see the wood for the trees” An image that comes to mind is that of a drowning man & as I struggled to cope & came up for air, there was a big boot firmly pushing my head under the surface of the water. Time marches on, as the pressures, stresses & strains (real or imagined) increase, negatively impacting your sense of confidence & self-belief, you might just find that you find it incredibly difficult to: (a) pick up on things without them having to be pointed out to you & (b) deliver the results you used to get easily, increasingly finding it difficult to find and access your positive memories (which would normally stabilise your mood & even make you feel better inside yourself). If the stresses you’re perceiving do not diminish, unfortunately the downward negative spiral state continues as the brain capacity & productivity slows, no longer functioning correctly, opting to ‘park’ (‘for later’) those tasks that are not deemed urgent & only actioning urgent tasks (firefighting). Effectively a dangerous place to be because neither you, your supervisor nor manager know ‘how many straws there are left to go - before the camel’s back breaks’. By now your sleeping pattern is regularly disturbed, you may be feeling dread, fear, anger & frustration all of the time, well on your way through a Mental Health nightmare, whilst the power of rational thought leaves you piece by piece. For me at this stage my brain was doing weird things; 2+2 = paranoia, which was a very real and
horrible place to find yourself, with that ‘pit of the stomach feeling of doom’ & yes if you were able to rationalise your situation, you would blow the paranoia out of the water, but because you are entrenched in the process, it takes a real moment of enlightenment & clarity to see what is going on in your life and recognise you need help fast. Thus, many continue ‘to do their best’ on the journey & it is fair to say by now there has been a noticeable decline in your performance & you may well be on your way through the ‘unsatisfactory performance’ / disciplinary procedure. Right about now, as stress ratchets up, just about any strong emotionally charged situation could be the one that ‘tips you over the edge’. Full or partial mental breakdown, the consequences for the individual, their family and those around them are just as devastating and concerning. Has this article struck a chord, does it resonate with you? Are you finding it a struggle to do things you did so easily before? Are daily tasks too difficult & do you struggle to cope? Have you lost clarity & your ability to think strategically & “can’t see the wood for the trees”? Do you find yourself ‘firefighting’ in a struggle to keep your head above water? Feel like you don’t seem to catch a break anymore? Feeling tired all of the time because of your disturbed sleep every night leaving you run down & exhausted? Feeling like you have been battling your own demons unsuccessfully & realise now, that you would like help to establish quick positive changes & control over your life? Take action now if you’re already a member of the PFOA (Police Firearms Officers Association 01354 697 890) or WSP (Welfare Support Programme – 01354 669 749), then call the appropriate number for help. ■
Rak can be contacted on 07784 927 640 or alternatively through his website www.futurecreationassociates.co.uk
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TOP COVER ISSUE 12 29
PFOA & FEDERATION PIP TRAINING DAY
F
irst-hand accounts from firearms officers involved in shootings helped give Staffordshire officers attending a Post-Incident Procedure (PIP) training seminar an insight into not just the harsh realities of making split-second operational decisions but also coping with the aftermath of such incidents. The event, a first for the Force, was organised by Staffordshire Police Federation Representative Dave Stubbs and was attended by 132 officers and staff from all areas of the Force and all ranks from superintendents to constables and Specials. “I was very pleased with how it went. It was a long day for officers but they remained interested throughout and the feedback has been brilliant. It makes all the work in setting it up worthwhile. I hope some barriers have definitely been brought down and this will be fed back to those who could not be at the training,” says Dave. “I did not want the day to just be another death by Powerpoint training day. I wanted the day to be very impactive and interesting to the officers. I wanted to get the risks and dangers they faced across to them without scaring them and I wanted them to understand why we did not want them making statements and detailed accounts without having the appropriate rest and legal advice.” Talking about the highlights of the day, he added: “The presentation by Dave Blocksidge was very well received and a lot of our detectives found his input fascinating. Front-line tactical and Taser officers said the highlights for them were listening to Officer ‘M’ talk about the Woolwich incident and the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby and
the presentations by Sgt ‘C’ and Sgt ‘M’ into the Staffordshire shootings they were involved in. “What was apparent to the audience was the raw emotions all three officers had and still felt which made it very real to them. Also noted, certainly by the rank and file, was the great closing speech by ACC Nick Adderley who identified that the Force was massively risk averse, needed to improve how it went about things and promised to support officers.” While Dave, who combines his role as a front-line cop with being the Federation’s Staffordshire Moorland Representative and Chair of the Constables’ Branch Board, had the idea for the training day a while ago, he feels it got off the ground when Glyn Pattison took over as the Joint Branch Board Secretary and wanted to develop a few new ideas. Both Keith Jervis, the Federation Chairman, and Dave are advanced trained conduct and performance Federation Representatives, and saw the change in the Federation leadership as an opportunity to put the idea into practice. “My biggest passion is the safety and welfare of my colleagues and representing them to the best of my ability when things go wrong for them when they are simply doing their jobs or when that incident they attend to try to help a member of the public goes wrong,” says Dave. “I work as one of the on-call Fed Reps and have been called out numerous times to colleagues who have got into difficulties at work. I have seen and DAVE STUBBS experienced first-
hand the trauma and difficulties officers can go through if they are unfortunate enough to be involved in a death or a serious injury incident involving a member of the public. To support colleagues involved in these incidents, we must be fully trained and qualified in the Post-Incident Procedure (PIP) and have understanding of the constantly evolving Authorised Professional Practice (APP).” The term ‘post-incident’ is used to describe situations in which a member of the public suffers death or serious injury following some form of contact with the police. The scope for these circumstances is broad and ranges from firearms incidents, road collisions with police vehicles, pursuits, custody procedures and general policing and incidents involving Taser which is becoming more frequent as these vital tools are further rolled out. In April 2016, Dave attended a weeklong course at Leatherhead, the Police Federation’s national headquarters, and qualified as a PIP trained representative. This training was provided by the national Federation and the Police Firearms Officers Association. “The PIP process, although designed with the interests of Key Police Witnesses - formerly known as Principal Officers - at heart, is often seen as a daunting and scary process for officers involved even though in the vast majority of cases they have acted totally properly and done nothing more than their duty,” Dave explains. “They often feel like they are being treated as suspects by their Professional Standard Department and the IPCC. The trauma and length of time IPCC investigations take has a massive impact on the officers and their families who feel under the cosh for many months if not years. It is a massive responsibility for a Federation Rep to support officers caught up in these incidents. We have to be friends to all and face very real difficulties, personal and professional, in discharging our obligations towards our friends and colleagues while also attempting to batoff, negotiate and satisfy the demands of the Force and IPCC in the process. What is crucial is that Fed Reps understand those they represent, understand what they do, understand how they are feeling and understand
30 TOP COVER ISSUE 12
COURSE?
Initial PIM Course – 5 days Advertised on POLKA
WHERE?
Local Hotel at Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire (or lift and shift to your Region or Force)
CONTACT? Yvonne Brookes Yvonne.Brookes@college.pnn.police.uk 01256 602777 Or Steve Howson (details below) Yvonne.Brookes@college.pnn.police.uk 01256 602777 Or Steve Howson (details below)
PIM Re-accreditation – 3 days Advertised on POLKA
Local Hotel Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire (or lift and shift to your Region or Force)
Yvonne Brookes (as above)
CPD training (6 hour contact) annual refresher
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire (or lift and shift to your Region or Force)
Steve Howson (Training Director) steveh@pfoa.co.uk 07557 280453
COURSE?
WHERE?
CONTACT?
Federation PIP Course – 4 days. 2017 – 16-19 Jan, 10-13 April, 31 July – 3rd Aug and 11 – 14 Dec
Leatherhead (or lift and shift to your Force or Region)
Jo Denton (Learning and Development Co-ordinator) Jo.denton@polfed.org 01372 352028
Federation PIP re-accreditation – 2 days. 2017 – 18-20 Oct and 15 – 17 Nov
Leatherhead (or lift and shift to your Force or Region)
Jo Denton (Learning and Development Co-ordinator) Jo.denton@polfed.org 01372 352028
CPD Refresher ( 5 hour contact )
Leatherhead (or lift and shift to your Force or Region)
Steve Howson (Training Director) steveh@pfoa.co.uk 07557 280453
COURSE?
WHERE?
CONTACT?
Unison Rep PIP Course – 4 days
Currently run in Bournemouth (but can lift and shift)
Debi Potter, MBE Debi.Potter@Dorset.pnn.police.uk 07941 078431
WE CAN ALSO PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING: Post Incident awareness seminars Post Incident Exercise assessing and feedback Initial Investigating Officers awareness training Inquest awareness training For further details please contact the PFOA office or email Steve Howson at steveh@pfoa.co.uk ‘PIMs must undertake annual refresher training. This process must include any relevant National Armed Policing updates and refresher packages together with local training which supports force and regional issues identified in the force’s strategic threat and risk assessment.’ ‘Forces should maintain records of officer’s refresher training in order to show their continued competence.’ ‘PIMs must be formally re-accredited at least every five years, but consideration should be given to reaccreditation between 3 – 5 years depending on operational exposure’ If you need support or advice on any type of PIM training (initial or refresher / re-accreditation) contact us on the numbers / e-mails above or at the PFOA HQ Office (01354 697890) (Info@pfoa.co.uk) or go onto the College POLKA site to view when the courses are set. Steve Howson, PFOA Training Limited Director.
STEVE HOWSON
TOP COVER ISSUE 12 31
what they are going through at quite possibly the worst time in their lives.” Having undergone the training, Dave was very conscious that the PIP was very much geared up for firearms and tactical officers who all have detailed training into the process. There is no input or training for unarmed and Taser officers who are actually more at risk of being caught up in a PIP. So he thought it would be helpful if these officers could at least be given a taster of what PIP is about and what they might expect, prompting him to approach Keith and Glyn who backed him in organising the training day with the full support of ACC Adderley and the Force which shared the cost of the day with the Federation. With this in-Force support, Dave then contacted Mark Williams of the PFOA who helped put together the event which was held at the Yarnfield Park Training and Conference Centre on Thursday 23 February. The day included an introduction from ACC Adderley, an overview of the day’s aims and objectives, a brief theory of Post-Incident Management, a case study of the Woolwich shooting incident, Staffordshire case studies – the Meir shooting and a Lichfield incident, and two Q and A sessions with expert panels, a presentation on behavioural science and memory recall, and a session on preparing for an inquest.
‘Breaking down barriers’ The event organisers were keen to break down barriers between departments. Dave Stubbs explains: “I felt there were often invisible barriers in the Force between ranks and departments. Yet one thing was clear to me in any PIP is that
everyone needs to be professional and pull together and that support for, and the welfare of, the Key Police Witnesses needs to come first. To achieve this barriers could not exist.” LPT commanders or their deputies were invited to the day because they would take the lead in having to deal with officer welfare and any community friction and issues that could arise during PIP. Detective Sergeants and Detective Inspectors attended as they potentially would be the first cog in any investigation and would have first contact potentially with IPCC. Members of the Professional Standards Department were also at the event along with representatives of the Force Welfare Department. “We then invited as many Taser officers from the response shifts as possible along with some officers from our tactical department and road crime team and colleagues from UNISON since police staff are more and more often getting caught up in PIP,” says Dave. “I asked for round tables at the venue and mixed the tables up with officers from different ranks, departments and different areas of the Force to break down barriers and get communication going. No rank was to apply for the day.”
‘PSD is not out to get you’ Officers involved in such tragic incidents feel under massive scrutiny. They can be concerned the Force is not supporting them and fear PSD is out to get them, according to event organiser Dave Stubbs. But he argues that in actual fact, in his experience, this generally could not be further from the truth. “Yes, the Force does make errors in
how it deals with officers but this is often down to a lack of communication. The Force and Professional Standards are actually very proactive behind the scenes in challenging the IPCC in order to try to protect the officers caught up in PIP. This is no mean feat as the IPCC, sadly, is a bit of a law unto itself.” He accepts that officers often think that so long as they complete full pocket notebooks and statements straightaway everything will be okay, but says one challenge he faces when being called out is making sure officers are not being made to put pen to paper without the proper advice and support. “This concept of waiting is often an alien concept because after all the officer just wants to write everything down because they have done nothing wrong. The detective or supervisor doing the initial investigation also has the same mindset and thinks early detailed statements is best evidence for the investigation,” Dave explains. “The reality is very different and by making an officer put pen to paper while having just gone through a very intense and stressful incident is putting the officer at jeopardy and, in turn, the integrity of the investigation. This was a key factor in my training into PIP where we had a fascinating lesson into memory distortion and the effects that stress plays with memory and recalling the facts of any incident.”
TASER Officers were able to take a closer look at the new Taser X2 during the training day. Frank Gibbs, a former Met and GMP officer who now works for Axon Taser, attended and brought the new model for officers to view. Once signed off by the Home Office the Taser X2 will replace the current devices. ■
Guest speakers The training day was opened by ACC Nick Adderley. Other speakers were: Steve Howson - PFOA Training Officer ‘M’(Met Police) Dave Blocksidge - PFOA Training Sgt ‘C’ – Staffs Police Sgt ‘M’ – Staffs Police Supt Mick Boyle Supt Sharrard-Williams
32 TOP COVER ISSUE 12
DAVE BLOCKSIDGE
There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion. Winston Churchill
‘THE PUBLIC WRITTEN BY DAVE BLOCKSIDGE
RIGHTLY EXPECTS’ ‘The public rightly expects that those who witness a death or serious injury, or incidents relating to it, whilst acting in a professional capacity, should co-operate fully with an investigation, offering up all relevant information in a prompt and open manner. Failure to do so damages not only the effectiveness of the investigation but also the public’s confidence in the Police Service’. IPCC DSI Statutory Guidance 2017
I
n previous editions of Top Cover, the topic of perceptual distortion has been discussed in great detail and new research presented, highlighting just how firearms officers may process information and then react under high stress. Across the UK Police Firearms Training Centres are alive to the issue of mistaken but honestly held beliefs, aware that what a ‘firer’ believed to be happening may not be supported by film (BWV) or other forensic evidence. Firearms officers, generally, appreciate the potentially limiting effect of fast time decision making and also the
TOP COVER ISSUE 12 33
Retrieval-induced forgetting: 1 Evidence for a recall-specific mechanism MC Anderson, EL Bjork, RA Bjork Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2000 - Springer Bailey, F. L., & Rothblatt, H. B. 2 (1985). Successful techniques for criminal trials. Rochester, NY: Lawyers Co-operative. Fisher, R., Brewer, N., & Mitchell, 3 G. (2009). The relation between consistency and accuracy of witness testimony: Legal versus cognitive explanations. In T. Williamson, R. Bull, & T. Granhag, P. A., & Stromwall, L. A. 4 (2001a). Deception detection: Examining the consistency heuristic. In C. M. Breur, M. M. Kommer, J. F. Nijboer, & J. M. Reijntjes (Eds.), New trends in criminal investigation and evidence, volume 2 (pp. 309–321). Antwerpen, Belgium: Intresentia. Forgetting as a consequence of 5 retrieval: a meta-analytic review of retrieval-induced forgetting. K Murayama, T Miyatsu, D Buchli, BC Storm - 2014 - psycnet.apa.org Shaw JS III, Bjork RA, Handal A. 6 1995. Retrieval-induced forgetting in an eyewitness-memory paradigm. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review 2: 249–253. significant impact of priming, that is - pre-event intelligence potentially biasing judgements. It is also fair to acknowledge that greater understanding of some of these limiting Human Factors is now also appreciated by some, but not all, IPCC investigators. Notwithstanding the above, it is still the case that the credibility of each firearms officer’s written account, post shooting, remains vulnerable to criticism. This can be for many different reasons and perceptual errors are just one factor. The credibility of the police witness is also affected by the methods with which investigators pursue answers to their questions. Repeated questioning has a great potential to alter memory and also lead to the forgetting of facts, this phenomenon is not widely appreciated, but is another significant factor feeding the vulnerability of a police witness’s credibility. It is the case that Key Police Witnesses are exposed to a barrage of questions by IPCC investigators post shooting. The demand for further statements and
interviews can go on for months and frequently years. What is not acknowledged within IPCC guidance is the recognition that as an investigative body their method of post event questioning, however well intentioned, has a great potential to alter a witness’s memory of the information that is the subject of their questions. Indirectly, and perhaps unwittingly the IPCC influence and potentially alter a witness’s memory, and this is due in part to a poor understanding of what memories actually are. They, the IPCC, would no doubt argue that the same issues are prevalent with police interviewing, and to a certain degree they would be correct. There is now abundant scientific evidence that establishes a more paradoxical feature of human memory in relation to limited reporting and statement writing, coupled to specific questioning strategies: Frequently, the act of remembering can cause forgetting of information closely associated to a specific item or feature of memory, which has not been previously reported. This is especially true when investigators ask narrow or limiting follow-up questions about specific
topics. While strengthening the detail and a memory trace for the specific answer provided, peripheral or unasked detail can become suppressed and inhibited from future retrieval. In trying to be helpful by answering specific questions, a witness would be quite unaware that other features of the incident that are or were available within their memory can become weakened and forgotten as a direct result of focussing on specific points of evidence. Simply stated, information known to the witness can become suppressed and unavailable for recall simply because of the specific focus of questions adopted by the investigation team. This is because interviews containing specifically targeted questions amount to incomplete memory retrieval task. The potential result is that the memory traces for information unrelated to the question (but perhaps equally important for cross examination) are weakened and may suffer impairment should that witness be asked about additional features at some later time. Furthermore, add to this problem the potential time delay in asking follow-up questions and the Key Police Witness faces the perfect storm. The original memory traces have been tailored into a specific
34 TOP COVER ISSUE 12
narrative that is strongly remembered and often repeatedly revisited with legal teams as a witness prepares for Inquest. Additional information already suppressed by the strength of the first accounts, fades into long term memory and is unlikely to be accessed by a witness. If recalling limited events and facts frequently impairs the witness’s later ability to recall previously unreported but related knowledge and information, it becomes essential that the quality of the initial accounts are full and complete in terms of the quality and accuracy of information. This is vital for subsequent retrieval attempts. This is why a document such as the Self Administered Interview (SAI) could greatly assist the quality of information provided by the Key Police Witness. Since the design of the document enables a KPW to write their account with all the facilitative benefits of context reinstatement and cued recall (cognitive interview), and engage within a process that does not limit the act of remembering. Investigators and the Courts must appreciate that the very task of repeated questioning will almost certainly lead to aspects of ‘Retrieval Induced Forgetting’1 specifically for many other elements of the event not previously mentioned within earlier interviews, witness’s statements or answers. In the context of investigative interviewing where multiple accounts have been elicited from a witness, concerns are often expressed with respect to the ‘consistency’ of such accounts. Such concerns are perhaps unsurprising as, particularly in legal circles, there seems to be an underlying assumption that consistency is indicative of accuracy while inconsistency is associated with inaccuracy. Indeed, exploiting inconsistencies often forms an important part of an active defence or prosecution strategy to discredit witnesses2. For judges, prosecutors and other legal experts, witness inconsistency appears to serve as an index of, or diagnostic cue to, witness inaccuracy on the grounds that inconsistency suggests a poorer recall of events3 or a direct cue to deception4. Inconsistencies in testimony are frequently used to discredit witnesses on the stand during cross-examination. When people conceptualise how information is stored and retrieved, they often assume that memory acts in
a way that is analogous to a computer or recording device. Specifically, they assume that information that is deemed worth remembering is encoded or ‘recorded’ for later retrieval, and that when such information is retrieved, it will exist just as it was, unaltered by the retrieval process. Research suggests, however, that the dynamics of memory are decidedly more complex than that. The very act of retrieval can alter the accessibility of information in memory, such that items that are retrieved become more recallable in the future than they would have been otherwise, and related information that was not retrieved becomes less recallable. In this way, retrieval modifies memory with both positive and negative consequences5. In summary, when we experience failures in remembering items of information such lapses in memory are attributable to a number of factors. First, the memory trace for the item may simply have decayed over time. Second, the item may have been encoded but is unavailable for conscious inspection because inappropriate retrieval cues have been employed. Third, the retrieval cues may have been insufficiently specified giving rise to competition for retrieval between. Witnesses to police shootings are repeatedly questioned about the event by IPCC investigators, lawyers and also
acquaintances. Shaw et al. (1995)6 suggest that the questions posed often constitute incomplete retrieval tasks as the questions tend to be limited to specific aspects of the incident. Within IPCC investigations, there are many reasons as to why witnesses might not be asked to recall as much detail as possible about the event initially e.g. the IPCC may be principally concerned with current investigative goals that determine those aspects of the event considered most important; there may be insufficient time, or the IPCC may simply not have a full grasp of the complexity of what had occurred. Thus, as Shaw et al. (1995, ibid) point out, it is conceivable that those details that were not the subject of initial retrieval practice, may in time become critical aspects within a court case. As a direct result of repeated questioning these memory details may suffer impairment during any subsequent retrieval of a witness’s account (e.g. during a trial). The Courts must appreciate the fact that repeated interviewing or additional questioning has a great potential to distort a witness’s memory. It should not be assumed that a witness is being deceptive or deliberately lying, since the very process of selective questioning can cause significant memory loss for certain details. ■
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PFOA NEWS
JOIN THE PFOA
WHY WOULDN’T YOU?
W
ITH OVER 7,500 MEMBERS UK wide the PFOA is a registered charity ready and willing to support you and your family. We can assist with any matter that affects your work, or that has caused you or your family distress or worry. The cost? Just £4 per month, which has remained the same since we started in early 2009! You can join on-line at www.pfoa.co.uk or call us on 01354 697890. Some forces have deduction from pay already set up. Please speak to your PFOA force coordinator for further details. The PFOA is an essential member service for all those involved in firearms operations and their families. What are you waiting for? Join us now!
Email info@pfoa.co.uk or Call Debbie or Cheryl on 01354 697 890 Online www.pfoa.co.uk SOME OF THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE... FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY Private Counselling, EMDR, Hypnotherapy and CBT Therapy Access to 20 PFOA NLP Coaches A fully staffed 24/7-phone support line A regular magazine TOP COVER and PDF magazine TOP COVER Express Respite break for families Financial assistance with respect to illness or serious injury Access to principal officers and their
families for peer support Occupational Physiotherapy (for injuries on duty sustained after 1st August 2016) Membership for anyone involved in operational firearms including AFOs, PIMs, SFC/TFC/OFC, Issuing Officers, Dog Handlers, Negotiators, Retired Officers, Taser Officers.
WHAT WE DO The PFOA has been created to support all those involved in firearms operations, and their families. It is managed by serving and retired police officers with many years experience in this field. It offers a unique package of support for officers and their families, which is supported by NPCC Armed Policing Group. Created by firearms officers in 2009, the Association became a registered Charity in England and Wales in 2010. It provides discreet welfare support to members and their families. There are times when an officer or his/her family do not wish to avail themselves of support offered by the force, or the force has no provision to provide this support. The PFOA gives officers and their families a choice. One of the main objectives of the PFOA has been to support the often forgotten-about families. Much of the work we do has nothing to do with shootings. We have supported families where there is a serious illness, stress and anxiety basically anything that affects the work of the officer. Of course we can only do a certain amount for £4 per month! So we do not provide discipline representation, legal support or debt consolidation.
The PFOA has a CEO, Mark Williams, and three Trustees. We also have an Executive Committee.
TRUSTEES AND EXECUTIVE Jim Roger Steve Hartshorn Gary Cable Michelle Booth Tim Ferris Paul Leggett Dave Keen
Police Scotland MPS Essex Gwent CNC Humberside Notts
WELFARE SUPPORT LINE Not for everyday police related enquiries T: 01354 669 749 Note: All requests for support will be considered by our trustees. Each request will be decided on its own merits. The PFOA is not a replacement for private healthcare. Whilst we will take a view on any request for assistance, we will not fund private health care such as MRI scans etc. unless there is clear evidence of hardship or where OH and NHS services are unacceptably delayed. All requests for counselling or PFOA NLP Coaching will be dealt with within 48 hours or sooner. This includes all close family members. ■
Debbie and Cheryl
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T
he first ever national conference on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder took place on the 22nd March 2017 and was held at Lancashire Police HQ and training college in Preston. Well over 100 delegates attended, with each of the Home Office forces along with BTP, PSNI, Police Scotland, Police Federations and Police Charities sending representatives, including the PFOA. There was a broad spectrum of experience attending from Senior officers, policy makers, Occupational Health, TRiM coordinators, Healthcare professionals and of course officers that had experienced PTSD. The day was organised by The Police Dependants Trust and the conference was opened by Gill Scott-Moore, the CEO of the PDT. Alastair Stewart OBE, Journalist and TV presenter from ITV News, was the facilitator for the day, keeping the agenda running to time and introducing the guest speakers. Dr Jess Miller, Neuropsychologist was the first speaker. Her presentation was “Understanding the ‘Policing Brain’ from Genetics to Trauma Management” and gave a real insight into how PTSD effects the different parts of the brain. Dr Miller’s current research is in the role of DNA in trauma processing and an interesting fact to emerge is that 30% of UK adults (white British) are missing a brain drive gene, leaving them more likely to suffer from PTSD from trauma exposure. Next up was Dr Ceri Jones, senior research fellow at Cardiff University and Occupational Psychologist, who spoke about “Second Victims” within Healthcare and any lessons that could be learnt by the Police Service. It is estimated that 50% of healthcare professionals will experience Second Victim within their career. Second Victim is where you as a professional dealing with a victim/ patient become traumatized by the events or an unexpected event takes place in the course of dealing with them, leaving you feeling guilty for failing the victim. Dr Noreen Tehrani, Trauma Specialist who is also the chair of the Crises, Disaster and Trauma Section at the British Psychological Society, spoke about Trauma Screening. She spoke
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NATIONAL CONFERENCE POST-TRAUMATIC
STRESS DISORDER
IN FRONTLINE POLICING LANCASHIRE POLICE HQ
GARY CABLE
about a number of high risk roles with an increased likely exposure to trauma, two of which relate directly to Armed Policing - Authorised Firearms Officers and Negotiators. Evidence would suggest screening and psychological surveillance has a benefit of increasing the efficiency of OH services and can identify emerging and hidden stress that in most cases can be resolved. Not all forces carry out routine screening. There is currently Home Office funding to screen all negotiators nationally. Early intervention is the key with PTSD and end of shift diffusing by supervisors should be carried out, although I have some doubts how practicable that would be. Dr Walter Busuttil, Medical Services Director for Combat Stress was up next. Dr Busuttil, prior to taking up his role with Combat Stress was a consulting Psychiatrist with the Royal Air Force. His presentation was PTSD and the Military - what can we learn? He explained the role of Combat Stress and the fact they are treating a number of Police Officers (to be a veteran you need only serve one day to receive assistance). The average age to be diagnosed with PTSD within the Armed Forces is 41.8 and for service personnel aged 24 or under there is a higher risk of suicide.
It was interesting that out of 293 veterans diagnosed with PTSD, 47 of those had close family members who went on to develop some form of Mental Health illness. There is a link with PTSD and improper behaviour (misconduct) within the Armed Forces. Following lunch, questions were put to the panel with Alastair Stewart firing questions from the floor to the guest speakers in true news journalist style! DCC Andy Rhodes, NPCC Lead on Wellbeing spoke about the national plan and the new website “Oscar Kilo”, encouraging self screening and advice for supervisors and management. DCC Rhodes spoke about addressing poor sickness policies that are not effective and a development of a onestop diagnosis for Mental Health. It is also important, if appropriate, to allow officers to retire with dignity. Two workshop sessions were carried out, the questions being “Knowledge Gaps and Priorities” with 10 of the 12 tables identifying poor training and poor knowledge of Mental Health issues on the part of supervisors and managers. This was the first ever conference on PTSD and it was good to see a genuine interest by all the delegates to improve and share information to increase support and treatment given to officers. ■
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08/07/17 NORWICH CHARITY BOXING EVENT
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(UWCB) Ultra White Collar Boxing. n 08 July 2017 PC Matt Read is competing in a charity boxing event in Norwich, helping to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. Matt is currently an AFO with Norfolk Constabulary having transferred from the Ministry of Defence Police in 2012. He has worked a variety of roles within the police service for nearly 13 years. The event he is taking part in is being organised by Ultra White Collar Boxing which is a national organisation that runs similar events all over the country. UWCB raises a serious amount of cash for charity and are the UK’s biggest fundraisers for Cancer Research UK. By the end of 2017 they hope to have raised over £10 million. Matt is definitely up to the challenge and aims to raise as much as possible for such a worthy cause. He has already raised £100 in a handful of
days and in-between training is busy selling tickets to his friends and family. His formal White Collar training starts on 15 May but he has been hitting the gym to prepare already. Whilst he doesn’t know who he will be fighting, UWCB will ensure it will be an evenly matched
opponent. The event is open to complete beginners and the fighters are all required to wear head guards and 16oz gloves. Matt says “I am a keen boxing fan but I have never really competed before, I am really looking forward to it. I have been training hard and am definitely going to be ready to get in the ring. It is such a worthy cause and one close to my heart having lost both parents to cancer in my late teens and early twenties, any donation to Cancer Research is a big deal for me and makes all the training worthwhile”. Matt has been an active member of PFOA since the beginning of his firearms career and regularly encourages new firearms colleagues to sign up. ■ If anyone would like to support Matt and donate to Cancer Research UK they can do so via (Just giving) https://www.justgiving. com/fundraising/Matt-Readboxing
TOP COVER ISSUE 12 39
WRITTEN BY DIRECTOR OF TRAINING BRIAN DILLON (RETIRED CH/SUPT MET POLICE)
IIO PIP AWARENESS WORKSHOPS
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Initial Investigation henever post incident procedure is raised the focus is frequently on the independent investigative authority which in England and Wales means the IPCC. Given their status and significant legal powers this is no surprise. The decisions they take and their conduct of the investigation have far reaching consequences. On some occasions the post incident investigation has unfortunately become an area of controversy itself. Meanwhile those affected by the original police shooting have no choice but to stand by and observe as events play out over time and in various judicial theatres. Clearly there is only so much that can be done in these situations; the law must be followed and procedures allowed to run their course. Nevertheless, in any post incident scenario it’s important that the initial inquiry gets off to the right start. The authorised professional practice specifies that there are two objectives in the investigation of a police-related shooting. The first is to ensure that the law is properly followed and implemented so that if necessary criminal proceedings are brought; the second is to safeguard police accountability, whether or not a prosecution takes place. In the initial stages of a post incident investigation the responsibility for the management of the inquiry rests with the police service until
Brian Dillon (Retired Ch/Supt Met Police)
such time as the independent authority assumes control. In conventional major investigations, great emphasis is placed on the golden hour. This is the vital early phase of an inquiry when witnesses, scenes and evidence are fresh and raw. It is well known that prompt and professional work in this stage is an essential element in a successful investigation and many cases have been won and lost on the initial actions. Firearms officers and commanders deserve fair treatment in post incident procedures. It is therefore imperative for investigations to be conducted in a manner so that the integrity of the inquiry is beyond reproach. Although the IPCC have their part to play this responsibility applies equally to the police. It is essential that the initial investigative stages are conducted professionally and in line with national procedures. Any gaps or omissions provide opportunities for those who seek to challenge police integrity and by extension cast doubt on the legitimacy of the police shooting. However, the dynamics of an officer involved shooting are very different from other inquiries. Rather than a “who done it?” the question posed is “why did it happen?” The golden hour principles are relevant in a post incident scenario and, if anything, take on added significance in that it is
the activity of the police that is under scrutiny. Prompt engagement with the independent investigative authority is essential and in turn acting to facilitate their requests. But in almost all cases they will not be immediately physically present and will take time to arrive on scene; thus the primary significant actions in the golden hour will be conducted by the police. Officers must take all reasonable steps to secure and preserve evidence which includes witness testimony and any potential forensic material. The impact of these early decisions and their underlying rationale can cast a long shadow over the entire incident. In performing their functions the police initial investigator will have to engage with the post incident manager, forensic examiners, pathologist, force media personnel, chief officer and, of course, the representative of the independent investigative authority. There might also be additional stakeholders to consider, for example the other emergency services. Family liaison, officer welfare and community issues will also need careful thought and although roles are defined the reality is that numerous interdependencies exist. Inevitably the initial investigator will draw on additional resources to support them and it is important that this team receives an appropriate briefing as to their tasks, incident context and unique features. But leaving aside the post incident issues there is another aspect to address which relates to the criminal activity that precipitated police opening fire. Inevitably a parallel investigation must take place and the parameters between the two inquiries need to be determined; whilst it can be seen that an ongoing operation presents challenging complexities even a single incident will require careful thought because in this arena nothing is straight forward. The initial investigator’s job, like others in post incident procedures, is not for the faint hearted – the stakes are simply too high. ■ PFOA Training will be running IIO Post Incident awareness workshops from August 2017. For further details please contact Steve Howson on email steveh@pfoa.co.uk or 07557 280453
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