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WELCOME TO ISSUE 9 OF TOP COVER. Since our last magazine there has been a number of Police involved shootings, three in the space of a month in the Met. There is no rhyme or reason when a police shooting will occur, but one thing is for certain, when called upon, armed officers are the ones running towards the danger to protect others. We have also had a number of cases involving Taser, which has caused much debate in the media. As with any ‘less lethal’ options at your disposal the work armed officers carry out is not always a precise science, people will get hurt and sometimes people will die. Statistics show quite clearly that since the introduction of ‘less lethal’ options more people are alive as without these options more would have been shot using a conventional firearm. There has been an inquest recently involving a firearms officer from the Met, ‘K35’. ‘K35’ shot a suspect who was about to kill a woman hostage. The bravery and professionalism displayed by ‘K35’ and his colleagues is to be commended. You can read more about this case later in the magazine where Steve Hartshorn the SCO19 Federation Representative expresses his views on events. The incredible work you do is also recognized by the Policing Minister, former Grenadier Guard, The Rt. Hon Mike Penning who has written personally for TOP COVER. In this edition read more about our Museum of Armed Policing project which we are certain will help us to deliver your message to the public and media. The Museum will feature a judgment range to demonstrate the complex decision making armed officers are faced with in their day to day work. We also hear from Tony Long on his thoughts around his murder trial and how it affected him and his family. Tony will be speaking at our PIM Welfare Workshop on the 4th November. Remember, we are here to help; we have a 24/7 phone support line for PFOA members and their families. This support line has dedicated staff ready and willing to help you and your family. Full details and the phone number can be found on page 36 of the magazine. Enjoy the magazine and thanks for all you do.
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SIT BACK, GRAB A TEA AND BEGIN Dean Joseph shooting VIEWPOINT Mike Penning STRONG TOWER National Counter Terrorism Excercise ACHIEVING BEST EVIDENCE – FOR WHO? Interviewing methods under scrutiny TONY’S LONG JOURNEY TO ‘NOT GUILTY’ Tony Long’s perspective on the Azelle Rodney trial
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TONY LONG Azelle Rodney trial ends
LAW & REGS Court of Appeal rules that the IPCC cannot act as ‘Judge and Jury’
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STRONG TOWER National Counter Terrorism Excercise
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FEATURE
SIT BACK, GRAB A TEA AND BEGIN.
Steadily and covertly he crouched outside the flat next to the local officer who was maintaining the tense and fragile situation.
WRITTEN BY STEVE HARTSHORN
A
shooting took place in the early hours of the 5th September 2014, the next shift after the murder beheading of the lady in North London by a crazed and deprived lonewolf with a very big knife. The shift that had dealt with this blood-soaked and violent detention were still going through the PIP process when the night duty had come on. Little did they know that they too would be back for their very own PIP. Mr. Joseph had smashed his way into a flat, by breaking a window, belonging to his ex girlfriend, Julie Moyses and taken her hostage at knife point. Numerous neighbours had called police to report the incident and the intital public accounts in relation to his threats to kill her and the level of aggression read like a prologue from a James Patterson novel. The comments taken from those witnesses over the phone led you to believe that she was going to die that night and it was only a matter of when and how painfully. Officers from the local area of Islington arrived and deployed very promptly and began to negotiate with the male via an open window. The threats continued and he held her at knifepoint for over an hour. The knife, at times, was at his own throat and he had made threats to kill himself so as to prevent police taking any immediate action. He had Julie Moyses as a human shield and declared that he would end it that night. K35, the officer who shot Dean Joseph, had been deployed for approximately 30 minutes. He was on the front aspect with his G36 carbine rifle. Steadily and covertly he crouched outside the flat next to the local officer who was maintaining the tense and
fragile situation. The turning point came when Mr. Joseph very swiftly, purposely and without warning, thrust the knife towards Miss Moyses’ throat from his own and began to sink the blade into her neck. The officer recalled not only seeing the knife pushing into her flesh, but the gasping of her breath and sheer panic in her eyes as she believed that she was going to die that very moment. He believed that she was going to be murdered and he had only one option. The line in the sand had been crossed and K35 delivered the first round from the G36 to the central body mass with a deafening rapport. With his focus still on the threat and no noticeable reaction from the subject, a second round was discharged, again to the central body mass. This time the effects began to show and the knifeman slumped back and the knife was lowered. Within seconds a
distraction device was deployed and the entry team of ARVs, London’s uniformed armed response, entered the room amid the smoke and flashing of the stun grenade. Miss Moyses, shaken from the ordeal and deafened by the gunshot and entry method, was taken away for First Aid whilst the entry team began immediate life support on the dying male. The London ambulance service, which had been at the RVP, were brought forward and began their protocols in dealing with gun shot wounds. K35 and colleagues were returned to the East London base from which they had been deployed a matter of hours earlier. A phone call was taken a short while later and it was confirmed that the subject had died. For Julie the physical horror of her ordeal was over.
Even though the officer didn’t maintain his anonymity, I’ve still chosen to keep it as he wants to remain as low profile as possible. His name is out in the Press but its not my job to promote it without the officer’s permission. There is very little reported news at present about the case. A local reporter from the Islington recorder tried to be alarmist and as provocative as he could about police actions, but the truth is that because of police action, a woman’s life was saved, and a life taken. The actions of Mr. Joseph caused the end result. Time, space and considerations were given to him but, as has been said before by others, the subjects don’t go to the briefings so they don’t do as they should! Much has been made by way of unfounded accusations and assertions from thin air by barristers from the, at the time of his death, estranged family of Mr. Joseph, that police have panicked and conferred to get stories straight. As was pointed out by K35 himself, if he had delayed in taking action he would have been at Julies Moyses’ inquest answering why he didn’t do anything. The officer can now comtemplate life without the spectre of what felt like a Spanish Inquisition into his actions. The IPCC report is at best ill-advised and poor in content, style and, in my opinion, not independent at all. It serves only he IPCC and their case to seek more powers. The repatriation of Cilla Black, the charging of an alleged terrorist supporter Anjam Choudery and the story of an ex prime minister and his alleged sexual deviations will eclipse the brave actions of K35 and others, which isn’t a bad thing as long as their actions are recognised. Once the victim’s account had been given, the National Press lost interest as it became very clear that police had no options left. Good news isn’t news. Miss Moyses couldn’t attend the court, such was the impact of the actions by Mr. Joseph. She has what I am told are PTSD symptoms – any wonder really. K35 would like to say thank you to the PFOA for the support shown then, now and in the future. You are making a difference ■
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VIEWPOINT
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WRITTEN BY MIKE PENNING, MINISTER FOR POLICING, CRIME, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND VICTIMS
t has been longstanding policy in this country that the police should not generally be armed. I believe this gives character to our policing that we should not readily give up. It is vital at promoting good relations with the public and underpins our model of policing by consent. However, I know that on the thankfully rare occasions when specialist armed officers are needed to confront an imminent threat to life or serious injury, officers like you can be called upon. I know what a tremendous job you do when voluntarily putting yourselves in harm’s way to protect the public. I know how you face great risks as you go about your work and how you are often the first to respond when dangerous, unexpected scenarios arise. Your dedication demonstrates the true spirit of British policing. British firearms officers make up just 4.6% of the police force in England and Wales and are some of the most highly skilled and well trained officers on our streets. Between 2008 and 2014, there have been over 111,300 incidents where firearms officers have responded to emergency calls or taken part in intelligence based operations. In that time there have been only 25 incidents where firearms were discharged by officers. On all those occasions, within highly pressurised environments, our firearms officers have had to make split second decisions whether to shoot and possibly
kill somebody. It is a testament to your training, skills and judgement that the loss of life is extremely rare. Having served on operations in Northern Ireland with the British Army I appreciate the dangers firearms officers put themselves in everyday. I also understand that the job comes with a unique set of issues and pressures. There is no question that firearms officers cannot be exempt from the rule of law and must use a proportionate level of force when faced with violent and life threatening situations. However, high-profile cases such as the fatal shootings of Mark Duggan and Azelle Rodney have seen the work of firearms officers put under the microscope. Half of the officers who discharge their weapon end up leaving the police, regardless of whether it was found that the level of force used was proportionate to the situation. This undoubtedly puts pressure on firearms officers while you carry out your duties and poses questions in the minds of police officers thinking of signing up to become an armed police officer. That is why the Home Office has asked DCC Simon Chesterman to raise the issue of morale and officer welfare at the Armed Policing Working Group to understand what more can be done to support firearms officers, whether they have had to discharge their weapon or not. Policing on the whole is changing which brings its own challenges but also opportunities. We know that modern
technology can improve the way you interact with the public, as well as dramatically reducing bureaucracy and saving police time. Around the country, body-worn video is transforming the way you gather evidence and boosting public confidence in the police. I have seen first-hand how this technology in everyday policing allows officers to capture and manage evidence more efficiently and I believe, if implemented appropriately, it will be incredibly beneficial for firearms operations. Some of you will have been part of a year-long pilot within the Metropolitan, Staffordshire and South Wales forces with the aim of understanding how body-worn video can be used in a firearms setting. I look forward to hearing the views of officers when the pilot concludes shortly and hope it will lead to further successful implementation of this innovative technology. As Minister for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Victims, I am determined to make sure our firearms officers are better equipped for modernday crime prevention and ensure they are supported appropriately as they work in extremely stressful situations. Our British firearms officers, who volunteer into this role to protect the communities they serve, are some of the bravest members of our society and we owe them our deepest gratitude for the work they carry out ■
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FEATURE
NATIONAL COUNTER TERRORISM EXERCISE
STRONG TOWER
T
he National CounterTerrorism Exercise STRONG TOWER, which took place on 30th June and 1st July, was designed to test the UK’s terrorism contingency planning arrangements based on multiple armed attacks. The intention was to deliver an event as close to realism as possible so that participants would be fully immersed in a fast moving terrorist incident. Considerable thought was put into developing a scenario that would test the operational frontline response as well as commanders in operations rooms. We researched similar incidents around but purposefully avoided recreating any previous event. The planning had commenced prior to the awful attack in Paris but that incident certainly served to underscore the exercise’s importance and the challenges faced in a capital city not dissimilar to London.
WRITTEN BY BRIAN DILLON Deputy Exercise Director, Metropolitan Police Service.
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FEATURE To deliver the realism required meant exercising in central London during the day at real venues. Securing suitable locations presented challenges – we needed understanding owners who were prepared to hand over their sites for reasons which we weren’t entirely prepared to disclose. We wanted space and seclusion without causing too much disruption to the public, which isn’t easily achieved in central London. Transport for London, London Fire Brigade and Canary Wharf Group all agreed to provide us with facilities which worked really well and allowed us to start the development of a viable scenario. A key element of the preparation was working in partnership with all participating agencies and over 17 organisations joined in. Beyond this we also enlisted expertise in engineering, security and a specialist company to simulate news and social media. In a sense the planners created an entire virtual world built around the exercise. However the full details of the entire scenario – what would happen by who and when etc. – was known only by a handful of officers. So, we had a scenario, venues and widespread reach to plan the exercise. The next stage was exercise participants. We set out to replicate the numbers that would be available from the emergency services. The idea was that
when commanders required firearms officers, specialist paramedics or other skills they would have them available for deployment. This required intricate planning – the scenario and anticipated actions had to be worked through so that the correct assets were on stream. The numbers involved, from the police around 1,000, were vast and setting the stage for the exercise itself was a major event with careful logistical planning required. To avoid teams of emergency services careering around London on blue lights exercise participants were corralled into holding centres and only deployed when tasked to do so by the playing exercise commanders. As officers arrived at venues they were confronted with realistic scenes – we used several hundred volunteers who acted as citizens caught up in events. Some volunteers were dressed as casualties, some were mobile, others not and all of this presented responders with the need to work with other emergency services in a hostile environment. The volunteers provided fantastic assistance and without them the exercise would not have been the same. Inevitably the exercise attracted media attention and we agreed in advance their operating parameters, balancing the justifiable public interest against our need to maintain focus on delivering an
exercise and not a demonstration. The media understood this and the event was reported sensibly generating more positive than negative comments. As regular readers will know it isn’t always like this in armed policing. Now the exercise is over the key question is what did we learn? It’s a simple enquiry but cannot be answered so easily. We’ve worked hard to develop our response and multi-agency working with partners so there is confidence in our abilities which was borne out in the exercise. However there is no room for complacency and it is important to take the time to debrief event comprehensively so lessons are identified. Nevertheless the exercise demonstrated the professionalism and skill of armed officers and the levels of interoperability already achieved. Although the majority of officers deployed were from the Metropolitan Police also used were armed response officers from British Transport Police and City of London Police. The CTSFO Network is understandably London centric but the key point is it’s a network and officers beyond the Met were deployed in STRONG TOWER working alongside their London colleagues. A national exercise generated a national response and firearms officers were certainly at the sharp end ■
From planning to performance… It all started on a wet night just before Christmas when I got an evening phone call asking me if I wanted to get involved in planning a terrorism exercise. I said yes just to have a change of scenery – little did I know what this entailed! Six months later, under the eyes of the world’s Press, the results of what the team achieved were on show to everyone. I like to think that the end result was one of the biggest and most realistic firearms exercises that we have ever seen. During a debrief, the fact that an experienced ARV Sergeant told us he had to pause for a moment to think about the casualty covered in blood crawling towards him screaming for help, made us realise that we had hit the spot. Critical to the success of the exercise was early acknowledgement that a small team of Firearms Instructors with a wide range of skills would need to be dedicated full time to the six months of planning. The Instructors worked hand in hand with other experts from
WRITTEN BY NIGEL LYONS Deputy Exercise Director, Metropolitan Police Service
the Met’s Counter Terrorist Command SO15, Emergency Planning, British Transport Police, London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade all similarly dedicated to the planning team. The fusion of all these experts and the way they worked closely with each other meant that problems and issues (there were many of them!) were identified early on and dealt with – or at least dealt with as best we could.
side and of course the Training wing. It was also critical to success that we took a common-sense attitude to the ‘Circle of Trust’ that we needed. This circle obviously grew as time went on, but it was important that other expert instructors were brought in to ensure realism and practicality in their own areas, such as working in smoke-filled environments, EMOE, helicopters, boats and abseiling.
Other exercises that I had been involved in did not seem to have as much of the realism-factor in their planning and execution. The fact that all the interested groups were working together meant that we could discuss and reach sensible early decisions that satisfied all the players come the great day.
The exercise venues needed much work due to their Central London locations, involving massive marshalling and traffic management plans.
Organising the entire complement of what the Met could provide in terms of specialist firearms assets over two days meant a huge commitment from SCO19, both from the Operations
In short, we wanted to invest as much effort and planning as possible to deliver the ‘Gold Standard’ of exercise, covering aspects such as ultra-realistic casualties screaming for help, explosions, smoke and a little measure of controlled chaos! I believe it worked on the day, and the lessons everyone learned will further prepare us and save lives in the future ■
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SCIENCE ON THE STREET
ACHIEVING BEST EVIDENCE – FOR WHO? It is always interesting to meet academics and police officers trained in the theory of Achieving Best Evidence (ABE); so many really believe that they are great interviewers.
WRITTEN BY DAVE BLOCKSIDGE
davidblocksidge@msn.com david.blocksidge@met.police.uk +44 (0)7866 734422
E
ven more believe that their intervention with a witness genuinely reveals more of the ‘truth’ behind their investigation. Surprisingly few detectives really appreciate just how memory is influenced and affected by their personal interactions with witnesses. Many investigators are really quite poor at interviewing and taking statements but remain supremely confident that their title alone naturally correlates with professional ability. Poor interviewing remains the leading source of inducing errors into witness accounts, which has genuine implications for all police witnesses involved with a fatal encounter. Firearms officers are readily encouraged and even pressurised into putting themselves forward into the hands of ‘great investigators’ post incident, and when Federation solicitors advise that this would not be wise, suspicion and concern is expressed, sometimes by senior police officers. ‘Why are my officers reluctant, do they have something to hide?’ Surely the truth will prevail if the ABE process is used! However, just think for a moment. ‘Achieving best evidence’ can mean different things to different parties within the same legal process. Firearms officers face a unique position of legal vulnerability in every armed deployment. Aside from a tactical consideration of ‘Critical Shots’, the decision to use lethal force rests with the individual officer alone. Ultimately they could be looking at a criminal charge for murder if the forensic evidence suggests that there are substantial errors within their written accounts. The process of providing statements post shooting directly influences the public’s trust and confidence. In recent years conferring and separation has become the cause célèbre for both political groups and lawyers at inquest. It remains the most contentious element within the current PIP process. Conferring is frequently portrayed in negative terms such as collusion, contamination and conspiring with the suggestion that officers get their heads together to concoct their story. The most recent High Court review of separation and conferring (Duggan & Delezuch) stated that the current APP “lacked clarity and precision … leaving open a greater risk of collusion than the IPCC’s draft guidance” despite rejecting the claims of unlawfulness, the NPCC has recognised that further re-drafting of the APP would be helpful. The practice of conferring typically leads to concerns about the reliability and independence of the testimony provided by officers. Sanctioned conferring deviates in policy and practice from the experience of non-police witnesses, raising a number of questions about the transparency of Police activities. The introduction of the Appointed Officer role has provided an additional layer of integrity, despite this – the note writing process is under consistent attack from both the IPCC and media. To address the attendant concerns about separation, ‘collusion’ and conferring, the IPCC has approached the Home Office to propose the immediate segregation of firearms officers post incident, and also new powers to interview officers directly after a shooting. Clearly any such changes would represent a significant break in current PIP’s practice. The IPCC proposals raise a number of critical questions concerning both the implementation of new interviewing practices and the reliability of evidence obtained in such circumstances. Having focused upon the potential misinformation and memory contamination that can occur when officers confer, has the IPCC considered the pitfalls of its proposed alternatives? According to the IPCC, best evidence is achieved by capturing detailed accounts as soon as possible after the incident, they would like to either interview or take a detailed account from Principal Officers ‘asap’. In contrast, the APP recommends that officers are provided with two periods of rest, generally 48 hours prior to committing to detailed memory retrieval.
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SCIENCE ON THE STREET The benefits of providing a very early account seem appealing when you look closely at many memory studies that focus upon the speed with which memories can be lost. However, many of these studies have not considered the impact that genuine threat and fear can have on a witness’s ability to encode and retrieve information. Immediate interviewing is the preferred method of evidential capture for civilian witnesses of crime and the IPCC wishes to adopt this process for all DSI incidents. However, NPCC makes a distinction that the IPCC does not acknowledge: traumatised individuals may require a period of time to help them remember details prior to providing a full detailed account. NPCC guidance states quite specifically that for civilian witnesses: ‘Trauma and stress can interfere with the process of remembering and, therefore, decisions about the timing of the interview should be made on the basis of the facts of the case and by asking the interviewee rather than by application of an arbitrary period’. The practice of delaying the full statements finds support within research studies involving trained professionals on operational duty, particularly those where high levels of personal threat and arousal have been induced (Military and Police). In addition to the impact of neurohormones (adrenaline and cortisol) released during stress and threatening encounters, the ability to recall accurate incident detail may be a function of the amount of time elapsed between the stress exposure and statement writing. There is a tension between the need for immediacy in eliciting accounts of critical events from witnesses, and the need for ‘complete accounts’ in order to preserve the memory of the event. So when is the best time to commit yourself to giving a detailed account which could be the most significant statement of your life, and what is the best process to follow – interview or statement? It should be appreciated that memories are reconstructions of people’s experiences of events and are not necessarily a faithful record of the events themselves. In this respect, they are unlike other recording media such as videos or audio recordings, to which they should not be compared (Guidelines on Memory and the Law, 2008). Any method of obtaining witness accounts significantly influences both the quality and also quantity of evidence. Interviewing and statement taking has great potential to induce errors and misinformation into every account, albeit that this is the common practice of police forces around the world. Investigation teams would clearly like as much information and detail from witnesses as possible their beliefs, perceptions and recollections. However, for Principal Officers minimising the number of errors contained within their accounts is vitally important, safeguarding their legal status as witnesses, minimising ambiguity and lessening the avenues of ‘attack’ from inquest lawyers. Currently there is no legal stipulation as to just how any witness ‘should’ or ‘must’ provide their evidential account when assisting the investigative process. Every witness is free to choose how he or she wishes to provide information regardless of the preferred
method of investigators. In this respect police witnesses are no different from civilian witnesses. The quality and accuracy of details diminishes with tiredness, physiological arousal and under conditions of divided attention or reduced cognitive resources. Given the vulnerability of memory under such demanding conditions, the method by which accounts of memory are captured by officers is crucial. Memory is vulnerable not only at the time of encoding but also at the point of retrieval. Notably, remember poor interview techniques are the leading source of memory contamination in witness evidence. Every significant witness should be given the opportunity to choose between giving their evidence by way of visual recording, producing a detailed statement or an audio recording as an alternative. The IPCC’s contention that Principal Officers receive preferential treatment misrepresents the current national guidance. Consideration must be given to the Ministry of Justice recommendation on Achieving Best Evidence (2011) that: “interviews should not take place at a time when the witness is likely to be suffering from the effects of fatigue (other than in the exceptional circumstances).” When considering spoken versus written formats of providing an initial account, the main areas for concern are that (i) the account is of sufficient detail and quantity, (ii) the person delivering the account is supported in the type and direction of the information, (iii) the person is protected from further harm or victimisation from the process itself, and (iv) the account is protected from contaminating factors. Witnesses providing written accounts have control over the pace and content of the output with less real or perceived pressure to complete the account quickly than in oral accounts to an interviewer, where the interactional structure of talk requires a response in a timely fashion, in accordance with the cooperative principle of conversation. Recent UK research reveals that the written accounts of firearms officers contain consistently low errors, within a range between 3-7%. Principal Officers do constrain their reporting style and only commit in writing those facts that they are confident to report. In contrast the purpose of a significant witness interview (ABE) is to increase and maximise the amount of detail provided by a compliant witness, “please tell us everything you can think of, whether you think it relevant or not.” The Cognitive Interview (CI) has been shown to increase the quantity of information by some 41%, when compared with standard police interviews (Kohnken, Milne, 1999). However, as a bye-product of this interview strategy, factual inaccuracies and memory errors sit within a range of somewhere between 15-25%, regardless of the experience of the interviewer. This style of interviewing has serious potential implications to the status of a ‘firer’, as memory errors increase so a witness’s credibility diminishes. Often, oral interviews by detectives with witnesses or victims can be seen as co-constructed accounts by the interviewer and interviewee and are criticised at Court. They involve officers’ reformulations of accounts produced by the interviewee, reflecting
Currently there is no legal stipulation as to just how any witness ‘should’ or ‘must’ provide their evidential account when assisting the investigative process.
the investigating officer’s overall objective of the interview. Reformulations by investigators can repackage the witness’s account into the appropriate format to satisfy the procedural, investigative and bureaucratic concerns of the criminal justice system such as the court’s preference for sequential or linear narratives. This is a common phenomenon at court and police officers are frequently criticised by their restructuring of the witness’s verbal account. Principal Officers, when writing their own statements, are likely to use a different style of statement wording as opposed to the ‘constructed’ and reformulated potential of an IPCC, PSD/DPS statement. Reformulated statements generate disagreements over meaning, phrasing and potentially create an additional set of new difficulties at Inquest. The act of interviewing, be it IPCC or PSD/DPS, may have a real impact on the interviewee. In the context of the investigative interview the question/answer format has itself been described as a way in which power is displayed and accomplished by the investigator. The presence of interviewers can increase psychological load on the witness as a result of the autonomy of the speaker being compromised, people become self conscious, and this diminishes the witness’s capacity for accurate memory recall. In 2013, to examine the quality of evidence produced by different reporting methods the MPS in conjunction with University of Portsmouth conducted a study in which firearms officers were required to provide individual free recall accounts of a simulated fatal shooting incident. Officers provided statements and then were asked to answer many questions similar in design to the constructed questions of IPCC investigators. These mirrored the style of questions (268) presented by the IPCC to the Principal Officer V53 in Duggan.
1. What was the position of the subject’s head? 2. What was the position of the subject’s body? 3. What was the position of the subject’s arms? 4. What was the demeanour of the subject? 5. What was the facial expression of the subject? 6. At what pace did the subject move? This specific IPCC method of retrieval greatly affected error rates within officer accounts, errors rose from 3% from their free recall statements (MG11) to 40% (+) for cued recall questions designed by investigators. These results perhaps highlight why officers wish to write their own statements, since credibility directly influences legal outcomes. In summary, while under the status of significant witness, the manner with which officers provide their accounts cannot be dictated, either by police regulation or legislation. Any attempt to enforce a specific method will run into subsequent judicial problems in relation to coercion. Federation legal advice generally supports the position that firearms officers control their flow of information, constructing their thoughts in a timely and deliberate way when writing their detailed statements. Yes, conferring may potentially induce errors into police accounts, but so too can the style and manner of interviewing or statement taking adopted by investigators. These facts, widely reported in academia, are seldom ever mentioned by the IPCC. Perhaps they fail to appreciate that their proposals for immediate statement taking and then interviews will introduce significantly greater errors into firearms officers’ accounts … then again, perhaps they do appreciate exactly what will likely happen? Well, so much for ABE! ■
TOP COVER TO YOUR DOOR!
NOT A MEMBER OR IN A FIREARMS COMMAND? Email or call us today to get your copy of TOP COVER magazine delivered to your door for just £2.50 per issue including postage (UK only) Email info@pfoa.co.uk or Call Debbie on 01354 697890 Online www.pfoa.co.uk
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TOP COVER ISSUE 9 19
FEATURE
TONY’S LONG JOURNEY TO ‘NOT GUILTY’ WRITTEN BY TONY LONG, FORMERLY E7
O “That intelligence, combined with his behaviour when confronted by police, caused me to shoot and kill Azelle Rodney …”
n Saturday the 30th of April 2005 I deployed on Operation ‘Tayport’, a MAST job no different to the hundreds I’d been deployed on before. It was an intelligence led, proactive operation set up to frustrate the armed robbery of Columbian drug dealers by suspects we believed to be armed with machine pistols. That intelligence, combined with his behaviour when confronted by police, caused me to shoot and kill Azelle Rodney, a rival drug dealer who, contrary to lazy reporting in the press and the media, WAS armed. Ten years, two months and three days later, a jury at the Old Bailey finally vindicated me. It had been a long and winding route between those two dates in history and enough has been written about the case itself, so this is the story of what happened behind the scenes. It’s my story and that of my family, loved ones and colleagues that have journeyed with me. Without them and their unstinting support I doubt I could have maintained my sanity or my dignity. I’d joined the Met in the mid ‘70s and had crammed a lot into my thirty years including two other situations in the ‘80s where I had had to open fire. I was due to retire on the 11th of August that year and I’d been recruited for a well-paid and interesting job with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Selection courses and vetting would follow but that would all depend on a satisfactory result from the IPCC investigation and they didn’t appear to be in any hurry. Scott Ingram, my Federation lawyer, was beside me all the way, and has remained so throughout and finally, eight months later, I received word of their conclusion: they’d found no evidence of wrong doing and were forwarding the papers to the CPS for them to review. I’d been pushing my bosses to reinstate me for months and I was finally put back on full operational duties while the CPS reviewed the case. It didn’t seem like a big thing to me at the time but, with the benefit of hindsight, some would say that some senior officers, at least, had shown great faith in me by reinstating me before the CPS had decided my fate. That decision would take a further six months and in April 2006, a year after the incident, I finally got the all clear … or so I thought.
In the meantime I’d had a now well publicised run in with the Commander in charge of the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards. A national newspaper had written an ill informed article about the incident and, with further support from the Federation’s lawyers, were forced to acknowledge fault and I accepted a settlement on the understanding that it would be paid not to me but to charities of my choice. One of those was the fledgling PFOA and I have never regretted it. My job with the FCO had suddenly been snatched away and, with nowhere better to go to, I decided to stay on with Nineteen until something else came along. The incident had also had a toll on my personal relationship and, while I have to accept the majority of the blame, the incident and its aftermath were certainly contributing factors in its break up. In 2008 I was recruited to work with the Police and Military Division of Edgar Brothers and, despite my lack of any form of business acumen, I resigned from the Met and threw myself into a commercial career. I enjoyed my work liaising with specialist police and military units around the country but Rodney’s ghost was never far away. Intelligence led, much of my justification for opening fire could not be used as evidence at a coroner’s inquest and in 2012, after much deliberation, a Judge-lead public inquiry was held instead. By this time I’d sat on a jury myself and I remember feeling relief that my actions would be scrutinized by an intelligent Judge and not twelve strangers plucked off the street. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In July 2013, 73 year-old retired High Court Judge Sir Christopher Holland published his damning conclusions, stating his belief that I had acted unlawfully. My Federation lawyers tried valiantly for the result to be overturned by a Judicial Review. If we had succeeded, we would have made legal history but, predictably, the JR supported Holland’s perverse assumptions and the IPCC put the matter back into the hands of the CPS. My split second decision would be studied in detail for another year before they would decide to charge me with murder. Up to this point, my colleagues on Operation Tayport and I had maintained our anonymity and I had been referred to throughout as ‘E7’. Now I would lose that privilege and would be tried in front of a Judge and Jury at the Old Bailey using my real name. Reassessing my situation I now found the odds on twelve strangers
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COMPETITION coming to the correct conclusion to be greater than those on one elderly, naïve and liberal Judge and I was up for the fight. During the inquiry, SO19’s SFO teams together with colleagues from the DPG had put together a slick operation to get all of the police witnesses in and out of court discreetly and without press intrusion, but now the game had changed. I reconciled myself to losing my anonymity but hoped, in vain, that I might at least keep my face from the papers. Twice an SFO team put detailed plans together to get me in and out of court unseen but with limited success and, by the time it came to trial, both my name and my face were in the public domain but, while I was now on offer, I wasn’t prepared to jeopardise the safety and anonymity of my new partner or my teenage step-daughter. Once again the Federation jumped in and, supported by the PFOA, and much to the annoyance of the press, funded my bail accommodation at the Federation’s Leatherhead HQ. At least now I could keep my new family’s life separate from my own until the trial was over. The worst-case scenario had to be faced and I was forced to sell assets so that my partner could afford our shared mortgage on her own income. Wills had to be changed and a Power of Attorney drawn up so that she could handle my affairs in my absence. I had left Edgar Brothers when it became apparent that I would be charged leaving me unable to visit police units while on bail. I needed a job nearer home with less travelling and so I accepted a security job in London and took a substantial drop in wages. Both of my children from my earlier marriage had grown up; my daughter was living with her husband and my grandson in another part of the country and my son, a Royal Marine, was often away but both shared the stress of not knowing whether their Dad would end up in prison. Throughout the whole ordeal though, we’d all had fantastic support from the PFOA who had funded meals, theatre tickets and weekends away to at least try and make the whole experience more bearable. As the trial loomed closer I was in constant contact with Jacqui from 19’s PIP team and barely a day went by when she didn’t call, even if it was just to see how I was getting on. Jacqui was also my link to 19’s bosses and the teams and, as the trial date loomed closer, it was obvious to me that there would be little that the SFO teams could do to support me throughout the trial without compromising their own anonymity. It was then that I was approached by TP, a former team member who runs his own security company. He wanted to help in anyway he could and Operation ‘Edge’ was born. Using 19’s old boys network, TP and ‘Scowler’, his 2 IC, solicited the help of over fifty former members of SO19 and a handful of other willing volunteers who offered their services free of charge for the duration of the trial. Collectively they would ensure that daily, after a counter surveillance sweep of my address, I would be picked up and driven to an RV where one of four black cabs would be waiting. Driven by former team members, who also now held cabbies’ badges, they would deliver me through the rush hour traffic to the Old Bailey where a reception party would meet
me and get me into the building with minimum intrusion. Inside, Jacqui along with two of 19’s Fed reps and my legal team, would meet me and discuss the case over coffee. Similar arrangements were made to get my partner, family and friends into the public gallery without any cross association. Aside from being a massive weight lifted from my shoulders, it was hugely reassuring to see that visible support every day, both on the street when I arrived and left and whenever I looked up to the public gallery to see friends and colleagues, some of whom I hadn’t seen for over twenty years. As we stood for the Judge to leave the court at the end of every day, I’d look up from my bullet proof glass box and if I felt up to it, I’d give the international ‘Do you fancy a drink?’ sign and the Op Edge ‘Expendables’, as they’d become known, would quickly modify the exfil plan to get me to a nearby hostelry where I could thank my supporters over a pint or four. The whole trial turned into the largest and longest SO19 reunion in its forty-seven year history and also explains the beer gut you can see in all the press photos! I had always believed that the CPS decision to prosecute me had been taken on the basis that they felt unable to ignore Holland’s finding at the public inquiry and were too weak to stand by their own 2006 decision. I had total faith in my defence team, headed by Ian Stern QC, who drove a bus through their case and I knew by the jury’s body language as they entered the court for the final time that we’d won but hearing the words ‘Not Guilty’ triggered an unbelievable wave of relief. I had been determined to go ‘none emotional’ when it came and I just about managed to pull it off. Op Edge whisked me away to a prereconnoitred pub and I drank and drank but somehow remained sober. The following day in an uncanny bit of forward planning by Mark Williams, my partner and I found ourselves at the PFOA Ball; it really was brilliant timing and there couldn’t have been a better way to finish the ordeal than being surrounded by friends and colleagues who understand that the ‘Critic doesn’t count,’ and by good people ‘who’s place shall never be with those cold and timid souls that know neither victory nor defeat!’ One of the most common questions I get asked is ‘Did the job look after you?’ SO19’s bosses? Yes, definitely. The big bosses at the Yard? The jury’s still out on that one. Let’s wait and see. Needless to say, in a case as complicated as the one surrounding the shooting of Azelle Rodney, there are still a few twists and turns to be ironed out, some of which you may read about in the news in the months to come. Elements of the press still insist on describing him as being unarmed, and so my life and the death of a greedy, selfish, violent criminal seem destined to be for ever inextricably linked. I am already aware of at least one career opportunity missed because, I was told, if the potential client was to Google my name, it might result in the loss of a valuable contract but for all that I am free and confident that the truth will eventually out, even if I have to write it myself … watch this space! ■
hearing the words ‘Not Guilty’ triggered an unbelievable wave of relief.
THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS AT 5.11 TACTICAL we have an exciting new competition that’s free and you don’t have to do anything to enter… apart from be a PFOA member! For the next two editions of TOP COVER we will draw a number from our membership database and the winning member will be the new owner of a 5.11 XBT 355 torch and a Recon Outbound Holdall. The next draw will take place on Friday 4th December 2015 at PFOA HQ. The member’s number will be chosen at random by an independent person who will pick a number between 1 and 6576. The winner will be notified by phone or work email. The competition is NOT open to any PFOA employees, Trustees or Directors! Good luck and a massive thanks to Neil Francombe and all at 5.11 Tactical.
I W * ! N WI
I
!*W N I W * N!
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*W ! N I W N! *
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WIN * ! N I N! * W
The last lucky winner from the TOP COVER Edition 8 draw was an Officer from the Met.
WE H
WINAVE A NER
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PFOA NEWS
HQ & Museum taking shape! WRITTEN BY MARK WILLIAMS
We moved into our new HQ at Chatteris Police Station in December last year and have settled in nicely.
H
aving more room has helped with the day to day running of the Association as well as being able to host visitors in a more formal office environment (my garage was not always the most hospitable of surroundings!). Chatteris Police Station is still open to the public between 9am and 1pm, Monday to Friday. This will cease in November this year when they vacate the building. This of course is down to cutbacks and the pressure Cambridgeshire Police find themselves under like all other forces. It will be a shame in some ways that the building will cease to be a police station, but it does in effect free up more space
for us to use in the downstairs part of the premises. We have already made plans to redesign the ground floor, which includes having a large meeting room, two further offices and a storeroom. The station will also benefit from a new front door and reception area. The Museum building is now complete and looks awesome! The air conditioning is fitted and working and the seating is in place for visitors to view the Museum intro DVD. We had our first museum working group (love that title!) meeting in August, which consisted of: • Mike Waldren QPM – Historian • Steve Smith – EX SCO19 and Historian • Karl – serving ARV officer • Duncan Lees – Forensic Surveyor • Jandira Guasque – Architect
• Ian Smith – IT • Bill Johnson – Sign Writer, All Signs, Kings Lynn • Lorne Guy – Good Guys Productions The working group took massive strides forward in deciding on how the Museum should look and how we are going to deliver our ideas and dreams. I must confess the plans we have are in some ways daunting but nevertheless achievable with commitment, passion and hard work. All of the group attended in their own time and spent the best part of a day discussing the project. We have purchased some mannequins already (see picture) and were provided with an amazing vinyl poster from All Signs’ Bill Johnson demonstrating how we can turn pictures into wallpaper (see picture of Simon from TVP). We all agreed that the Museum has a clear defined objective to ‘help educate and inform the public about the police use of firearms’. This will be delivered using modern technology which will include sound, vision and smell! A week or so before the meeting the PFOA Trustees met and discussed the funding of the Museum. We had considered getting sponsorship for the project but believed this could detract from who we are and what we want to achieve. However we would welcome exhibits from companies and would be happy to have their logos on a board/window in return for a donation to the Museum. The Trustees agreed a budget of £30k to create the Museum. This will be met from our reserves which currently stand at £120k. I can hear people asking already “when will it open?” Originally we thought maybe this year (2015) but I believe with the amount of work needed and the fact that many involved have full
time jobs, we will be looking at Summer 2016 … I hope. The Museum of Armed Policing is your legacy. I am determined we get it right, so it reflects the amazing work you all do in protecting society against armed criminals and terrorists ■
MAP Museum of Armed Policing
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HEALTH & FITNESS
HOW WE COULD ALL BENEFIT FROM PROBIOTICS
WRITTEN BY JUSTIN CONWAY www.gojinutrition.com
P
robiotics are basically micro-organisms that reside in our intestines and are a completely natural part of our body’s defence system. These are the ‘good’ bacteria that help fight and keep in check the number of pathogenic micro-organisms and harmful bacteria that can cause numerous health problems. The word probiotic comes from the Greek words pro, meaning ‘promoting’ and biotic, meaning ‘life’. Sounds pretty important then eh? And so they are. Their main role, as they inhabit the intestines, is to aid digestion and assist in vital nutrient absorption, contributing to proper immune function. If you suffer from any regular ill health or ailments such as acne, eczema, rashes, hives, diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome or other bowel disorders, or your daily routine is riddled with depression, irritability, anxiety and stress, it is most likely due to poor digestion and nutrient absorption linked to an imbalance or lack of good bacteria. The best method of improving any of these conditions and rebalancing your gut flora is to replenish it through the
use of fermented foods like sauerkraut, ideally including a small amount of fermented food in your dietary intake each and every day. Obviously this isn’t always convenient or possible, and that’s when a good quality probiotic supplement can provide additional support. Research into the positive effects of probiotic supplementation has been extensive and has shown great benefits for an array of health conditions ranging from asthma, allergies, digestive and bowel disorders, skin problems and urinary infections. By adding in more healthy bacteria you can literally crowd out the bad bacteria’s ability to thrive, inhibiting its ability to cause infection, inflammation and disease. By improving digestion and nutrient absorption probiotics ensure your body functions properly by receiving vital vitamins, minerals, fats and amino acids from the foods you are eating. They are also required for generating certain B and K vitamins, foliates and short chain fatty acids. If you have ever taken antibiotics you have more than likely depleted your good bacteria to very low, ineffective levels. If we look back once again to Greek meanings, antibiotics literally translates
If you have ever taken antibiotics you have more than likely depleted your good bacteria to very low, ineffective levels.
as ‘anti-life’ which is obviously the exact opposite of probiotics. They are designed to kill all bacteria indiscriminately, not just the bad stuff. Taking antibiotics is like dropping an ‘A’ bomb on your immune system, which never properly recovers … unlike the bad bacteria, which unfortunately seem to thrive quite quickly after. So if you get cold or flu symptoms each year or catch everything that is going no matter what you do, you may want to try supplementing your diet with probiotics. By increasing your healthy bacteria it will train your immune system to determine the good microbes from the ones that cause you damage and are making you unwell, making probiotics the best front line defence against infection. The latest research into how probiotics can help us has also suggested that there is a link between the bacteria in our digestive system and our brains. Called the ‘gut-brain’ connection, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have proven that by optimising the levels of healthy bacteria in the gut we will improve neurotransmitter function. This has been shown to reduce anxiety, depression and stress and may even improve the ability
to learn, memorise and focus our minds during stressful situations. If you decide that you should try supplementing with probiotics, which let’s face it, why wouldn’t you, then there are a number of things you will want to look for to ensure you get the best results. Firstly, any foods that claim to contain probiotic cultures (such as commercial yoghurts) are pretty ineffective as they are normally in very low numbers which never survive the digestion process so never get where they need to go to make a difference. Probiotics need to be taken in capsule form and have a thicker than normal coating to resist the stomach acid and deliver them exactly where you need them. The next thing to check is how many strains and number of live cultures each capsule provides. The general rule of thumb is the stronger the better. You can’t really overdose on probiotics (unless you have a serious gut disorder) as they are a natural part of the body’s make up and we have on average ten times the amount of bacteria than we have cells in our bodies at any one time, so overdosing on more is extremely difficult! Excess amounts are simply excreted in a normal functioning digestive system, but as with anything it
is always best to start slowly and build up if necessary. A lot of the people I have advised to take probiotics have experienced great results by using a capsule with 20 Billion live micro-organisms split into 8 strains. These strains are simply the different groups, families and cultures of bacteria that aid the digestive and protective processes within the body, so again, the more the better. Finally as with any supplement you take, ensure it is from a trusted, high quality source. Cheap supplements may seem like you are getting a good deal, but you very much get what you pay for and spending just a few pounds on a cheap supplement will be a complete waste of those few pounds. The company or representative should also be able to give you advice and support on the products you buy to ensure you are getting the right product for you and using it in the most effective way. If you would like any further advice on probiotics, supplements or how nutrition can improve your health please get in touch by emailing me at gojinutrition@ gmail.com or alternatively check out my site, including my range of completely natural products and supplements at www.gojinutrition.com ■
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PROMOTION
PFOA WEARS WRITTEN BY MARK WILLIAMS
For some years now Haix, the German shoe manufacturer, has supported the PFOA through advertising in TOP COVER magazine. I first ‘discovered’ Haix whilst at the Emergency Services show in 2012 and was really impressed with their quality and durability. This led to myself and other PFOA members testing some boots and writing about them in the magazine. I wear my Haix boots or trainers most days, whether at work, walking the dog or washing the car. They are a first class product, extremely comfortable and hardwearing. In July this year whilst on a weekend trip to Munich with Mrs. Williams we took the opportunity (well I did, not sure this was what Mrs. W thought the weekend would be about!) to visit the Haix factory in Mainburg and met up with the owner Ewald Haimerl and Simon Ash the UK Sales Manager. Over lunch we discussed the possibility of the PFOA becoming a Haix retailer in the UK. There were a number of reasons for this, which I will elaborate on later, but I am glad to say that they agreed that the PFOA could sell Haix products.
RANGER® GSG9-S Developed with Special Operation Commandos and SWAT teams > Waterproof, breathable, bacteria and chemical resistant with CROSSTECH® Laminat Technology
> HAIX® Protective sole > HAIX® 2-Zone Lacing
proud to suppor t
ERS ASSOCIATION
POLICE FIREARMS OFFIC
Quality shoes for firefighters, rescue services, police, hunting, forest, workwear and leisure time /HAIX
#HAIXhero
/haixboots
_anz_pfoa-magazin_free-ad_ranger-gsg9-s_102015.indd 1
www.haix.com 12.10.15 10:32
We have looked at the range that Haix offer and have carefully selected ‘shoes’ that reflect the work police officers carry out and what you might want to wear off duty or whilst engaged in plain clothes work. Why Haix? I have seen first hand the manufacturing process, the materials used and the quality of workmanship. All Haix products are supremely comfortable from day 1. The products we have selected are Gore-Tex and therefore suitable for all aspects of police work as well as leisure activities. Haix also design their footwear to improve the wearers posture which in return lessons the risk of back and feet problems. The products we have selected are not cheap, but as they say, ‘you get what you pay for’. However we recognize that spending over £100 on trainers or boots is a considered purchase. With this in mind we have set up an ‘easy pay’ facility for PFOA members and their families. Orders can be made through the PFOA Office where you can take advantage of paying for your boots, shoes or trainers over three months by credit or debit card payment. Your purchase will be sent out by courier to your home address immediately after the first payment is received. We will then arrange with you a convenient date for the two further payments to be made, this could coincide with your pay day.
ABOUT HAIX Innovations, High-Tech Production, and Shoemaker Know-How What do the legendary New York Firefighters, the fire fighters in Mexico City, Hamburg, Moscow, and Cape Town as well as the German GSG 9 Counter-Terrorist Unit, military units in Europe, the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan have in common with aid workers in worldwide emergency response operations after earthquakes or tsunamis? They all wear shoes produced by HAIX. When HAIX CEO Ewald Haimerl took over his parents’ shoe making business in 1992, he had a vision. The shoe specialist from the Bavarian town of Mainburg wanted to see the HAIX brand compete in the global market. Less than twenty years later, this vision has come to life. HAIX is considered a top brand of functional shoes for fire fighters, police, and task forces worldwide. With numerous patents and new product developments, the global player from Bavaria is ready to set new standards with regards to functionality and innovation. OUR PRODUCTS Whenever HAIX develops a new shoe, the highest priority is to ensure complete suitability for the intended area of deployment. Conformity and stress tests in state-of-theart laboratories are carried out as a matter of course. Theory is one thing. Practice, however, is quite another. HAIX developers speak of “proximity to the end user”. No specialist footwear is launched until mastery of the conditions of everyday use has been fully demonstrated.
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GSG9
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RRP £189.99 PFOA price £149.99
Black Eagle Adventure 20 Low Microfibre
Upper Material
Waterproof Leather, hydrophobic, breathable (5,0 mg/cm2/h), 2,0 - 2,2 mm thick
Upper Material
Microfiber/textile combination
Inner lining
GORE-TEX Performance; 4-layer GORE-TEX laminate, waterproof and breathable. Highly abrasionresistant lining with fleece midlayer. Optimized- climate comfort for all year seasons and excessive use. Increased chemical protection.
Inner Lining
GORE-TEX Extended; 3-layer GORE-TEX laminate, waterproof and highly breathable. Abrasion-resistant lining with optimized- climate comfort, especially for flexible alternating inside and outside use
Insert
Foot bed
Anatomically formed, exchangeable, washable, very good moisture absorption, dries quickly.
Comfortable, cushioning, moisture repellent, anti-bacterial. Separate heel shape for good cushioning and foot insertion. “AIRFLOW” channels
METAL FREE Protective Throughsole
Flexible, non-metallic protective throughsole.
Running sole
made of rubber, resistant to oil, gasoline, heat and cold compliant with EN ISO 20347:2012, non-marking
Anti Slip
Very good grip on different terrains by profile configuration and use of a special rubber
Sole
Rubber/PU sole with a street/terrain tread, wear resistant and non-slip traction. Optimal step and bend behaviour due to sporty toe and heel rounding, excellent cold/heat insulation and non-marking characteristics. Compliant with EN ISO 20347:2012.
Durable Sole
Rubber mixture for long durability
HAIX Climate System
Climate System with Micro-Dry lining at top of leg.
Double Hole Frame/ Stone Shield
Stabilizes the shoe and guides the foot during unwinding movements, prevents uneven surfaces from pressing through to the foot
HAIX Smart Lacing
Smooth and non-pressure adjustment of the boot to the foot, Quick lock and lace pocket.
Inner sole
Made of different EVA/TPU materials, light, cushioning, supporting
Absorb
Permanent cushioning in heel area by special EVA material in the inner sole
Energy Return/ Supination Support
Inner sole in the front part of the foot made of a strong spring-back material for effective use of energy
Pronation Support
Supports the center of the heel, prevents buckling inward by using a harder EVA material
Stabilizer
Asymmetrical TPU for stabilizing the heel
Smart Lacing
Easy moving, pressure free and quick adapting of the shoe to the foot (on low models only)
Others
Low weight, metal-free
Sun Reflect
Reduces the heating effect of the upper leather by direct sunlight. Sunlight is reflected by the leather, keeping the leather and the feet cooler.
Others
Lacing system with eyelets, pulling strap, manually applied rubber sidewall on the front and back of the shoe for a better durability, ankle protection, antistatic.
GSG9 S
RRP £189.99 PFOA price £149.99
Upper Material
Waterproof Leather, hydrophobic, breathable (5,0 mg/cm2/h), 1.8 – 2.0 mm thick
Inner lining
CROSSTECH Laminat Technology; 3-layer CROSSTECH laminate, watertight and breathable. Abrasionresistant lining with optimized climate comfort for all seasons, espec. For flexible alternating inside and outside use. Superior penetration resistance against blood and body fluids (protection against blood borne bacteria and virus). Increased chemical protection.
Dakota Mid Upper Material
Waterproof leather, hydrophobic, breathable (5,0 mg/cm²/h), 1.6 – 1.8 mm thick
Foot bed
Anatomically formed, exchangeable, washable, very good moisture absorption, dries quickly.
Inner Lining
METAL FREE Protective Throughsole
Flexible, non-metallic protective throughsole.
GORE-TEX Performance; 4-layer GORE-TEX laminate, waterproof and breathable. Highly abrasionresistant lining with fleece midlayer. Optimized climate comfort for all year seasons and excessive use. Increased chemical protection.
Sole
Rubber/PU sole with a street/terrain tread, wear resistant and non-slip traction. Optimal step and bend behaviour due to sporty toe and heel rounding. This rubber shell sole features the MSL (micro-softlight) system that is the result of an additional production process to achieve extremely low weight, excellent cold/heat insulation and non-marking characteristics. Compliant with EN ISO 20347:2012
Non-woven insole
Non-woven insole absorbs sweat and moisture
Foot bed
Anatomically formed, exchangeable, washable, very good moisture absorption, dries quickly
Sole
Rubber/PU sole with a sporty street/terrain tread. Optimal step and bend behaviour due to sporty toe and heel rounding. The low-weight PU, impact-absorbing wedge ensures outstanding walking characteristics. Oil and gasoline resistant, non-marking. Compliant with EN ISO 20347:2012
HAIX Climate System
Climate System with Micro-Dry lining at the top of the boot leg
Sun Reflect
Reduces the heating effect of the upper leather by direct sunlight. Sunlight is reflected by the leather, keeping the leather and the feet cooler
HAIX Climate System
Climate System with Micro-Dry lining at top of leg.
HAIX MSL System
MicroSoftLight: Improved damping, extremely low weight due to the PU foam across the entire sole area, good cold/heat insulation
Other
Ideally suited for „Fast Roping“ with closed lacing system, two-zone lacing
Sun Reflect
Reduces the heating effect of the upper leather by direct sunlight. Sunlight is reflected by the leather, keeping the leather and the feet cooler.
Black Eagle 10 Desert
RRP £129.99 PFOA Price £119.99
Upper Material
Velour leather / textile combination
Inner Lining
GORE-TEX® Extended; 3-layer GORE-TEX® laminate, waterproof and highly breathable. Abrasionresistant lining with optimizedclimate comfort, especially for flexible alternating inside and outside use.
HAIX® Climate System
Climate System with Micro-Dry lining at top of leg.
Insert
Comfortable, cushioning, moisture repellent, anti-bacterial. Separate heel shape for good cushioning and foot insertion. “AIRFLOW” channels.
Running sole
Made of rubber, resistant to oil, gasoline, heat and cold compliant with EN ISO 20347:2012, nonmarking.
Anti Slip
Very good grip on different terrains by profile configuration and use of a special rubber.
Durable Sole
Rubber mixture for long durability. Double Hole Frame/Stone Shield Stabilizes the shoe and guides the foot during unwinding movements, prevents uneven surfaces from pressing through to the foot.
Inner sole
Made of different EVA/TPU materials, light, cushioning, supporting.
Absorb
Permanent cushioning in heel area by special EVA material in the inner sole.
Energy Return/ Supination Support
Inner sole in the front part of the foot made of a strong spring-back material for effective use of energy.
Pronation Support
Supports the center of the heel, prevents buckling inward by using a harder EVA material.
Stabilizer
Asymmetrical TPU for stabilizing the heel.
Others
Low weight, metal-free
RRP £124.90 PFOA Price £110.00
POISON
FLAME
SKY RRP £144.90 PFOA Price £124.99
GREAT DEAL! • All available with easypay option over three months • All prices are including VAT • FREE UK mainland delivery • Available in UK sizes 3 to 15 including half sizes HOW TO ORDER Call the PFOA office on 01354 697890 between 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday or email your requirements to info@pfoa.co.uk and we will call you back • Credit card needs to be valid for at least three months • We may ask for identification or confirmation via work PNN email
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30 TOP COVER ISSUE 9
TOP COVER ISSUE 9 31
FEATURE
RISKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES: COPING WITH THE RISKY BUSINESS OF FIREARMS WRITTEN BY CHRIS BEIGHTON TRAINER, NATIONAL FIREARMS INSTRUCTORS’ COURSE CANTERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY
T
his article comes with a health warning. I want to talk seriously about risk. As colleagues and I gear up for another National Firearms Instructors’ Course based at the Firearms Unit here in Kent, I’m reminded of the increasingly risky nature of what we do. There’s nothing particularly dangerous about training AFOs in teaching techniques, but what sometimes scares me is the temptation to assume that risk is something faced by someone else, not something that we all take responsibility for. AFOs know what I mean about passing the buck, because they are at the sharp end, where the buck can be passed no further. In fact, anyone familiar with past articles on the topic will be aware that my colleagues and I (Sabrina Poma from Canterbury Christ Church, Vince Leonard, CFI at Kent), are very conscious of the need to speak to colleagues in ways which help us to understand each other so that the risks of the job are not left in the hands of just a few. After all, as academics in the field of education and training, we are constantly proclaiming the value of learning from the people we work with. But how can we hope to learn from each other if we are speaking different languages? Academics often enjoy discussing this sort of thing in journals which, ironically, are then criticised by other academics for being unreadable. Of course, there are many exceptions, but it’s certainly the case that academic writing often falls into the trap of making itself inaccessible to those who would most benefit from its findings. But I have a confession to make. After writing several pieces for TOP COVER in a fairly accessible tone, I find myself engaged
in a debate where to be honest there’s no point referring to a spade as a steel-shod-earth-inverting-implement. That’s because I’m increasingly interested in risk, and who better to talk about risk with than colleagues in Firearms? Risk is a sensitive question, of course, and academics have been making a bit of a meal of it over the last few years. Maybe it was a predictable response to the millennium and its bugs, when the academics like Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens wanted us to believe that the modern world is a ‘Risk Society’. And who can blame them after the Twin Towers, London, Fukushima, Charlie Hebdo, Germanwings, the foiled train attack in summer 2015 … No one needs paranoia, but we surely have as much reason as ever to take care of ourselves and those we are responsible for. It’s not just that the modern world is a risky place though – life is unpredictable and frequently unfair. But something else has happened, and the idea of risk isn’t just something that someone else does: it’s part of everything we do. Once upon a time plenty of us thought that a benign presence would look after us. Dixon of Dock Green was there, tapping bad guys on the shoulder and saving your granny’s cat. Now though, your granny might just be making IEDs, your neighbour could be running a Meth factory and Weapons of Mass annihiliation in the shape of planes, viruses and radioactive poisons seem to be in the hands of tinpot generals, shadowy cold war throwbacks and vulnerable marginals. Oh, and if that weren’t enough, global warming is asphyxiating us all, the bees are all dying and sealevels are rising so quickly Brum will have to be renamed Birmingham-on-sea. Is this change really new though? To our shame, we civvies tend to forget that a few rough men and women have long been prepared to stay awake at night and do harm to those
who threaten our fragile peace. Mark Williams has recently reminded us in TOP COVER to be thankful for the discretion of those who stand up and shelve their own interests when duty calls at the sharp end of risk society. And there’s nothing academic about that. Thankfully. So I think as a trainer, academic, but most of all as a person, it’s worth reminding ourselves what risk means in firearms. It might even be my duty to think about it, as we academics talk about a risk society from the comfy heights of our conference rooms, lecture theatres and bookshelves. As an academic though, I can’t resist the chance of creating a bit of jargon, so I’m going to talk about two sorts of risk. The first sort of risk is the visible kind we all know about, although sometimes we like to brush it under the carpet as simply part of the job. It’s ‘Operational Risk’ – the sort of risk that AFOs face as part of their operational role.The second kind is less visible, more under the surface even, and it might be that people like me, who play our part in training AFOs, need to pay more attention to this ‘Off-Risk’. As we’ll see, I think that there’s a link between the two. The first sort is the technical risk which results from the poor practices that AFOs work hard to eliminate. My 8 year-old daughter knows that if a weapon is not checked properly, a serious injury could occur. Just knowing this doesn’t make the risk go away though: we have to work hard to make sure that an ‘accident waiting to happen’ doesn’t actually happen on our watch. The second operational risk is related to this. Occasional risk is not really an example of poor practice. In fact, clear procedures exist to deal with it. But equipment can malfunction, it can be misused or it can even be abused or lost by accident. None of this is an excuse: it’s our job to reduce the possibility of this kind of occasional risk happening to zero. But we all work in the shadow of an accident of this sort happening in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thirdly, there’s legal risk. It’s the risk of acting in ways which the organisation discourages for legal reasons because they are unlawful. I hardly need to give examples, but this is tied to ethical risk – the risk of acting in ways which are
considered inappropriate, unprofessional and unethical by the Force. Wider society is also watching out for this one: constant scrutiny by the media is an active, if not always successful, deterrent. And finally let’s not forget the fourth type: physical risk. It’s the real risk of injury in performing one’s operational duty, be it on the streets but also in training. We all know someone who has paid the price of this sort of risk. Then there’s a second type of risk. I want to call it Off-Risk, because it’s the sort of risk that is a threat in situations that are not directly operational. But although it’s different to Operational Risk, it falls into the same four categories. Off-risk can be technical, and refers to questions of technique in, for example, training. As trainers, officers are taught to minimise the risk of non-learning through various training techniques. We plan sessions, use authorised materials, control the resources which we put out there, and we make sure that we do a knowledge check to make sure our training has ‘worked’. Occasional risk is a threat too, as we are all capable of an honest mistake, dodgy resources, malfunctioning projector and so. Then there’s legal Off-Risk. Training is subject to the same risk of acting in ways which the organisation cannot accept for legal reasons. Unethical, unprofessional behaviour in training is dangerous and irresponsible. Even physical Off-Risk can be understood from the Off-Risk point of view. We all know about the risk of injury performing duty, but what about the impact of operational duties outside the operational theatre? Relationships, mental and physical illness are all waiting around the corner for AFOs if they start to lose control of stress, alcohol use, worklife balance, sleep patterns … RISK SOCIETY? Would life be the same without these risks? Would the AFO role be as rewarding without them? I doubt it, and there are times when we have to embrace Operational Risk and Off-Risk. It’s not just that AFO training without them would be like Dixon without his truncheon, but that grown up professional learning needs stakes. There has to be a point to training, and what better way of tackling risk in a grown up, professional way than through the NFIC programme? The only question, for us trainers, is how? ■
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34 TOP COVER ISSUE 9
TOP COVER ISSUE 9 35
MY STORY
Policing & the Stigma of Mental Health
WRITTEN BY MYRIAM LE GAYE
I joined Leicestershire police in February 1991, following a short career working with young people on the YTS scheme. At this time John Major was the Prime Minister and his government closed the scheme, effectively making me redundant at the ripe old age of 23. This brought me to Leicester and the start of my policing career. Ironically a few short months later I ended up having tea with John Major through a cultural awareness project in my probation. I was stationed on response initially in a busy city area and relished the daily challenges and satisfaction from protecting the public.
My attention was drawn to the close knit teams of the force tactical support group and after nearly four years, including sometime neighbourhood policing, I joined the TSG. During both of these postings I was the only female on my shift and on my serial, but it did not seem out of the ordinary as I had been brought up in a large boys boarding school where my father was a teacher and house master. My main hobbies outside of work have always been sport related and it was as a runner in the Leicester police cross country team that a colleague suggested I join him on a firearms suitability day. With no previous experience of firearms this was all it took to ignite my interest and, 20 years later, I am still an AFO. There have been so many changes over the years: from lethal to less lethal weaponry, from tactics to officer numbers, from vehicles to uniform and most recently one force to
one region. One constant has remained though the AFO and the certain type of person they are. They always embody a strong team ethos, honest, hard-working and with a great sense of humour. I was the first female full-time member of the ARV and tactical team. I subsequently became a CPO. I was made to feel welcome from day one at the firearms department and, even 20 years ago, diversity was embraced and I was issued with a set of small wooden grips that I would change over and put on my .38 Smith & Wesson revolver. I am also part of the team that delivers educational packages surrounding gun crime; our presence is always welcomed by teachers and students alike. Teachers are
always asking to borrow some of our kit for the unruly students,and the students are wanting to know “what is the scariest thing you have dealt with?” I am writing this on the 10 year anniversary of the 7/7 bombings in London and this reminded me of the palpable tension felt in the packed Leicestershire briefing room. Every Tactical Team Member and every instructor was present for a simultaneous DE assault for some potential suspects. The biggest convoy of vehicles I had ever seen made their way to the addresses. No one relaxed until the subjects were secured. A few days after this I was deployed in plain clothes on the train at a Leicestershire station, then called in by CROP officers to again detain a potential terror suspect on the train with his rucksack on the seat next to him. I can honestly say I have never felt so much adrenaline coursing through my body as I approached him and secured one of his arms,
he was handcuffed and removed from the train. He was not involved; breathe again. On a lighter note I have managed to keep my Principal safe from a pantomime chicken trying to peck him, received a right Royal telling off for allegedly sending the Duke of Edinburgh to the wrong door to the gents – not something you want to repeat in a hurry. I have also had opportunities to protect world leaders in Wales and London. I also discharged the first Taser in Leicestershire in company with my crew mate. We had a a short distance to travel to the scene but, with some quick planning and all those training scenarios coming to the fore on arrival, this was the most appropriate form of response. A full PIM process was implemented to test the Force’s procedures.
This provided a small insight into how I might feel post a full firearms discharge. Suffice to say I have had a challenging, enjoyable and thoroughly fulfilling 20 years as an AFO and, far from being the only female on the department, we now have our own group, the Spice Girls: • I’m Ginger – because I am; • we have Scary – DI/DE; • Balaclava, Shot Gun, 10/5 etc; • Posh – southern transferee who says barrrth and grarrrs, a great AFO who is Leicestershire’s gain and Sussex loss; • Sporty – Leicester City footballer and Leicester Police basketballer – in fact any sport; and • Baby – youngest, smallest and most feisty, but with more musical talent than all of the original Spice Girls put together. Ladies, I hope you all enjoy your firearms careers as much as I have ■
Much has been written about mental health in the police service and we know that there are unique challenges faced by officers.
I
WRITTEN BY RICHARD DORNEY
do not intend to list the daily difficulties faced in the line of duty as you will know them only too well. Policing though is not unique in being a tough profession that regularly presents traumatic events and emotional challenges; there are many other professions that put people in harm’s way and expect a great deal from them. Policing though, offers additional psychological challenges because of the depressingly predictable frequency with which officers are confronted by the absolute worst that society has to offer; constant abuse, threat of assault, endless scrutiny both external and from within, criticism, traumatic events and the frustration of being shackled by procedure in desperate situations. Resources are worryingly thin and more is being asked of people on a regular basis; so no surprise then that some officers will suffer from poor mental health and wellbeing. Do we actually know the scale of the problem within the UK Police service? It is of course very difficult for the Home Office to capture any meaningful statistics or trends. The Ministry of Defence (which has a much easier task with data capture) is able to publish quarterly mental health presentation rates, diagnoses and trends, as well as suicide rates. Interestingly the Home Office does not record off duty deaths of Police Officers so we have no real idea of the suicide rates (although there is no evidence to suggest that they are higher than the National Average). The picture then is sketchy, but police officers are first and foremost human beings and suffer from the same vulnerabilities as everyone else. We know that one in four people in society is likely to suffer from poor mental health at some point in their lives. The likelihood is that we all know someone who is struggling right now, they may be signed off sick, but they are equally likely to be at work and have not sought professional help for their problem, which of course may have nothing to do with the job, but can certainly be exacerbated by it. Why then do officers often not seek help when their mental health is declining? The stock answer is ‘stigma’ embarrassment that they will be seen as weak or will be judged by others or perhaps they are unwilling to admit to themselves that they are unable to cope, but this is only a part of the problem. There is genuine fear in some quarters. Fear that they will be removed from role or worse. Fear about what management might say or the way in which they may be treated and perhaps fear that they might not be able to jump through the various hoops required to be declared fully fit again after they have recovered. Apprehension over how they will be able to regain the trust of colleagues and superiors. There are people out there going to work today who need help, so how can the issue be addressed?
There have been commendable efforts made in recent months to assess and change the way in which police deal with members of the public suffering from mental health problems, particularly those taken into custody. Such a shift needs careful analysis, policy and above all training. Shouldn’t the same level of thought and training be extended to officers and their families? How do we manage those who are sick absent with both physical and mental health problems? How are suspended officers managed and those who face disciplinary investigations? All of these groups are especially vulnerable, so poor management, thoughtless actions, unsupportive processes and enforced isolation may very well fuel anxiety and depression. Most people have very limited experience of mental health and do not understand it. They especially struggle with the concept of someone being unwell, but being able to function relatively normally for long periods. It is often the case that the darkest and most desperate moments for those who are unwell occur when they are away from the workplace. Police officers have very clearly defined roles, these roles are taken seriously, people are trained and do their jobs professionally, but the management of people with poor mental health is an unpopular burden for some line managers. Passing the matter on to welfare or Occupational Health and cracking on as if the problem doesn’t exist or belongs to someone else is a common approach. Such treatment is unlikely to help an officer who is unwell and it is certainly unlikely to encourage help seeking. So who do officers turn to when they are struggling? Very often it isn’t family, nor is it welfare staff or occupational health. The first point of contact is usually a trusted friend or colleague (usually one and the same for police officers). There is very good research that clearly indicates the importance of peer support in helping people who are mentally unwell. If colleagues are likely to be the first in line to help, doesn’t it make sense to train them how to do it? Surely line managers should be given some basic awareness training in how to recognise a mental health problem and how to help in the first instance? There are good solutions available and PFOA have led the way by training their welfare support team in both Mental Health First Aid and suicide awareness. PTSD frequently raises its head in conversation and although the numbers of people affected are unlikely to match media hype, Police officers are an at risk group. Getting some basic awareness of the characteristics of posttraumatic stress and how to manage it, especially early on, makes complete sense. The value of informed peer support cannot be overstated because we all have an important role to play in supporting each other and helping to prevent people from getting into crisis or worse. PFOA’s support initiative may very well have already saved lives so let’s hope that their good work in de-stigmatising mental health spreads ■
36 TOP COVER ISSUE 9
TOP COVER ISSUE 9 37
PFOA NEWS
The Welfare Support Programme (W.S.P.) is the new distinctive system of support for officers that has been developed by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) and the Police Firearms Officers Association (PFOA) and is ready to offer officers and their families a more personal way to deal with life’s pressures.
M
ost people don’t join the police to become famous. They don’t join to become household names and have their lives scrutinised by the general public but choose to become police officers from a sense of public service, duty and the desire to protect their communities from criminals and bullies. To carry out their role, police officers are trained to deal with situations that range from giving simple advice to dealing with major incidents and everything else in between and, most of the time, the training gives the officer a sound platform from which to carry out their role. But as police officers all know, the ‘job’ has a habit of turning sour very quickly and a simple call to someone shouting in the street can turn out to be a scene where a victim has been seriously wounded and officers have to use lawful force to detain the suspect, maybe with hand strike, maybe with a baton, maybe with a Taser or a firearm. After all, officers are trained in openhanded skills, batons and some officers in Taser and firearms; but all are trained in the law around the use of force. Where the training doesn’t really
‘cut it’ is what comes after the incident – where the officer and their actions are looked at and scrutinised and where they achieve unwanted ‘overnight stardom’, through their names and actions being printed in press articles or discussed in the media by the ‘hindsight’ experts or so called policing experts.
“Overnight stardom can be harmful to your mental health. Yeah. It has ruined a lot of people.” Clint Eastwood Post Incident Procedure (PIP) and Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) are some of the options available to support officers and, together with Federation support, occupational health, colleagues and families, they develop into a support network that helps identify issues at an early stage or assist in monitoring the officer through what is sometimes a lengthy investigation into their actions. Although excellent in what they do,
these support systems sometimes don’t fit everyone’s needs and can leave families of the officer feeling separated from the support that, after all, is primarily focused on the officer. Something was needed to support officers and their families together and not only when the officer was involved in a PIP but when the officer was cut off from colleague support or just when they needed that extra platform on which to rely when things weren’t going as they should. Federation figures for last year show that 40 officers took their own lives – 11 whilst they were suspended. These are haunting figures and perhaps reveal that although there are a number of systems available for officers, there is still a broad gap in the care and welfare of officers that needs to be addressed urgently. The PFEW recognised this and entered into discussion with Mark Williams from the PFOA to find a solution. The result of the meeting was the creation of the Welfare Support Programme (WSP) that started on June 1st and is available for the use of all federated ranks and their families across the country. The WSP offers a 24 hour, 365 days a year telephone support line for officers and their families where they can speak directly to our trained staff regarding the
issues that concern them. Our telephone staff have had training in police discipline procedures, post incident procedures, as well as being certificated in mental health first aid and are ready to listen to officers’ and their families’ concerns so they can help them gain the best support available. If appropriate, and with the permission from the caller, the WSP staff can evidence issues directly to the Federation and therefore shorten the time needed to obtain coaching or counselling if this is considered by the Federation to be an appropriate course of action. This is unique in that it not only allows officers to contact independent support directly, but it also allows family members to do the same, giving them the chance to deal with their concerns immediately and through the same network that supports the officer. The WSP is available to all serving police officers who are members of the Federation and become part of a death or serious injury at work that results in
a post incident investigation and/or are suspended from duty or, following a consultation with the PFEW & PFOA, it is decided that an officer is in need of being placed on the programme. The family of officers that fall into these criteria are also fully supported by the WSP and include immediate family, partners, family living in the same household as the officer and any dependants of the officer. Rob Venables, Merseyside Police Federation Support and Welfare Rep states “We have integrated the Welfare Support Programme into our suite of support measures that we utilise for our officers who are vulnerable when facing exceptional pressures. The number of calls to the line demonstrates the confidence that officers have in the WSP already. We are particularly impressed by the caring attitude of all the staff working on the initiative.”
Contact Your Travel Counsellor
Alison Marden 01904 891790 alison.marden@travelcounsellors.com www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/alison.marden
38 TOP COVER ISSUE 9
PFOA NEWS The WSP has been live from the 1st June 2015 and so far 58 officers have registered with them from 16 forces that has resulted in a number of calls from officers and their family members asking for support or advice. The WSP has been able to take their concerns directly to a Federation single point of contact (SPOC) for each force and together develop a plan of action to address the concerns of the callers. The action plans between the WSP and the SPOC change from call to call but, as an example to the large differences in concerns, one case entailed an urgent call to a SPOC as the officer required immediate support as WSP staff were concerned about the officer’s mental health, and another call was from a family member asking for advice on how to cope with changes at home due to the officer’s suspension. The wide range of calls received so far addresses the need for the service and highlights our key function in offering immediate independent support and advice to our callers and then helping them take it forward with the Federation and other support services. Assisting an officer with NLP coaching showed a further example of the good liaison between the WSP and local Federation branch board. After talking with the officer, the WSP contacted the officer’s SPOC and identified to him issues that were affecting the officer and offered a solution through NLP coaching. The SPOC approached the branch board with a request to fund
the NLP coaching and they agreed to the request. NLP coaching is an excellent way of addressing our callers’ concerns and the PFOA has a number of coaches who can carry out this work should they be required. Using PFOA coaches has a number of advantages as they are all serving or ex-police officers and therefore have an understanding of policing and it’s system; they follow the same confidentiality rules adopted by the WSP and the PFOA so thereby ensuring that confidentiality within those rules is guaranteed and, finally, they have great experience in supporting police officers and their families from their work with the PFOA over a number of years. Tom Cuddeford, Deputy Chair, Joint Branch Board, West Midlands Police Federation states “Since the introduction of the Federation Welfare Support Programme in June this year, as West Midlands Police Federation SPOC, I have started signposting eligible members to the Programme, all of whom have really appreciated this channel of support, above what the Force offers officers. I have just come off the telephone to one of our members, who has also received coaching from the Programme. He informs me that it was a weight off his mind to be able to talk to someone totally separate to the on-going Investigation regarding a death in custody and felt far better after speaking to the very engaging coaching individual. As SPOC I will definitively be promoting this Programme for the
benefit of our hard working members, who on occasions, have to deal with very extreme situations.” The WSP will lead by example. British police officers provide the best policing in the world for the British public in their time of need, so isn’t it right and proper that our police officers can expect in their time of need, the best support available to them? The WSP will be there for them and we intend to develop our services and work with our support partners to create a first class organisation that gives officers and their families the care they really need when they really need it. The WSP is a two year pilot scheme which is directly funded by the PFEW and the PFOA, and it is vitally important that during this period it grows to benefit officers and their families therefore ensuring that the deep financial cuts across the public service do not remove the crucial support required by officers and they can continue their work safe in the knowledge that someone is ‘watching their back’. Policing is changing and the likelihood of gaining ‘overnight stardom’ will only increase as officers take on more dynamic roles and subsequently encounter the scrutiny from the Independent Police Complaints Commission that follows when an incident occurs. Officers have never stood alone under such scrutiny and now the WSP will stand with them and their families ensuring they have the best support available – ‘We care we do’ ■
If you would like further information on the WSP please e-mail Stuart Haythorn, Welfare Support Officer for the WSP on stuart@pfoa.co.uk or call on 07841 583631
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PFOA NEWS
PFOA NEWS
Join the Why wouldn’t you?
MEMBE RSHIP NOW O PEN TO TASE R OFFICER S
POLICE FIREARMS OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
WITH OVER 6,500 MEMBERS UK wide the PFOA is a registered charity ready and willing to support you and your family. We may assist with any matter that may affect your work, or that has caused you or your family distress or worry. The cost? £4 per month or £1 a week! You can join online 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 co-ordinator for further details.
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, the Police Federation of England & Wales, College of Policing, NCOA, CNC Federation and the BTP Federation.
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!
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.
Email info@pfoa.co.uk or Call Debbie or Cheryl on 01354 697890 Online www.pfoa.co.uk
DEBBIE
CHERYL
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 Membership for anyone involved in operational firearms including AFOs, PIMs, SFC/TFC/OFC, Issuing Officers, Dog Handlers, Negotiators, Retired Officers, Taser Officers. 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 physiotherapy, MRI scans etc. unless there is
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.
WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO? The past few months have seen a marked increase in the support we provide. Without doubt huge cuts in policing budgets are beginning to have a substantial impact on officer welfare and support in force. We are hearing more and more horror stories about the way officers and their families are being treated following injury or illness. Those of us that have been fortunate enough to retire in reasonable health often joke that when you leave it’s a case of ‘Mark who?’ well the reality now is that this is often the case with those still serving. There is clearly pressure on force occupational health departments as well as line managers attempting to police without adequate resources. This lack of resources places pressure on officers (and their families) which can result in stress, anxiety and illness. We are doing all we can to work with forces; unfortunately some are unwilling to engage. We are currently working closely with the Ministry of Defence
Police and the Defence Police Federation to actively assist their long term sick officers, particularly those with stress and anxiety. Our PFOA NLP Coaches have had amazing success with their techniques which often results in officers returning to work quicker than initially anticipated. We also have a vast network of counsellors available to assist. EXAMPLES OF RECENT SUPPORT • We have provided NLP Coaching, childcare assistance and a house cleaner for a female officer whose partner is recovering from an aggressive cancer and was diagnosed just a few days after she gave birth to their first child. His employers placed him on half pay whilst she was on maternity leave. • We have sent dozens of hampers to officers and their families as a sign of best wishes and support. • We have provided NLP Coaching and hypnotherapy (when suitable) for many officers with problems
CHIPS POLICE SOFTWARE
The PFOA has a CEO, Mark Williams, and three Trustees. We also have an Executive Committee.
PRODUCTS CHIPS FIREARMS Armoury management, weapon issuing, history, ammo, and repairs. CHIPS TRAINING Track the training and authorisations of your officers to
TRUSTEES AND EXECUTIVE Jim Roger....................................................... Police Scotland Steve Hartshorn.............................................................MPS Gary Cable.................................................................. Essex Michelle Booth...........................................................Gwent Tim Ferris..................................................................... CNC Paul Leggett.......................................................Humberside Dave Keen...................................................................Notts
use weapons. CHIPS DOGS & HORSES Manage an entire dog or horse section, health, feed, training, costs, and more. CHIPS ASSETS
WELFARE SUPPORT LINE Not for everyday police related enquiries T 01354 669749
Tracking and issuing of shiny kit. CHIPS EXHIBITS
TRY OUR SOFTWARE FOR FREE AT 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.
ranging from work related stress to eating disorders. We have also assisted some who are having confidence issues with their shooting. • We have assisted several officers who have lost close family members. • Supported officers involved in police shootings. • Assisted an officer with accommodation whilst there child is in hospital having surgery. • We have sent several families on respite breaks following serious illness or where they have suffered the loss of a close relative. • We have assisted several officers who are long term sick by utilising our support service ASAP Surgery who circumnavigate the NHS to speed up treatment ■
chi.co.uk/police
Recording and managing evidence.
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FEATURE
HEALTHY STRATEGIES FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING
I recently spoke with a response Officer, young in service, that has all the enthusiasm you might expect from someone early in their career. Policing is a vocation for him and he is discovering how personal relationships can be affected by his commitment to the job. Sam has aspirations to become an Armed Response Officer. As with most Officers, he has a strong sense of mission associated with his role and through conversation it became clear he has a rescuer personality and his natural position is to be protective and put the needs of others before his own.
I
t was a privilege for me to have the opportunity to speak with him at this early stage of his career and impart advice which may see him continue in policing with healthy strategies in place for psychological well-being. He has already identified behaviour which is a normal adaptation to the policing role and subsequent evolution of a police personality. Sam has noticed that the vigilance he exercises on duty is ever present off duty. After being in crowded environments in which he continually scans people for threat, he is physically tired on returning home. When this behaviour becomes exaggerated over time, it can become hypervigilance which is synonymous with PTSD and can result in hyper-arousal. Sam is living away from home, family and close friends and he has been filling the loneliness with extra duties. He has noticed he has become isolated. His window on the world is in danger of becoming exclusively troubled, violent, deceitful, abusive and threatening. This is another warning sign that, if allowed to continue, it could raise Sam’s risk of developing posttraumatic symptoms, vicarious traumatization and/or secondary traumatic stress. Sam’s perception of the world around him can be balanced when he makes a concerted effort to engage with his wider community: make time for friends and enjoyable activities separate to friendships within the police and his work. He must remind himself that there is kindness, generosity, selflessness and goodness to be found around him. Most SHUK members have long service and are looking for support with PTSD. Some are still working with adjustments and others have severe debilitating symptoms. Partners are in
some cases having to advocate for the Officer because they are vulnerable, have difficulty with memory and confusion and because discussing work matters can exacerbate their symptoms, particularly anger or rage. It is by no means a given that Police Officers will develop full diagnostic PTSD and research has not been able to determine a particular personality type or personal history to account for why some people are more susceptible than others. I would certainly
PTSD is not the result of a personal defect or weakness.
say that long service in mainly front line policing roles increases the risk. However, much can be implemented by organisations to reduce the risk including educating Officers on PTSD, vicarious traumatization, secondary traumatic stress and compassion fatigue. This can result in prevention, lessen the impact of symptoms, encourage early intervention and treatment and improve the likelihood of recovery. ‘Work environment factors such as dissatisfaction with organizational support predicted PTSD symptoms in Police Officers’ (Carlier et al., 1997).1 King et al. (1995)says a malevolent work environment is the strongest precursor to post-traumatic symptoms over and above combat, threat and atrocities. Threat to life has less effect on posttrauma symptoms than other occupational and environmental factors (Maguen et al., 2009) and Dr. Shay (the founder of ‘Moral Injury’) says lifelong psychological injury can be prevented when
WRITTEN BY CLAIRE MCDOWALL WWW.SAFEHORIZON.CO.UK
those in authority “do what’s right” and avoid betrayal of those they have a duty to care for.2 Research overwhelmingly supports the fact that the actions and behaviour of the organisation and those with authority, where benevolent, can protect Officers against PTSD or where malevolent, be the most significant instigator of its development. PTSD is not the result of a personal defect or weakness. People who have strong beliefs about right from wrong and justice, who have genuine compassion for victims of crime, most likely to be first on the scene and first through the door, have a ‘can do’ attitude, protect colleagues before caring for themselves and tend to stay in front line roles can become saturated by incidents. Moral injury in conjunction with PTSD or secondary traumatic stress can be the tipping point. Organisations should not fear a deluge of applications for adjustments or ill health retirement when Officers are made aware of PTSD and the signs and symptoms. ‘Providing educational materials and raising awareness about post incident reactions does not increase the number of symptoms reported’ (Mitchell et al., 2000).3 A mindful, respectful, supportive and equitable constabulary and police authority could reduce the number of applications for ill health retirement and injury on duty awards, reduce sickness absence levels, increase the effectiveness and commitment of its workforce and promote healthy family life ■ 1 Carlier et al., 1997, King et.al, 1995: cited in Maguen et al., 2009, Routine work environment stress and PTSD symptoms in Police Officers, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 197(10), 754-760 2 Shay, J., (2003), Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and The Undoing Of Character (First ed.). New York, U.S.A: Scribner. 3 Mitchell et al., (2000), Managing Post Incident Reactions in the Police Service. Sudbury, Suffolk: HSE Books
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LAW & REGS
WHERE IS THE APCO GUIDANCE ON BODY WORN VIDEO & ACCOUNT WRITING? WRITTEN BY SCOTT INGRAM CRIMINAL & MISCONDUCT LAWYER, SLATER AND GORDON
SCOTT INGRAM
T 0808 175 7805 W www.slatergordon.co.uk/Policelaw
Firearms officers eagerly await guidance from ACPO as to whether they can view body worn video before writing detailed accounts. The guidance is long overdue.
F
irearms officers around the country are carrying BWV as a pilot. In the MPS two shooting incidents in eight days has brought home the urgent need for guidance. There has been much debate as to whether officers should be allowed to view BWV before providing detailed statements. There are opposing views. The current accepted process in regular (non DSI) investigations is that officers can refer to BWV before writing statements. In DSI cases the IPCC wants to prohibit officers from viewing BWV before providing detailed statements (stage 4 in the Armed policing APP). The IPCC rationale for this is that it protects the integrity of the process and of the officer’s evidence. However, this should be put into context of the position publicly taken by IPCC that officers involved in a DSI should: • be obliged to provide a detailed individual first account – a DIFA – described in their ‘consultation’ document as … a full and detailed account at the earliest opportunity … meaning before going off duty • be prohibited from conferring, and • be separated from colleagues until after a DIFA has been provided. This flies in the face of accepted current practice, ignores the opinion of experts instructed by the Home Office and seriously undermines the position of the officer whose use of force has resulted in death or serious injury. This friction is misplaced. All the stakeholders want to achieve the same goal – the provision of a detailed account by the officer who has used force and to achieve best evidence. It is important to consider the position of an officer who
has used force. That officer is: • a witness, • but one who can become a suspect very quickly. In a DSI that officer is subject to an IPCC investigation, which is required to satisfy requirements of Article 2 of the ECHR of … being capable of leading to a determination of whether the force used was justified…and to the identification and punishment of those responsible … and In those cases involving agents of the State to ensure their accountability for deaths occurring under their responsibility. The vulnerability of officers is underlined by examples of officers who have faced prosecution for murder – the Met officer prosecuted for shooting David EWAN in 1997, the Sussex officer prosecuted for shooting James ASHLEY in 1999, the retired Met officer prosecuted in 2015 for shooting Azelle Rodney in 2005, plus several restraint deaths and deaths in the custody suite. This hybrid status means that police officers are uniquely vulnerable to becoming suspects. They are expected to assist the IPCC investigation by providing detailed accounts early on in the PIP, and yet if they do not articulate their justification for use of force clearly, or unambiguously or are inconsistent in accounts given, their status can change to that of suspect. This is why we have CofP guidance – to achieve a balance between the need to investigate the matter thoroughly whilst recognising the vulnerability of the officer and protecting their rights. This is not just lawyers’ talk. The Home Office commissioned a study in 1986. Entitled Study of Post Shooting Experiences in Firearms Officers by Mary Manolias Scientific Research and
Development Branch Home Office and Dr A Hyatt-Williams Consultant Psychiatrist., the research concluded: The officer is likely to be in a state of physical and mental shock and suffering some degree of confusion. Any statement taken under these conditions is likely to be worthless and need complete revision at a later stage. It is suggested that some way of delaying the formal investigation procedure should be considered to give the officer time and opportunity to recover from the initial effects of his experience. That was in 1986 in the very early stages of development of the PIP. More recently in an article published in Criminal Law & Justice Weekly on March 25, 2014 by amongst others Professor Lorraine Hope of Dept of Psychology at University of Portsmouth – Preparing a DIFA may perhaps be appropriate for a custody officer who has presided over an accidental death … in custody … However, this is unlikely to apply in the case of a firearms officer who has been involved in a fatal shooting incident … unlikely they will be in a psychologically optimal state to write a ‘full and detailed’ account. Their biological responses to the psychological and physiological stress are unlikely to have receded and there are likely to be significant concerns about their ability to focus on producing such an account at that stage … The current version of the CofP guidance contained within the Authorised Professional Practice (APP) recognises the balance that needs to be struck between the interests of the investigation and protecting the officer concerned. Para 8.5 under heading Effects of trauma on memory states: A person involved in a traumatic or life threatening encounter will often experience
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a range of physiological and psychological responses which may determine their perception of time, distance, auditory and visual stimuli and the chronology of events. This may affect their ability immediately after the incident to recall what may be important detail. This is exactly why a period of at least 48 hours should pass before the officer is required to provide a detailed account. This is why officers are currently permitted to confer on any issue, other than their honestly held belief of why force was necessary. This is why officers should be permitted to view BWV before providing their detailed statement. Achieving best evidence will not happen if officers are prohibited from conferring, are separated from colleagues before providing an account, or are prohibited from viewing BWV. Such restrictions are not appropriate for someone who is allegedly being treated as a witness. They are understandable if someone is being treated as a suspect. But the consequences of imposing such restrictions on a witness are that they will become naturally cautious about committing themselves to detail when they know that their ability to recall important facts will be affected. This is especially the case when they know there are likely to be differences between their perception of events and the reality captured on the BWV. This will result in very short, guarded accounts being provided until such time as they are permitted to view the BWV. Juries at inquests will want to know what explanation there is for differences between an officer’s perception and the reality captured on BWV. Lawyers will explore any differences or inconsistencies. If the officer has been prohibited from viewing BWV until many months after the incident they will be poorly placed to offer an explanation. BWV is not the panacea or resolution of all evidential issues. • A camera does not follow your eyes or see as they see. • A camera does not record your history and experience or your mental risk assessment. • A camera does not allow for the reaction time – the distance covered by a car after a driver has recognised
a need to brake but before being able to press the brake pedal – the thinking time in the Highway Code braking distances table. • A camera does not recreate the light and visibility available to the officer at the time . • A camera only records in 2 D – it does not record depth of field BWV will encourage assessment of an officer’s decision with the benefit of hindsight. The law on self defence is set out in the case of R v PALMER (1971) AC 814: … a person defending themselves (or others) cannot weigh to a nicety the exact measure of his defensive action. The Queen on the application of Ernest Bennett v HM Coroner for Inner South London [2006] EWHC 196 (Admin) … if any officer reasonably decides he must use lethal force, it will inevitably be because it is absolutely necessary … There is no support for the submission that the court has with hindsight to decide whether there was in fact absolute necessity. But does anyone really believe that officers will not be asked whether they really needed to use force and BWV will be a tool in assessing that? For example: • the decision to shoot Derek BENNETT believing him to be about to shoot a handgun which was discovered to be a cigarette lighter shortly afterwards; • the decision to shoot Harry STANLEY believing him to be about to shoot a shotgun which was discovered to be a table leg wrapped in polythene; • the decision to shoot Jean Charles de Menezes believing him to have been an identified suicide bomber who was about to detonate a bomb on an underground train; • the decision to shoot Mark Duggan believing he had drawn and was about to shoot a handgun when, according to the juries finding of fact, he was in the process of throwing it over a fence. In E7 v The Azelle Rodney Inquiry [2014] EWHC 452 (Admin) the High Court said … in our judgment there is considerable force in the expressed concern that minute dissection of fractions of a second with the
benefit of hindsight will discourage an appropriate response, in real time, to threats thereby resulting in potentially increased danger to those involved in these exceedingly difficult operations … Whilst BWV may reduce the scope for lawyers to challenge officers’ evidence as to the facts, it will enable challenge on differences between the officers’ stated perception and the reality caught on BWV. BWV will enable minute dissection of the crucial fractions of a second with the benefit of hindsight. All of these consequences put the officer who has used force in an even more vulnerable position. The only way to properly recognise this vulnerability is to permit the officer to view BWV before they provide their detailed account. They should, of course, still clearly articulate in their detailed account, all the factors that resulted in their perception of the threat justifying their decision to use force; - Intelligence received, experience, and the actual movements of the subject that resulted in the officer perceiving a threat that justified the use of force. They should then deal with any differences between their perception and the reality as shown on the BWV. This does not prevent the IPCC conducting a thorough investigation. This does not prevent the investigation complying with the Article 2 requirement. This does not prevent lawyers challenging the officers at an inquest. There will undoubtedly still be differences between the officer’s perception, as set out in the initial account (made without reference to BWV), and the detailed account made after viewing BWV. There is a suspicion that politics is delaying the issuing of ACPO’s guidance. There is a suspicion that the interests of the firearms officer is seen as a poor second to the perceived public interest. But, the only fair resolution of the issue, the balanced resolution of the issue, the way to achieve best evidence is to permit officers to view BWV before the provision of the detailed account. That is what the current position is in non DSI policing and that is what the position should be in DSI investigations! ■
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BRAND IDENTITY | DESIGN AND PRINT | CORPORATE PRESENTATIONS CREATIVE TENDERS | EVENT CREATIVE SUPPORT | TAILORED TRAINING
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Guernsey Police is seeking to recruit the following position:
Police Officer Uniformed Operations Qualified and Accredited as a Firearms Officer
The post holder will work as a Police Constable, Uniformed Operations and will be deployed as a Firearms Officer as required. The successful candidate will be provided with a 15 year housing licence and benefit from a Relocation package. For further information about the post please contact Jean-Pierre Le Breton, Chief Firearms Instructor, Guernsey Police on 01481 719471. To apply online visit www.gov.gg/jobs or contact the Recruitment Team on 01481 747394 or email: e-recruitment@gov.gg Closing Date: 3 November 2015
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H
READ ON
i! My name is Demelza Watts and I live just outside London. Experienced at handling an alpha male of my own, I devote most of my spare time to reading and writing contemporary romance. Blessed with two healthy children, for most part, I spend my days trying to balance the challenges of being a good wife and mother, whilst dreaming up my next story!
Read on… Fantastic book offers for PFOA members NEW RELEASE Beyond Evidence by Emma L Clapperton is a new supernatural crime novel due for release in November 2015. A special offer to PFOA members of £6.00 inc. free P&P, will be available from launch. About the book: In an alleyway of the back streets of Glasgow there lies a decomposing corpse of a slain female baking in the midday heat. No one has found her yet, but medium Patrick McLauchlin knows she is there. It is not the first time he has dreamt of death … and he soon finds out that it is not to be his last. Meanwhile the local Police start to request DNA samples from twentysomething men in the bustling city of Glasgow where several bizarre murders have taken place. Through a hunch, and in the belief that the terrifying dreams hold the key to the identity of the murderer, Patrick works alongside the Police to track down the Predator before they can strike again. The nightmares do not ease up and begin to tear at Patrick’s sanity in the midst of the investigation. What price will Patrick have to pay to stop the killer striking again? His Friends? His Family? His Life?
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I started writing my books earlier this year and am now working on my fifth title. Having always loved reading and writing, with a gap in career and becoming a full-time mum, I decided to do some research into self-publishing. Nowadays the market is evolving and numerous authors are choosing the route to self-publish (becoming “indie”/ independent authors) and the traditional book deal is not as coveted as it once was. This is partly due to the fact that by taking the route to self-publishing your books, you have a lot more freedom and control over your work. Of course, if you build a good fan base through social media
BEAUTIFUL PERSUASION He creates beauty for the fake and the flawed. She looks for beauty within those flaws. Arrogant, but irresistible cosmetic surgeon, Julien Berthou spends his days constructing beauty out of mediocrity, spending his nights with products of his sculpted perfection. But when his new British assistant, Ellie Hartley, doesn’t give him the time of day, Julien turns on the charm, determined to weaken her resolve. Reluctant to give in to the undeniable chemistry she feels for the sexy surgeon, Ellie refuses to buckle. Her controlled demeanour and unfaltering restraint makes him want her even more, revelling in the challenge of winning her over. Giving in to the glitz and glamour that he offers is against everything that Ellie stands for. Can Julien convince his English rose that she’s the flawed perfection he’s been looking for all along? WANTED: LOVE IN LONDON SERIES 1 Running from heartbreak, Elizabeth Morgan has left her small town for the big city lights of London. Although she is open to love, she wants to be sure the man she finally sleeps with is “the one”. She envisions a perfect union-just like her parents. Then she goes to work for Theo Steele and her life is turned upon its head. Theo is an arrogant American, bursting to take the London market by storm. He plays by the rules … his rules. Until he finds himself toe to toe with a beautiful blonde. All he knows is that he wants her … now.
For both special book deals contact Allan Sneddon on: T 0785 3232814 M 01779 560 568 E allan.olidapublishing@gmail.com
Olida Publishing
@olidapublishing
CHERISHED: LOVE IN LONDON SERIES 2 Amber Preston was stupid. Totally. Incredibly. Unbelievably stupid. She thought Nico Moretti cared for her when he took her to his bed, but she was just another notch on his post. The millionaire playboy from Italy had dozens of those notches – she had known that already. After her, there’d be dozens more. One right after the other. She wants to tell him to go screw
TOP COVER ISSUE 9 49 you can also become incredibly rich! (Yes, I’m looking at you, E.L James - 50 Shades of Grey). It’s been a huge learning curve as effectively you have to be an author-cummarketing extraordinaire, but I publish all my books on Amazon and they are a wonderful company to work with. I’m very happy to note that my latest novel, Beautiful Persuasion, is doing very well on the Amazon US bookseller charts – this is predominantly the biggest romance-reader market in the world. My passion is weaving true love stories about people destined to be together – here is a small sample of what my readers are saying about it: “If you love Fifty Shades you’ll love this…”
“Fantastic, Intense Romance…” (Top 500 Amazon Reviewer) “What a great love story! Ellie and Julien’s story was great! It was intense and fast from the start. I never could find a place I was comfortable with to stop for the night, so now it’s 2:30 am for I just finished!..” There are a lot more, but reading comments like the above really make all the late nights and weekend-sacrifices worthwhile! Beautiful Persuasion was intended be released as a standalone title, but since publication, many readers have emailed me asking to write a follow up, which is extremely flattering – this is now my latest work in progress.
“Totally unheard for me to read a book straight off but I have just amazed myself & managed to read this book. What a fab story. It had me hooked and unable to put it down. The sexual tension between Ellie & Dr Julien was gripping…”
So if you read my books, here’s what you can expect: sassy girls? Check. Smouldering alpha billionaire hotness? Double check. Sexy Scenes? Fasten up your seatbelts, ladies and gents. It’s going to be a wild ride!
himself. She wants to forget him. She wants to lick her wounds and move on. There is only one little problem … Nico Moretti isn’t only unforgettable, he is one of her company’s biggest clients. Yes. Stupid. Join Amber and Nico as they navigate the heart breaking journey of love in Cherished, the second book of the Love in London Series.
Find all my books here: https://www.amazon.com/author/ demelzawatts
DESIRED: LOVE IN LONDON SERIES 3 When you’ve been in love with someone your entire life, is it true love or just a fairy tale? Mia Moretti simply doesn’t know anymore. She just knows she must get over her infatuation with Gino Rossi and move on with her life. Then he shows up … again. And her world is turned upside down … again. Only this time, he has news that shatters her to the core. The little girl’s dream turns into an adult woman’s nightmare. All traces of the fantasy she held of being with Gino vanishes into thin air. Or does it? Something isn’t quite right here. She feels it. She knows it deep in her soul. But what is it? For the sake of Gino. For the sake of her own happiness, she’s determined to find out.
authordemelzawatts
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HISTORY All obsolete pistols in the Met that had been acquired either as a direct purchase or inherited from groups as they were brought under the Met commissioners are collected in. Percussion revolvers (probably Beaumont-Adams) are temporarily issued in their place. Left – Beaumont Adams percussion ‘cap and ball’ revolver.
1866
Constable John Cruickshank (Durham) is shot and killed by an ex-constable, David Paton, against whom he had given evidence resulting in him being dismissed from the force. Paton commits suicide. Detective Sergeant James Kemp (Northampton Borough) is going home off duty when he tries to arrest an armed man. He is shot and killed. In 1869 William Bridgewater is sentenced to twenty years penal servitude for manslaughter. Adams Breech Loading Revolvers are supplied by the Tower of London for issue to Met police stations. Left – Adams revolver. The Chief Constable of Caernarvonshire in Wales is told by his watch committee to apply for six revolvers and 250 rounds of ammunition from the Board of Ordnance.
1868
The Mold Riot. Miners at the Leeswood Green Colliery in Flintshire in Wales have a grievance against the manager, John Young, and ransack his house. Seven men are arrested and stand trial at Mold Magistrates Court. The Chief Constable of Flintshire County Constabulary, Captain Peter Browne, orders a full turn-out of his men and the assistance of the second battalion, 4th Regiment, The King’s Own, from Chester Castle. Two men are sentenced to a month’s hard labour but as they reach the railway station for transport to Flint Castle prison the escort is attacked by a mob throwing missiles. The soldiers open fire killing four people and wounding many more.
1869
1867 In February, fearing an attack on Chester Castle by Fenians to obtain arms, the Mayor of Chester calls out the part-time Chester Volunteer Rifle Corps. Uncertain of the correct procedure he swears them all in as special constables. A Brigade of Guards (500 men) is sent by train from London in support. In June the Secretary of State for War clarifies the circumstances under which the Volunteer Rifle Corps can be called: ‘In cases of dangerous riots and disturbances … having for their object the commission of felonious acts or the subversion of the civil Government, the civil authority may call upon and require Her Majesty’s subjects generally, including Volunteers, to arm themselves with and use such other weapons of defence or attack as may be in their power and may be suitable to the occasion, and such other weapons may be used accordingly by Her Majesty’s subjects, including Volunteers, according to the necessity
of the occasion … Firearms should be the last weapon called into action, and should only be resorted to in cases when, without their use, it would be practically impossible to quell the disturbance’. Sergeant Charles Brett (Manchester City) is shot and killed by Fenians during a rescue of prisoners from custody (right). William O’Meara, William Gould and Michael Larkin are executed at New Bailey prison, Salford. The Murphy Riots. William Murphy gives a series of virulent anticatholic lectures in Birmingham and as a result there is a riot by Irish immigrant labourers. Murphy supporters then ransack the Irish quarter. Birmingham City officers with cutlasses break up some rioting but the Mayor has to call on the assistance of about 70 men from the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars and 100 men from the 82nd Regiment of Foot. Special constables are recruited and a force of 50 Warwickshire Constabulary constables is also
The Gun Licence Act. The first firearms legislation is introduced requiring that: ‘Every person who shall use or carry a gun, or other firearm, elsewhere than in a dwelling house or curtilage thereof, without having in force a licence duly granted under this Act [available at any post office at a cost of 10/- (50p)] shall forfeit the sum of ten pounds’. An exemption is provided for ‘any person in the naval, military, or volunteer service of Her Majesty, or in the constabulary or other police force, using or carrying any gun in the performance of his duty, or when engaged in target practice’. It is intended as a revenue measure to raise ‘the necessary supplies to defray Your Majesty’s [Queen Victoria’s] public expenses’.
Arthur O’Connor points what turns out to be an unloaded pistol at Queen Victoria as she drives through the gates of Buckingham Palace in London.
Constable Nicholas Cock (Lancashire) is shot and killed by an armed burglar at night. Charles Peace confesses to the murder before he is executed in 1879. Cutlasses are withdrawn from general use in Warwickshire Constabulary. Inspector Joseph Drewett and Constable Thomas Shorter (Berkshire) discover four poachers at night in a lonely lane just outside Hungerford. The officers manage to catch one, Frank Tidbury, but his brother, Henry, returns to rescue him and he shoots Drewett in the neck at close range. Shorter tries to get away but he is beaten to death by the two brothers using their gun butts. They find Drewett still alive and so they finish him off in the same manner. At Berkshire County Assizes in 1877 Frank and Henry Tidbury are convicted of murder and sentenced to be executed. They are hanged at Reading prison.
Constable Joseph Moss (Derby Borough) is one of several officers who stop Gerald Mainwaring, described as being ‘the son of a gentleman’ (in fact a magistrate), and a local prostitute, Annie Green, in a pony and trap for ‘furious driving’ after a night out on the town drinking. On reaching the police station they struggle when officers try to search them and Mainwaring produces a pistol. Moss is shot and killed and Mainwaring is charged with murder. At Derby Assizes he is convicted and sentenced to be executed. However, a rumour circulates in the popular media that the jury, being unsure of whether or not to convict him of murder or manslaughter, tossed a coin to decide the matter. This is strongly denied by the jury foreman in a letter to the Home Secretary, Richard Cross, who nevertheless commutes the sentence to life imprisonment.
Roderick Maclean tries to shoot Queen Victoria (right) as her carriage leaves Windsor railway station. Constable George Cole (Met) is shot and killed by an armed burglar. Thomas Orrock is executed for the murder in October 1884. At the request of the Met Commissioner a barrister, James Edward Davis, compiles his list of when ‘police constables may lawfully use revolvers’. Webley ‘Bulldog’ Revolvers (left) are purchased by the Met for officers engaged in the protection of Government Ministers.
1870
1872
1876
1879
1882
1871 sent. These officers are ‘issued with revolvers and cutlasses’ during ‘the present disturbed state of the County’. Firearms and cutlasses are made more easily available in Lancashire. They are not immediately issued but uniform belts are adapted to carry them. Warrington Borough Police, which consists of a chief constable, two sergeants and twenty-three constables, is ‘issued on government orders with enough [Colt] revolvers and ammunition to arm each member of [the] force for their personal protection if the need to do so ever arose’. The Head Constable of Birkenhead Borough Police reports that he has received thirty pistols, pouches and holsters, together with ammunition, from Chester Castle. The first Met police firearms training takes place after an attempt is made to free two Fenians by blowing up a wall of Clerkenwell prison in London.
Constable Benjamin Snow (Benington, Hertfordshire) hears that John Chapman, a known poacher who he also knows has been wanted on a warrant for six years, is in his area. He goes looking for him and when he finds him there is a struggle and Snow is shot in the head. He manages to reach his home from where a doctor is called but he dies later that night. Chapman is arrested and charged with murder. At first hedenies any involvement but, no doubt after legal advice, in court he argues that as the officer was not in possession of the warrant his attempt to arrest him was not lawful. The trial judge agrees and Chapman is convicted of manslaughter. He is sentenced to fifteen years penal servitude.
1873 Constable George Grey (Northumberland) is shot and killed chasing poachers just outside Eglingham. Charles Richardson and George Edgell are suspected but there is insufficient evidence for a prosecution.
1878 Sergeant Jonah Sewell (Lancashire) stops a youth, Hugh Carey, and is shot and killed when he tries to search him. Carey escapes to Ireland but he is brought back and charged with murder. At Liverpool Spring Assizes in 1879 he claims that the gun went off by accident and the trial judge questions whether Sewell had the lawful authority to stop and search him in the first place. He is therefore only found guilty of manslaughter. Anticipating a light sentence Carey’s supporters build a huge bonfire to celebrate. It is reported that this remains unlit when Carey is sentenced to twentyfive years penal servitude.
Police History Series
Mike Waldren QPM looks at a timeline of Policing and Firearms. In this issue we explore 1866-1900
1881 Constable Frederick Atkins (Met) is shot and killed by an armed burglar at night. His killer is not identified and the Home Secretary, Sir William Harcourt, questions whether it is time to arm the police. Twenty revolvers, pouches, belts, holsters and 408 rounds of ammunition are lent to Lancashire Constabulary by the War Office. They are distributed to three main police stations. The Chief Constable of Blackburn informs the Home Office that he intends to purchase revolvers from Birmingham. The Town Clerk of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, writes to the Home Office to say that in view of ‘recent outrages’ he intends to arm superintendents and inspectors with revolvers. Revolvers are lent by the War Office to Warwickshire and Flintshire.
1883 The Met Commissioner, Sir Edmund Henderson, directs that every sergeant and constable serving on outer divisions in London is to submit a report indicating whether he wishes to be armed when performing night duty. 4,430 out of 6,325 men are in favour. Terrorism results in Royal Irish Constabulary officers with rifles being employed as a temporary measure for the protection of public buildings in London. They are replaced by armed Met officers. Home Office gives authority for the Met to purchase Webley gateload revolvers to replace the Adams revolvers (see 1868). These are distributed to divisions. Left – Webley .450 gate-load revolver. The Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary informs the Home Office that he intends to buy revolvers to replace those on loan from the War Office.
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HISTORY First full Met regulations on police firearms use are drawn up and officers on night duty are allowed to carry a firearm at their own request. Officially the weapon can only be used for selfdefence. There is agitation in the Highlands and Islands in what will become known as the Crofter’s War over high rents, the rights of access to land given over to hunting parks and the lack of security of tenure. The War Office lends fifty revolvers to the Chief Constable of Inverness-shire.
Constable Alfred Austwick (Yorkshire West Riding) arrests James Murphy for drunkenness. Murphy swears vengeance and when Austwick is called to a disturbance at Murphy’s house by a neighbour he is shot and killed. Murphy is charged with murder and convicted at York Assizes. He is executed at York Castle prison.
1884
1886 1885
Inspector Thomas Simmons (Essex) is shot and killed by a suspected burglar. James Lee is convicted of the murder and executed at Chelmsford prison.216 The question of arming officers in Essex Constabulary is raised by the Chief Constable and is debated at the Essex Quarter Sessions. Revolvers are purchased from Philip Webley & Son. Police on night duty in Essex Constabulary are allowed to carry a firearm at their own request. The Times reports that a number of Essex Constabulary officers have undergone a course of revolver practice at Romford Butts.
Constable Joseph Byrnes (Cumberland and Westmoreland) is shot and killed by three men wanted for a burglary at Netherby Hall in Penrith. The three are executed at Carlisle prison in 1886. All but ten cutlasses are withdrawn from Met police stations. 4,713 are scrapped at Woolwich Arsenal although they are retained in full by the Dockyard Divisions.
The first known record of shots fired by a Met officer. Police Constable 161 ‘P’ Henry Owen fires six shots over the roof of a dwelling house in order to rouse the occupants because it is on fire. All of the occupants are successfully alerted. Superintendent Thomas Birkill (Yorkshire West Riding) is shot and killed by William Taylor who he is trying to arrest for the murder of his infant child. Taylor is convicted of murder but found to be insane and is committed to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum where he will die in 1925.
1887 1888 Superintendent Joseph Scott (Durham) is shot and killed in revenge by Benjamin Wright, an ex-sergeant reduced in rank to constable because of ‘intemperate habits’. Wright commits suicide.
During a debate on the ready availability of handguns the Earl of Milltown says that: ‘One thing is very certain: unless this habit of the criminal classes carrying and using revolvers is put down, you must be prepared to arm the police with a similar weapon. It is monstrously unfair to send forth a man, no matter how brave, armed with a short stick to attack and capture a desperate ruffian armed with a sixshooter’.
Sergeant James Weedy (Yorkshire North Riding) reprimands Robert Kitching for leaving a conveyance parked outside a hotel in Leeming. Kitching tells Weedy to mind his own business and threatens to ‘blow his brains out’. The next morning Weedy is found dead and evidence points to Kitching. He is charged with murder but claims in court that the gun went off by accident. He is convicted and executed at York Castle prison. Said to be the last of the London night watch, Charles Rouse, retires. Right – photographed with his cutlass, rattle, lanthorn lamp and truncheon outside his box in Brixton Road.
John Gould is living in a caravan in Linthorpe, Middlesborough with his father. A doctor visits him at his father’s request and deems him to be a lunatic. As he has a muzzle-loading rifle, which his father unsuccessfully tries to take from him, the doctor tells the police and Sergeant Black and Constable William Henderson go with two others to the caravan where they find him in the yard threatening to ‘shoot anyone who comes near’. The men slowly advance and when Henderson makes a grab for the rifle he is shot and killed. At Leeds Assizes Gould is ordered to be detained in a lunatic asylum ‘at Her Majesty’s Pleasure’. The Featherstone Massacre. During a miner’s strike in Yorkshire a shortage of police officers results
1889
1890
1893
1892 Detective Sergeant Joseph Joyce (Met) is shot and killed while at the home address of a thief, John Wenzel, who he is trying to take into custody. Wenzel is executed at Newgate prison. Sergeant Enos Molden (Wiltshire) is shot and killed during a manhunt for John Gurd who is wanted for the murder of Harry Richards, the uncle of his ex-girlfriend who he blames for the breakup of their relationship. Gurd shoots at two officers who try to arrest him and a shot hits Molden. He dies later in hospital. Gurd is charged with murder, convicted at Wiltshire Assizes and executed at Devizes prison.
in a request for military assistance by the Chief Constable of Yorkshire West Riding, Captain Stuart Russell. Fifty-four soldiers of the 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, arrive at Wakefield Station and one section consisting of twenty-eight men under Captain Barker is sent to Ackton Hall colliery near Featherstone. A mob there refuses to disperse and starts to stone the soldiers who (after firing warning shots thereby misleading the rioters into believing that they are only using blanks) fire a volley. Two men are killed and many injured. A plate commemorating the event will be erected in Featherstone in 1993.
Charles Backhouse and his brother Frederick live in Swinton near Rotherham. They buy a revolver and ammunition and both men are seen to threaten people with it. This is reported and Constable John William Kew (Yorkshire West Riding) goes to investigate. Kew confronts the two brothers as they are about to leave their home and Charles draws the revolver and shoots him in the stomach. Kew tries to hold onto Charles but Frederick then takes the gun from his brother and shoots him again, this time in the right hip. Kew dies the following day but names his assailants before he does so. Both men are charged with murder, convicted and sentenced to be executed. Frederick Backhouse, aged nineteen, has his sentence commuted to life imprisonment because of his age. Charles Backhouse is hanged at Leeds prison.
1900 1896
At Dartmoor prison at Princetown in Devon three convicts try to escape. William Carter is shot and killed by armed warders as he is climbing a wall and William Martin is recaptured after a struggle. The third man, Ralph Goodwin, is missing for several days as police and warders, many armed, search the moor on footand on horseback. He is recaptured at Devonport and returned to prison.
1898 Constable Thomas King (Inverness) is shot and killed while executing an arrest warrant for a poacher, Allan MacCallum. In February 1899 MacCallum is tried for murder at Inverness but only convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He will be released in 1910.
Police History Series 1866-1900
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HISTORY
The Hammersmith Ghost
F
or about six weeks at the end of 1803 the area around Hammersmith in London was in a state of great alarm. A ghost, sometimes in a white sheet, sometimes in a calf-skin dress with horns on its head and glass eyes, had been seen walking the streets and lanes at night. Some people even claimed to have been attacked by it and it became a regular occurrence for groups of young men to arm themselves before going out in search of it. Thomas Millwood was a bricklayer living in the area. His normal dress consisted of white linen trousers, a white flannel waistcoat and a white apron. One evening he told his mother-in-law about how he had just frightened two ladies and a gentleman in a carriage. The man had said ‘there goes the ghost’ to which Millwood took exception and threatened to punch him. She begged him to change his clothes or to wear a top coat with all the talk about the ghost going on but he would have none of it.
On 3 January 1804 at about 10.30 in the evening, Francis Smith met up with a watchman, William Girdler, and told him that he was going in search of the ghost. Smith was armed and the watchman later said that he too always carried a pistol. Girdler had seen the ghost the previous week and had chased it but it got away. He agreed to join Smith after he had completed his rounds and because it was so dark they arranged that when they met up one would call out ‘who goes there’ to which the other would reply ‘friend’. A short while later Girdler heard the sound of a shot but took little notice because ‘I hear them every quarter of an hour, almost all night’. Millwood had gone to visit his sister and mother in Black Lion Lane. After staying for about half-an-hour he left and his sister saw him walk down the road. Suddenly she heard a shout of ‘damn you, who are you and what are you’ and she saw the flash of a gun going off. Millwood had met up with Smith who, believing that he had found the ghost and was in danger, had shot and killed him.
Smith was charged with murder and he appeared at the Old Bailey on 11 January. The jury tried to bring in a verdict of manslaughter but the judge, Lord Chief Baron Macdonald, told them that he couldn’t accept that. They must find the prisoner either ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ and that the prerogative of showing mercy lay with the Crown. Smith was found guilty and sentenced to death but this was soon commuted to one year’s imprisonment. John Graham, a shoemaker, later admitted to being the ghost, saying that it had been to frighten his apprentice, and the case started the debate in legal circles about whether a mistaken honestly held belief of a risk to life justified an individual exercising their Common Law right of self-defence. The question would not be finally answered in the affirmative for another 184 years - until the case of R v Beckford in 1988! ■
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