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College says officers dismissed for gross misconduct or incompetence can apply to have their details wiped after minimum terms.


'High threshold' for officers to be removed from barred list

Date - 21st January 2021
By - Gary Mason

Officers who have been dismissed for gross incompetence and gross misconduct and placed on the Barred List will be able to apply to have their names removed from it after three or five years.

In a change to the system announced by the College of Policing which will apply from January 23 this year, dismissed officers and staff will be able to apply to CoP to have their details removed. The College will then carry out checks including consulting the force where the applicant was serving when they were sacked.

But the College has warned there will be a “high threshold” for deciding in favour of an individual being removed from the Barred List in order to recommence a career in policing.

Although successful applicants will have their details removed it is likely in most forces that their previous conduct will remain part of the vetting process.

Sample vetting forms provided in the College of Policing’s Vetting APP: Appendix-1-Sample-recruitment-vetting-form.pdf (college.police.uk) include a question about whether an individual has had any involvement in misconduct or disciplinary proceedings and whether they have been on the police Barred or Advisory Lists. Forces will base their own local vetting forms on these sample forms.

A spokesman for the College told Police Oracle: "The national recruitment application form for police does not mention the Barred List but force vetting, at the vetting stage, will ask an individual about any previous service with other police forces which will reveal any misconduct history that will be considered in the process."


 

British Transport Police is holding a 'banter survey' to better inform their training on appropriate behaviour in the workplace.


BTP Fed chair Nigel Goodband

Date - 7th January 2021
By - Chloe Livadeas

BTP's Ethical Dilemmas workshop was rolled out to all officers and staff last year, and aims to educate officers about what is appropriate behaviour and speech and what isn't. 

Trainers for the workshop, which discusses professional standards within the workplace, felt the material they were working from  - which relied on an external survey on banter - wasn’t particularly relevant to policing.

Well what a year 2020 has been for many of us not only in the policing family but generally across all of the emergency services and public sector organisations.

It has been a tough year for many people not only financially, but emotionally and mentally with lockdowns, uncertainty, fear and of course lots of fake news out there for the conspiracy theorists to feast upon.

Many families have struggled with the loss of loved ones and I am sure all of us know of people who have not survived this last year. Our hearts and thoughts are with them as they come to terms with their sadness in these challenging times.

Two vaccines are now approved for use and hopefully this will bring the much needed hope to everyone as we progress into 2021 with a sense of spirit and solidarity that the people of the UK are renowned for.

It goes without saying that our colleagues in the NHS are true heroes. Their selflessness and dedication has not gone unnoticed and appreciated by many of us during the pandemic and we stood on our doorsteps every Thursday clapping to show that we were thinking of them. They are still doing what they do best and we salute them all for what they do day in day out - Thank you

Here at Police Community we wish you all a better time this year and hope that 2021 is a brighter future for all of you, both professionally, emotionally, financially and mentally. We are here if you are struggling and need to talk, you are not alone and it’s good to talk.

Those of you who are looking to join the policing family in one guise or another, we wish you every success in your new career ventures and of course our help sections and trusted membership are always on hand to offer advice and guidance where its needed.

As a community, it never ceases to amaze me how resilient you all are in times of hardship and this is a credit to you. Thank you for your continued support over the last year and we hope that your dreams and aspirations come true for you in whatever you wish to do in the future.

Happy New Year to you all and your families - Stay Safe

 

The Management Team and Staff

As of 2020, for most constables for UK police forces (from what I understand) the following apply:

- no accommodation provided (less serving officers from pre-late 90s) i.e. commuting officers

- academic degree required, or certain points to allow a degree study, for two or three years (whilst serving)

- pension age getting higher (MDP?)

- police canteens largely gone, police leisure facilities largely non-existent?

This is not intended to be a "modern police" bashing thread, or and "old and bold" reminiscing (though I've no objection to stories!), but more to try and understand the aim behind the current conditions. In a time when the police service faces such problems (challenges) and dangers, there seems to be little further 'cushioning' if you like, to support [new?] people into the role.

With these new intakes, it must be difficult enough to learn how to police, without the need to; study for a degree/convert yours, commute/rent/mortgage, little official social & leisure places, etc. I'd have thought things like accommodation provided to you on your first posting, for say, three years or so (during probation) when you cna be posted anywhere in the county/city would be welcome. Does the degree study not take up what little time officers have to themselves, or police work time they have?

Anyone care to shed light? What's the big NPCC/HO plan here?

Cheers.

 

The latest model of the Taser has been signed off for police use, the Home Office has confirmed. Training and guidance will be rolled out within weeks.


Date - 24th August 2020
By - Gary Mason and Chris Smith 

A new, more effective version of the Taser has been approved for police use. The Home Office said the Taser 7 is more accurate, faster and compact than previous models.

It will also reduce costs for forces by replacing disposable batteries with rechargeable ones.

The announcement came just four days after the Home Office began a competition to develop a new less lethal weapon for officers to use that would have an increased range to tasers and baton rounds. 

The Taser 7 has twin cartridges that allow the user quickly to deploy a second shot after a failed first shot.

There are two cartridge options, one for close-range engagements, the other for when the subject is further away.

It also has a new green laser sighting system for the top probe and a probe design that radically departs from that used by the X2 and other older devices. 

Probes fired from the Taser 7 have a higher kinetic energy and momentum the Home Office led tests have shown.

The electrical output of the Taser 7 together with the way in which it is delivered, imply that the new device may be more effective than the X2 at inducing incapacitation and may be more painful for the subject according to tests carried out by the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons (SACMILL) on behalf of the Home Office. 

Are you Border Force or Immigration Enforcement, and are you a Designated Immigration Officer with PACE powers?

A nice piece.   As I read it, it also highlights why those non-police clients, when interviewed under pace decline to comment.  Perhaps this might help some to appreciate why a comment interview is forthcoming.   I see it especially relevant to understanding the allegation that is being made and any disclosure that may be forthcoming / held back.   
 

I don't want to sound like an old relic, but I can't believe how poorly so many cops handle arrests these days. 

In my time with a force that uses BWV, I have seen some of the most shocking displays from officers when carrying out arrests. No patience,  no tolerance threshold, no attempts to appeal or calm someone down or attempt to get them to co-operate. Instead I see cops barging in like bulls in china shop and actually be the aggressors, often deploying PAVA and strikes on someone for simply offering passive resistance.

Surely I can't be the only one that feels a great degree of pride for managing to bring in a suspect with VAP markers single-crewed, with all smiles and chatting away as if we are the best of pals. I have actually had people, twice my size, be aggressive towards me and make me reach for my baton or PAVA, but I have still managed to calm them down and in the end, even apologise to me for their behaviour.

Now all I see is bullies in a uniform that will use the excuse of power to use force to put someone in a headlock and throw them to the ground, whilst handcuffed, simply for refusing to walk... I'm sorry, but I find that utterly disgusting. These people have no business being cops and all they do is make the public hate and distrust us even more, leading to decent cops being at a greater risk of being assaulted.

I have raised my concerns with my supervision each time I have had to prepare a case file and witnessed these on BWV and every time I get the same response  along the lines of "it does seem excessive, but if the suspect complains, it's for the arresting cop to justify at court, we won't challenge their perception of the situation or discipline them"...

Hey guys, just wondering about the above question.

When I started my career in 2014 with Police Scotland and up until 2018 when I transferred to an English force (that shall remain un-named), it was up to us, the cops, Just this week...

A senior Metropolitan Police officer charged over possession of child abuse image.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/feb/20/female-scotland-yard-officer-charged-over-child-abuse-image

There seems to be a lot of these stories coming out at the moment.

Legal advice and legal expenses cover

In order to ensure that special constables have legal protection, the Home Office provides legal assistance cover currently through Arc Legal Assistance. This is available to all special constables, free of charge, and includes personal injury cover including financial compensation for damages. It also includes cover for legal advice as well as representation at criminal proceedings.

The Special Constable Legal Fees Insurance Scheme is now administered by the Home Office. For more information and summary of cover, please email: [email protected]

http://www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/Support/Citizens/Special-Constabulary/Pages/Information-resources.aspx

http://www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/Support/Citizens/Special-Constabulary/Documents/ARC_Legal_Assistance_-_Policy_Summary.pdf

 

Work With Offenders looks behind the decline in prosecutions with only three out of every 200 accused ending up in court.



 



 

West Midlands to teach frontline response to life-threatening incidents.

Survey comes out in favour of cap that fits the 'safer, practical and comfortable' approach for wearers.

Passing out parade: Officers will still wear helmets for ceremonial duties 

Tried to search the forum high and low and we appear to have officers in all areas but I can't find anything that suggests we have any dog handlers?


 

Campaign groups call for reform of 'digital strip searches' amid claims policy is unlawful.

 

Colleagues,

I have about 12 months service as a Constable with the Police Service of Northern Ireland. In the PSNI, when you pass out from the training college, everyone is sent to response. No one likes being in response for reasons why I will go on to outline in a moment. The coveted roles, available only to Con's outside of probation are the Neighbourhood teams, road policing teams, various crime/pro active teams, investigative departments, Firearms etc.

One of the most stressful things about working response is the investigation of the crimes you pick up, all the way to court. I don't know what your experience in response has been like, but I go from emergency call to emergency call. In between times, I am supposed to conduct my enquires, process them at custody interview suspects, prepare the file for the public prosecution service and go to court. This is what I signed up too. It's been very stressful however I thought that was the only way to do things. 

I've had the benefit of working alongside Con's who where formerly attached to Merseyside and the Met. They've advised me that in their previous forces, they arrested suspects, wrote up a statement and notebook entry then passed the investigation on to dedicated case progression/investigative teams to follow up. I couldn't believe this. It makes so much sense. Rather than a half baked investigation from a Constable who his running pillar to post they have a team of people 9-5 dedicated to investigative follow ups.

In short, I'm wondering is this standard throughout GB police forces? Do you carry out your own investigations from start to finish or what mechanisms do you have in your force to complete investigations?

A Met Police officer has admitted buying buying pornography at the family home of a dead child while he waited for the undertaker to turn up - and charging it to the grieving relatives.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7262107/Police-officer-admits-buying-PORNOGRAPHY-waiting-undertakers-home-dead-child.html

PM to use final leadership days to give public sector £2bn pay rise.

Following arrest, officer said: I am not like one those people who touch children. They make me sick.

Campaigners demand 'more cops in cars' as numbers drop by more than a quarter.

PC sentenced to 28 months for misconduct in public office offences.

Sentenced: Merseyside PC Ben Murphy

Date - 16th July 2019
By - Nick Hudson - Police Oracle

4 Comments





 

An officer who handed out his own softer version of justice to speeding female offenders found the courts showed no leniency in his sentencing yesterday.

PC Ben Murphy was jailed for 28 months after admitting 10 offences of misconduct in public office and one of sending an inappropriate message.

The charges related to allegations the roads policing officer stopped cars exceeding the speed limit and then issued tickets for lesser offences, getting in touch with female suspects afterwards.

The constable, who resigned from the Merseyside force in May, was officially dismissed at a fast-track hearing held in Liverpool at the beginning of this month for breaches of the standards of professional behaviour connected to his criminal conviction.

Merseyside Chief Superintendent Peter Costello said: "It is vital that we as a police force maintain the public’s trust and confidence and ensure that officers and staff throughout the force realise the importance of maintaining standards and working with honesty and integrity.

"We cannot afford to have officers and staff working for us who do not uphold the highest levels of professionalism, honesty and integrity and will always be robust in dealing with officers, or staff, whose conduct is unacceptable.

"The majority of people who work for Merseyside Police do a really good job day in, day out, and joined the force to serve our communities with compassion and integrity.

“Sadly the actions of Ben Murphy have the propensity to seriously undermine the good work of the majority.

"The public quite rightly have high expectations of police officers and we are committed to meeting those expectations by demanding high standards of professionalism, honesty and integrity.

View On Police Oracle

Forces to 'work together' with bodies mirroring police trailblazers in Scotland and London.

The government have issued a statement on the judgment of the public service pension issue;

The government is committed to providing public service pensions that are fair for public sector workers and for taxpayers. This is why we brought forward reforms in 2015, based on the recommendations of the Hutton report, to ensure that these pensions are sustainable in the future.

The courts have considered cases regarding the implementation of the 2015 reforms. On 27 June 2019 the Supreme Court denied the government permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgment that transitional provisions introduced to the reformed judges and firefighters pension schemes in 2015 gave rise to unlawful age discrimination. The government respects the Court’s decision and will engage fully with the Employment Tribunal to agree how the discrimination will be remedied.

The ruling relates to the ‘transitional protection’ offered to some members when the reformed schemes were introduced. In order to ensure people close to retirement age were treated fairly, the government agreed to ‘transitional protection’, which broadly permitted those members who were closest to retirement at the time new pension schemes were introduced to remain members of their respective old schemes. The court has found that those too far away from retirement age to qualify for ‘transitional protection’ have been unfairly discriminated against. As ‘transitional protection’ was offered to members of all the main ...

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-07-15/HCWS1725/

 

PC faces career end after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice.