Port of Tilbury-Police Constable

[Fedster + 1,307]

Almost 50 per cent said they always or often worked alone and were attacked with a weapon at least once in the last year.

Single crewing could be putting the safety of police officers at risk, according to results of a new joint study by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) and University of Nottingham.

The report – ‘Single Crewing in English and Welsh Policing: Frequency and Associations with Violence Towards and Injuries in Officers’ canvassed the views of 11,397 officers from 43 territorial forces.

Officers who said they were often, or always single crewed had "significantly elevated odds" of being subjected to verbal insults and threats and physical attacks and injuries requiring medical attention, the results showed. 

Almost three quarters of officers said they were single crewed often or always in the preceding 12-month period to February 2016.

The study found 71 per cent of respondents reported being verbally insulted, 55 per cent verbally threatened and 44 percent were the victim of an unarmed physical attack at least once per month during the same time period.

It also said 47 per cent reported they were attacked with a weapon at least once within the last year and 26 per cent suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related violence.

Young, male, less experienced officers of lower rank were more likely to be on the receiving end of abuse, the researchers found, with response and neighbourhood policing officers reporting the most frequent victimisation. But researchers did not find any notable trends connected with ethnicity.

PFEW lead on operational policing, Simon Kempton said single-crewing could also impact the way an officer will react to dangerous incidents.

He said: "An officer on their own is more likely to have to resort to a greater level of force to resolve an issue where a double crewed team might be able to use simple arm holds for example."

Mr Kempton said single crewing affects the overall quality of service provided as some suspected criminals are not being taken to account. "For example, it is less likely that a single crewed officer will stop a suspicious vehicle full of suspects in a remote location at night because of the risk to them.

"Single crewed officers, until Body Worn Video is issued to all, are more susceptible to false complaints or allegations from those who would lie about the police in order to detect from their own behaviour or because of simple malice."

Mr Kempton added single crewing is “fundamentally a consequence of budget cuts and the lack of resources across forces.”

 "There are times, for example when one officer is taking a protracted statement that it would be inefficient to be with a colleague. However the default position ought to be double crewing of officers engaged in patrol work for the bene?t of them and of the public," he said.

Earlier research (including McKenzie and Whitehouse 1995) found officers working solo are seen as more approachable by the public and work more efficiency than double-crews.

But the study sounded a warning alarm about the sacrifices to officer welfare.

The report stated: “In a time of austerity characterised by unprecedented cuts to policing budgets single crewing might represent an efficient use of limited resources.

“However, this exploratory study has highlighted a possible undesirable correlate of single crewing concerning the safety of police officers in England and Wales…our initial findings suggest that the gains achieved by single crewing should be considered against possible negative implications for officer safety, health, and, by extension, operational effectiveness.

“Although conclusions on relations between single crewing and officer safety drawn on the basis of the current findings should be drawn with caution, these initial findings suggest that operational gains achieved by single crewing should perhaps be considered against negative implications for officer safety and, by extension, reduced productivity and lost working days.”

The PFEW will present results of the study at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology conference from 10-12 January at the Crowne Plaza in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Only officers for whom single-crewing is applicable to their role were included in the study.

Police Oracle has contacted the National Police Chiefs’ Council for comment.

View On Police Oracle

[mike88 + 257]

All true but I would've thought all this was obvious.

[Hyphen + 693]

I thought the same as I was reading it. All the points raised are ones that could be discussed without a survey. I guess having some ‘stats’ helps maybe? 

We all know there is an elevated risk level when working single crewed. I’m glad they mentioned the point about potentially higher levels of force being used on a subject when an officer is single crewed. The thing that annoys me particularly on a late shift is more time is spent waiting for someone to back up to a lot of jobs and therefore wasted and slower response times. Sometimes it ends up in quite a distance for officers to back each other up.

The problem is shifts are just really short now days. It’s just the norm other than on nights.

[Indiana Jones + 1,082]

 Who knew!

[David + 4,981]

Whoever would have guessed.

Why has it taken report undertaken by people with or studying for degrees to state the flipping obvious?

Thousands of officers, some actually injured because of single crewing, have been saying this for years - and for free.

[Zulu 22 + 4,571]

Are officers now incapable of working on their own  It has been going on from time immemorial. Yes there are incidents which require more than one officer which Communications would identify and send more than one officer. Reports of a group of men fighting is never going to have a single manned crew sent.

[MajorDisaster + 579]

And in other news, bears found to be [email protected] in the woods and religious man found in Rome says 'Of course I'm Catholic, I'm the effin' Pope'

 

That said - if there are enough vehicles then the only way to progress your crimes is for all officers to be haring off in different directions.  We always double up after dark, though if there's an odd number on we might swap round quite a bit depending on what's on and who's got what to do.

 

Edited January 10, 2018 by MajorDisaster

[Hyphen + 693]

33 minutes ago, Zulu 22 said:

Are officers now incapable of working on their own  It has been going on from time immemorial. Yes there are incidents which require more than one officer which Communications would identify and send more than one officer. Reports of a group of men fighting is never going to have a single manned crew sent.

Who said officers are incapable of working on their own? 

And yes, if you only have single crew cars available then they will be despatched to such incidents along with domestics. No one is saying officers are not capable of dealing with these, it just takes longer as officers then wait for other single crewed officers to back them up.

I do take the point re crimes, if response carry crimes then it does make life easier to get statements/bits done with crimes.

[MerseyLLB 8,426]

2 hours ago, Hyphen said:

Who said officers are incapable of working on their own? 

And yes, if you only have single crew cars available then they will be despatched to such incidents along with domestics. No one is saying officers are not capable of dealing with these, it just takes longer as officers then wait for other single crewed officers to back them up.

I do take the point re crimes, if response carry crimes then it does make life easier to get statements/bits done with crimes.

Zulu you're out of date mate - last week singly crewed with my back up coming from the next BCU 20 miles away I attended 5 males fighting with knives and a violent domestic.

The trick is to turn up and take it as a given you're going to get assaulted and if you don't it's a bonus.

In terms of resourcing I work in a BCU which doesn't border the Met...however I was in SE London on an arrest enquiry the other day and was the only available Kent patrol so had to make to an immediate call from Met ground with a lengthy ETA. When I joined the cops I'd never heard of that situation...officers who are out of county having to attend 999 calls!

[Pete 1,492]

8 hours ago, Zulu 22 said:

Are officers now incapable of working on their own  It has been going on from time immemorial. Yes there are incidents which require more than one officer which Communications would identify and send more than one officer. Reports of a group of men fighting is never going to have a single manned crew sent.

ha. 

when something’s happening be that knives, fights, stabbings and you’re the only unit available, youre going. 

control will “try and sort out another unit to join you but just make your way” (code for control will quickly forget about you and the next unit available is going to the next in the list of unattended immediate calls)

what are we supposed to do? refuse and wait round the corner while someone gets stabbed for the mythical next unit to be pulled out of the home secretary’s armpit?

no, we wade in and pray that our bluster is enough to cover up the fact we’re just people with a little stick and a can of silly string

[Beaker 817]

Are officers now incapable of working on their own  It has been going on from time immemorial. Yes there are incidents which require more than one officer which Communications would identify and send more than one officer. Reports of a group of men fighting is never going to have a single manned crew sent.

Here the majority of double crews now seem to either by Specials or Probationary Constables in their 10 weeks, you get the call, you go, you deal with it. Been to a few jobs where we're outnumbered, but you have to deal as you can. "Do the job that is in front of you" to steal a phrase. It happens, it is pretty much the new reality. There are some experienced double crews, but they aren't the norm. Pure numbers game, and often there just aren't officers available in the timeframe available.

[Zulu 22 + 4,571]

14 hours ago, MerseyLLB said:

Zulu you're out of date mate - last week singly crewed with my back up coming from the next BCU 20 miles away I attended 5 males fighting with knives and a violent domestic.

That answers many questions that there were not enough officers to double crew anyway.

 

9 hours ago, Pete said:

ha. 

when something’s happening be that knives, fights, stabbings and you’re the only unit available, youre going. 

control will “try and sort out another unit to join you but just make your way” (code for control will quickly forget about you and the next unit available is going to the next in the list of unattended immediate calls)

what are we supposed to do? refuse and wait round the corner while someone gets stabbed for the mythical next unit to be pulled out of the home secretary’s armpit?

no, we wade in and pray that our bluster is enough to cover up the fact we’re just people with a little stick and a can of silly string

As above there would not be enough to double crew anyway.

 

7 hours ago, Beaker said:

17 hours ago, Zulu 22 said:

 

Here the majority of double crews now seem to either by Specials or Probationary Constables in their 10 weeks, you get the call, you go, you deal with it. Been to a few jobs where we're outnumbered, but you have to deal as you can. "Do the job that is in front of you" to steal a phrase. It happens, it is pretty much the new reality. There are some experienced double crews, but they aren't the norm. Pure numbers game, and often there just aren't officers available in the timeframe available.

So that would be inexperienced double crewing with the inexperienced. That all shows up the usual of lack of numbers of officers.

Every time we hit the streets we are in potential danger, single or double, it is part of the territory of the job.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Zulu 22

[Beaker 817]

Just now, Zulu 22 said:

So that would be inexperienced double crewing with the inexperienced. That all shows up the usual of lack of numbers of officers.

To clarify, you'll usaually get one Reg who is in for over 2 years with an SC or a 10-week probationer.  Though I have been out with regs who started at the same time or after I did, it's been rare. 

[miffy + 74]

1 hour ago, Zulu 22 said:

So that would be inexperienced double crewing with the inexperienced. That all shows up the usual of lack of numbers of officers.

I disagree with your comment. Times have changed, and to make such a dismissive comment is inappropriate. SCs have come a long way in development, and can hold their own in dealing with response, especially with those who give a large number of hours into the job, and have seeked further development. 

[Zulu 22 + 4,571]

There are only the odd one or two so we will have to disagree.  There is also supposed to be a maximum in the number of hours worked although, it does vary from Force to Force. "  It is about knowledge and experience and that comes with time and  commitment.  " have seeked further development. "!!!