Met police firearms

[Fedster + 1,307]

Norfolk Constabulary ACC talks to Police Oracle about officer assaults, cuts and PCSOs.

Norfolk Constabulary Assistant Chief Constable Paul Sanford

 

The nature of assaults on officers are becoming increasingly more violent to the extent that better bandages have been requested to soak up more blood.

Norfolk Constabulary Assistant Chief Constable Paul Sanford told Police Oracle officers have addressed the need to improve first aid kits with injuries worsening.

He said: “I have been asked if the bandages in our first aid kit are heavy-duty enough to absorb the level of bleeding? Crikey, if I’m having conversations about bandages then boy do I need to talk about the defence equipment our officers are carrying.”

Between April 2017 and March 2018, 515 assaults on Norfolk police officers were recorded, including 113 of actual bodily harm and 19 of grievous bodily harm. 

The force already has plans to purchase an extra 80 Taser in a bid to deter offenders from lashing out at officers and is considering options to expand this further -  including a review on allowing those who wish to carry one to do so.

“We are concerned about the increase in assaults on our staff. We are concerned about the increase in knives to commit crime – whilst we ran an incredibly successful operation to target the county lines criminality which we think is the main drive behind that, we want to make sure our officers are best protected,"adds ACC Sanford. “We believe we could have more of our officers can carry Taser if we have them at the right places at the right time.

“We are exploring what more we could do beyond that uplift of 80 and we are aware of other forces that are starting to office Taser to anyone who want to carry it - that is certainly something that we will explore.

“The availability and the cost are factors here, but our primary concern is the welfare of our staff and sadly the environment which they are operating in now is different to when I was a PC. We need to make sure we have the right kit.”

Questioned on how cuts have affected the force, ACC Sanford replied: “It’s not all bad. It causes you to look at the efficiency of what you deliver and how you deliver it.

“Yeah, it’s difficult and yeah you have to make tough decisions but actually I think it has made us a much leaner and a much slicker organisation. And do I think that has been at the detriment of service to the public? No. Do I think that it’s tougher and our officers are having to work harder? Then yes, they absolutely are."

A further £9million needs be to saved by 2020, with a large chunk of the £30million already saved down to collaborating with neighbouring force Suffolk Constabulary across a multitude of areas, including firearms, roads policing and intelligence.

And in March the force scrapped PCSOs saving £1.6 million and allowing the creation of 97 roles (81 police officers and 16 civilian staff) within uniform policing.

According to the force, the difference in cost between a PCSO and PC is less than £2,000 - with the average annual cost for a PCSO being £39,800 while for a PC it is £41,620.

ACC Sanford added: “They were valued members of the workforce – to their absolute credit, right up to their last working day they were all working hard – even once the news was out they were doing some phenomenal stuff.

“But do I think we have a more sustainable policing model than we had before? Absolutely I do.

“There are some sad realities that in Norfolk we see more reports of rape than we do with theft of motor vehicles. That is a new and recent phenomenon, and we need the workforce to respond to today’s demands whose got that broad range of skills and can be deployable into different functions and can work 24/7.”

ACC Sanford added the rest of the savings will also be recouped through wider joint working and with the Seven Force Strategic Collaboration Programme involving Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent police forces.

Improved collaboration with adult care services is also being explored due to an aging population as well as domestic abuse and mental health charities plus the ambulance service to mitigate the strain placed on officers.

Last month Chief Constable Simon Bailey spoke out after figures revealed Norfolk Police cars were used 43 times from December 2017 to March 2018 when no East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) vehicles were able to assist – taking officers away from frontline duties.

“Adult care is an areas that particular concerns me given the aging demographic within our county, I have predicted it’s going to be an area where our demand goes up in the next 10 and 20 years. It will be crimes against the elderly,” says ACC Sanford. “The more we save the more challenging the next piece becomes.”

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[sierragolf95 + 55]

It's a simple fact that standard ambulance dressings aren't designed to stem major bleeds, they're just there to soak up the blood. Specific trauma/pressure dressings which have solid pads and/Or a mechanism to pull them extremely tight should be an absolute necessity in all police first aid kits, as should tourniquets. 

When you're dealing with stabbings, RTCs and potentially even terror incidents the standard first aid at work kits just aren't enough. I've been carrying tourniquets for about 4 years while doing security work and never needed it, but when the time comes that I do need it for myself or someone else it would make carrying it around for 10,15 or 20 years worth it. I have 2 pressure dressings on my belt kit and despite carrying them for the same length of time as the tourniquet I've used them multiple times on nasty wounds caused by everything from falls to people getting bottled. Standard dressings have their limitations but a lot of people don't realise that.

[sjaygbr 1]

We should be carrying trauma bandages (Israeli bandage) in the vehicles, the ambulance bandage just isn't as practical.  

With a trauma bandage you get applied pressure and the ability to increase pressure to help stem bleeding. I carry a couple in my kit bag because I know if a colleague or myself get injured and need that level of care I know what I want to use.

Cat's are great when used right, but you need the training to go with it, I have but I don't think I would want to carry one in my role in the police.

I think what it really comes down to is the first aid training is not good enough for what we have to deal with.

[David + 4,981]

Wouldn't it be better to tackle the root cause rather than react to something (however necessary it might now be) that shouldn't even be happening?

[Hyphen + 693]

3 hours ago, David said:

Wouldn't it be better to tackle the root cause rather than react to something (however necessary it might now be) that shouldn't even be happening?

In the context of this thread, no, it wouldn’t be better.

If someone is bleeding out then it needs dealt with, stuff like that can always happen anywhere. We shouldn’t bury our heads.

If someone is violent/armed then they need to be dealt with, again, with all the will in the world there will always be people with weapons and who are violent.

[sierragolf95 + 55]

8 hours ago, sjaygbr said:

Cat's are great when used right, but you need the training to go with it, I have but I don't think I would want to carry one in my role in the police.

I think what it really comes down to is the first aid training is not good enough for what we have to deal with.

Knowing how to use it is a walk in the park, when to use it is another matter. If you don't have one, sure you can improvise but that wastes time. If you have to improvise, you'll do it, so why not just carry the kit that does the job properly?

I think a standard first aid at work course is nowhere near good enough for a high risk role such as policing. Minimum standard should be FPOS-I or the new FREC 3, as well as officers having the kit.

[Radman + 2,163]

For years we have argued in BTP to be provided with better first aid training and equipment - cops in London are now carrying Tourniquets and pressure bandages - this hasn't spread yet.

I think as BTP especially we have somewhat more of a need to carry better first aid equipment than our home office county colleagues given the nature of our industrial environment alone - I've encountered serious trauma on duty with persons struck by trains who have survived the impact, throw into the mix the possibility of major incidents (derailments/crashes) and the ever large looming threat of terrorism including the number of recent attacks happening directly on BTP jurisdiction or just off of it with mass casualties - the need is very obvious.

Then of course we have our general first aid jobs, collapsed people, CPR, bleeds, breaks etc - it isn't unusual as a rail cop to get called to first aid matters by rail staff or just to encounter these jobs whilst on patrol.

Edited June 20, 2018 by Radman

[David + 4,981]

19 hours ago, Hyphen said:

In the context of this thread, no, it wouldn’t be better.

I absolutely hear what you're saying and don't disagree, but that is within the context of this thread. The fact remains that it is vital that the need to carry such items has to be tackled at root and that means stopping the pussyfooting around and start sentencing people and start getting the message out that such acts cannot and will not be tolerated. Bottom line is, we should never have even got to this stage.

[Hyphen + 693]

3 hours ago, David said:

I absolutely hear what you're saying and don't disagree, but that is within the context of this thread. The fact remains that it is vital that the need to carry such items has to be tackled at root and that means stopping the pussyfooting around and start sentencing people and start getting the message out that such acts cannot and will not be tolerated. Bottom line is, we should never have even got to this stage.

Sorry David, reading your post I can totally see where you’re coming from. We agree.