Use of force rules will protect officers

NEW rules on use of force recording will help protect officers, the Police Federation of England and Wales has said.

From 1 April, the Home Office has stipulated that all use of force must be recorded by officers in the same way, regardless of where they work.

Simon Kempton, lead on operational policing for the PFEW, said: “Once all this data is collected, it will be used as constructively as possible for officers across the country. For the first time we will have robust data from all forces demonstrating which techniques and equipment really work and which do not.

“We will make sure that this information is used to change things like Officer Safety Training to reflect what we – the members – need to do our job properly. At the same time, if certain equipment isn’t up to the standard we need, we will now have an evidence base to show this.”

Questions such as ‘Were you injured during the incident?’ will be changed to ‘Do you believe that you were injured during the incident?’ to protect officers if they subsequently learn that they are injured, but it wasn’t apparent at the time – undermining a potential claim.

Mr Kempton added: “Our focus during the consultation process has been on making sure the burden on members is as minimal as possible, and to influence the make-up of the resulting form to ensure members who have done their job to the best of their ability are not placed in a difficult position.

“These new forms will help protect us and show how professional we are.”