\u201cThey all thought they were protected\u2026 they all thought they were doing their job.\u201d<\/p>\n
70 police officers were involved in driving related matters that led to them being in jeopardy of prosecution in 2017, officers have been told.<\/p>\n
The concerning numbers were revealed by National Police Federation of England and Wales Representatives, Jayne Willets and Tim Rogers, at the recent Staffordshire Police Federation Post Incident Procedure seminar.<\/p>\n
The pair updated delegates on the progress being made on legislation changes to protect response drivers, as well as highlighting the importance of Post Incident Procedures.<\/p>\n
Tim outlined how reliant Britain is on professional driving in the Police with some 10,000 jobs responded to by Police Officers nationally per year.<\/p>\n
However, the reality of just how vulnerable Officers were on these drives was revealed.<\/p>\n
Tim said: \u201cIn 2017 alone, 70 officers were involved in driving related matters that led to them being in jeopardy of prosecution. They all thought they were protected, they all thought they were doing their job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery cop that I\u2019ve ever dealt with who\u2019sbeen on a gross misconduct investigation or a criminal investigation has said to me, \u2018I was doing my job, I thought I was protected, I thought I had exemptions. I never envisaged that this would ever happen to me\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Tim praised the recent changes to driver training, with this now having a countrywide standard, he highlighted that Officers still weren\u2019t as protected as they should be and that legal changes needed to be made.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cOfficers need to be trained so as they have the skills to do the ever-increasingly demanding job that they\u2019re expected to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cA standard response driver is trained to a standard to enable them to respond safely to incidents requiring the use of legal exemptions. \u035e<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re doing your job as you\u2019ve been trained, no one is going to say that you\u2019ve done a bad thing, no one could possibly say that you\u2019ve broken the law.\u00a0 \u035e<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what happens when you do the same drive that you;ve done 1,000 times, and one day, something completely unexpected happens. They\u2019re going to look at the driving.\u00a0 Something\u035bs gone wrong, the Officer has breached the standard of a careful and competent driver, and so it should be put before the CPS, and the CPS have to apply that standard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis could possibly end up with that officer, who hasn\u2019t done anything wrong, being charged and having to go through the judicial system.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny deviation from the standard amounts to an offence. If you deviate in a way that causes harm or damage, then that\u2019s dangerous driving.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd, whether you\u2019re pursuing or responding, you face the same issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Police Federation of England and Wales has been campaigning for a change in legislation with the Emergency Services Response Drivers Bill \u2013 which would offer greater legal protection to pursuit drivers \u2013 currently going through Parliament<\/p>\n