POLICE\u00a0officers need better training to make them more confident decision-makers when dealing with injured victims and offenders, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Officers have been calling ambulances for minor incidents involving cuts and bruises because they are so concerned about misconduct investigations, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives said last month.<\/p>\n
Fear that they will fall foul of an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct makes officers twice as likely to dial 999 than ordinary members of the public, the body found.<\/p>\n
Steve Kent, Federation Chairman, said: \u201cAs an experienced cop, I know that if I get to a job and I know there\u2019s no risk, I\u2019m happy to say there\u2019s no risk and write it up and leave it. There\u2019s no training culture that encourages younger cops and cops with less service to sort of make those brave decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficers need to be better trained in risk assessing situations and incidents involving risk. If an officer goes to an incident, correctly risk-assesses it and there\u2019s no further action, then as long as that decision is documented then officers should feel safe that they won\u2019t then suffer a prolonged investigation which starts from a negative viewpoint in terms of the officer\u2019s actions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tide is changing in IOPC\/police relations, which is leading to a more balanced assessment of officers\u2019 actions, Steve said.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cIf cops are trained and confident to make the right decisions, whether someone\u2019s just got minor minor injuries, scratches and bruises [and they] leave them to it, they should be confident that that is a proportionate decision and they\u2019ll have the support of their own police force and that the IOPC won\u2019t come down on them like a ton of bricks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe IOPC have been historically quick to comment negatively around police investigations. But there does seem to be a bit of a change in the atmosphere. They do seem to be coming out with a few more balanced comments rather than automatically coming across as negative.\u201d<\/p>\n