SOUTH Yorkshire Police Federation has hit out at the Government after it published an \u201cinsulting\u201d and \u201cpitiful\u201d review of police firearms operations.<\/p>\n
Officers have been waiting for the review\u2019s outcome since it was ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015; it was supposed to examine whether firearms officers had enough protections to carry out their jobs.<\/p>\n
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But the document, published in January, contains just 325 words on firearms, and \u201cjust does not address the issues\u201d, Steve Kent, South Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman said.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI think the size of the response itself is quite insulting. It is clear that they have either not spent much time on it or have not given it some thought\u2026It just doesn\u2019t address the issues. It\u2019s vital that firearms officers feel protected and reassured in their role, especially with the increased terror threat and the demands we face, that they feel better in that role – but how can they with a response from the Government of that size? It\u2019s pitiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe have to remove the slightest element of doubt that comes into an officer\u2019s head if they have to do their job and pull the trigger, because that could be the difference, literally, between life and death.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remainder of the document is taken up with confirmation that the police watchdog\u2019s post-incident guidance for firearms is now law, even though it was initially published last October, and a link to revised Crown Prosecution Service guidance on prosecutions of police officers.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e9 Donald, Vice Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales said: \u201cThis was meant to be a meaningful review to allay the very real fears of serving firearms officers around being adequately protected and not treated as suspects just for doing their job.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was announced when the Government was anxious to recruit an extra 1,500 firearms officers after the Paris terror attack and heightened fears in the UK. These fears were then realised with a spate of devastating home-grown attacks in London and Manchester.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree years down the line there is still a shortfall of more than 600 firearms officers \u2013 and a review that appears to have been written on the back of a cigarette packet.\u201d<\/p>\n