New use of force rules will help protect officers

NEW rules on use of force recording will help protect officers in the long run, 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.”

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.

Steve Taylor, chairman of Essex Police Federation, said some work was being done to streamline the form and make the process less unwieldy.

The use of force form is an electronic form and comprises 42 questions to be filled in online.

But he added: “We would ask all members to make sure they are filling in the forms. This is one of those odd areas where the Federation are actually encouraging people to spend more of their time on paperwork.

“And we know it’s not perfect, we know the forms need work, and we’re hoping to get that work done. But we need to increase our use of capturing the use of force information as it will benefit everyone in the long run.”