We will back police drivers under investigation

ESSEX Police Federation has promised not to turn its back on police officers if they become the subject of a driving complaint.

Officers are due to receive a letter from the national Federation clarifying the law around police pursuits, after it emerged there was no legal protection for officers who fall foul of driving laws.

Steve Taylor, Essex Police Federation Chairman, said: “We won’t turn our back on officers who get into difficulty as a result of doing the job – even if it is as a result of driving complaints.

He added: “We need to support the national Federation to bring about change to protect officers. But on reading this letter, it might suggest that the Federation suggest you don’t get involved in a pursuit, or any kind of blue light run.

“If the membership as a whole took that view, it would have really serious implications for policing. We would hate for officers to think that the Federation won’t support you. The Federation won’t turn it’s back.”

“The very training officers receive enables officers to break the law and yet there is no protection for them in law. We want to say the advice is not to drive dangerously or carelessly, the advice is that a pursuit will always be considered dangerous driving and we advise officers not to undertake any actions that means their driving falls outside the standards of careful and competent driver.”

The letter states: “A typical response or pursuit drive is likely to involve the officer contravening traffic signs and or speed limits. A course of driving involving contravention of traffic signs and speed limits is very likely to fall within the definition of careless or dangerous driving. Officers are required by law to drive to the standard of the careful and competent driver.

“There are no legal exemptions from the offences of careless or dangerous driving. Any such drives are therefore likely to be unlawful, placing the driver at risk of prosecution and proceedings for gross misconduct.”

The letter will contain further advice for police officers, but it added: “Officers are advised not to undertake any manoeuvre which may well fall outside the standard of the careful and competent non police driver.”

The IPCC has recently directed a force to bring proceedings against an officer for Gross Misconduct for careless driving and the matter’s wider implications for officers came under the microscope at this year’s annual Police Federation conference.

So far, 32 police officers have sought advice from the Police Federation of England and Wales for duty-related driving matters this year.