NEWS
UK OFFICERS “INSULTED” BY ROAD RISK CLAIMS
PFEW describes claims to blame dangerous roads on officers as “wholly irresponsible”
Claims that ‘weaker’ policing is responsible for the UK’s roads being perceived as riskier is an insult to the professionalism of officers.
PFEW Roads Policing Lead and National Board member Gemma Fox spoke up in support of roads policing officers following a BBC Panorama programme on the dangers of smart motorways, which aired in January. The programme revealed that there have been accidents on the UK’s smart motorways, including fatalities, which could be attributed to factors that are outside the control of police officers, such as a lack
of hard shoulders, the limited number of emergency refuge areas and delays to electronic signage changes when lanes are closed. These are issues that the Department for Transport needs to address as a matter of urgency. “Roads policing officers are dedicated public servants who do a fantastic job in the most trying of circumstances,” said Gemma. “This accusation that so-called ‘weaker’ policing is responsible for roads being perceived as riskier is an insult to the professionalism of my colleagues.” Gemma pointed out that the number of specialist officers has “rapidly declined”
alongside a reduction in resources in recent years. “There was a 34 per cent real
terms reduction in expenditure worth approximately £120m between 2013 and 2019. It would therefore be wholly irresponsible to lay any blame on the shoulders of colleagues,” she said.
“Every single roads policing officer I know personally wants to complete more pro-active activities,” Gemma continued. “While reacting to accidents and enforcement are essential aspects of the job, this lack of resources has meant the public information side of the role has not been prioritised and this
has been really damaging.” “Admittedly, many forces have made major improvements in staffing and resources since the 2020 report findings. Although this will have a positive impact on the future of roads policing, we also must see further investment as there is so much more which can be done to improve safety for colleagues and members of the public.”
SHOCKING SURVEY REVEALS PRESSURES ON DETECTIVES
Detectives are being urged to have their say on the impact of changes by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to legal guidance on charging criminal cases
It is more than a year since the changes were made by the DPP and Glyn Pattinson, secretary of Staffordshire Police Federation and chair of the Police Federation National Detectives’ Forum (PFNDF), says detectives should complete the short survey examining their effect. “We know the changes have not been without impact to individual detectives and teams. We are aware they have had a knock-on effect on their workloads,
on preparation time for case files and, ultimately, on the time they are able to spend investigating crime and the length of investigations,” said Glyn. Suffolk Police Federation secretary Ben Hudson, who is PFNDF vice-chair added, “This is a stealth tax on policing as detectives are having to spend far longer sitting at their desks file-building, rather than getting out there engaging with their victims and investigating crimes as
the public would want. “The results of our survey are extremely concerning. Detectives were already being placed under considerable strain before these changes came in due to recruitment and retention issues, facing long hours, an often complex job and high stress levels – all of which can impact on their wellbeing.” To take part in the survey, contact Glyn
gpattinson@staffs.polfed.org
07 | POLICE | FEBRUARY 2022
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