THE CHAIR ASKS
‘I care about police officers not being injured’
John Apter (JA): Mr Marsh, I’ve known you for many years. You were my Deputy Chief and then Chief Constable in Hampshire Constabulary and we work very closely together. So, Andy, if you don’t mind me calling you Andy, how are you?
Chief Constable Andy Marsh (AM): It’s good to speak with you, John. I learned a lot about the power of the Federation and the power of kindness from what I saw you do for people having a difficult time in Hampshire. Sometimes, it was a prickly and uncomfortable relationship but, in the end, we did some really good stuff together. I’ve reflected on it a lot in Avon and Somerset, and it’s something that hopefully we’ve recreated in a small part.
JA: You have had more than your fair share of violent and extreme protests, especially within Bristol. You and colleagues have been heavily criticised for actions that either you have or haven’t taken. What are your thoughts?
AM: Bristol is a fantastic city. It’s an edgy city. It’s politically active. It’s got an active, vibrant media and social media but also inequality and a history around the slave trade and lots of other protests. If there’s going to be a protest anywhere in the country, I’d say it will be in London and then in Bristol. As a result, the officers and leaders in Avon and Somerset are fantastically experienced.
We had two scenarios which have yet to fully play through the courts, so I’ll be circumspect. The first was the statue toppling where, at a protest of over 10,000 people, there was one act of criminal damage, and no injuries. The second protest was when Bridewell police station was attempted to be overrun. I promised on the steps of Bridewell on the Monday morning after the events of Sunday night that we would catch the perpetrators of this extreme violence – and we would bring them to court. What we’ve seen so far is eight people charged with riot – the first riot charge since 2011 in England and Wales. We’ve seen about 50 arrests, and
“When I got the note from you threatening to prosecute me, it did make me sit up”
we are nowhere near finished yet.
It was a brilliant, brilliant investigation by our major crime investigation team, most of whom are Federation members. I pay tribute to them. But I care about people not being injured. We had 44 assaults of police officers, some very serious at the Bridewell disorder. That was a shocking outcome and it’s saddened my heart to see many of those officers leaving duty when I was there in the middle of the night, having bravely held that very thin blue line.
So, what have I done as Chief? I’ve supported my people on the frontline, and I’ve supported their decision-making. Now, if people want to criticise me for that, they’re very welcome, but I think it’s the right thing to do, John.
JA: When we talk about the violence our colleagues face, I’ll take you way back to when you were in Hampshire. I was then the Chair in Hampshire Federation and I was seeing a real trend of increasing violence; horrific violence against colleagues and it wasn’t being recorded by Government. I pulled together an awful lot of evidence, and I brought that to you and I remember saying, ‘we need to work together on this – if you refuse, I’m going to take legal action against you’. Do you remember that?
AM: When I got the note from you threatening to prosecute me, it did make me sit up. The first thing I did was pick up the phone, and said ‘John, are you serious about this?’ And you were – so we agreed neither of us wanted that, and we wanted the same thing to protect our people and to support them if they were injured. The group you were an integral part of, and you initiated it, created a seven-point plan. You and I went to the NPCC, and you pitched it
with my support to all the chiefs in England and Wales. It was one of the great things I’m proud of in my service that I helped you do that, John.
JA: They called it Operation Hampshire, and it has been adopted by the College of Policing and is being rolled out across the country. I know it’s in some other countries as well, so I am incredibly proud. This is about looking after your people – something everybody should be doing.
AM: You changed the direction of policing. But do we do enough to stop injuries? Do enough to support officers? Not yet, but it’s a big step in the right direction. I’m on the NPCC Officer and Staff Safety Project Working Group from a body-worn video (BWV) point of view. We’ve tried some stuff which I think is very important. We were the first force in the country where a police officer gave a victim impact statement on body-worn video to the court.
I’ve been to court, and I will go again before I retire, to tell the judge how unacceptable the assault on the officer was. To be honest with you, I do quite enjoy the reaction I get from the defendant as they are sent down. But possibly the most exciting development with regards to officer safety and BWV is an agreement I’ve got with the local CPS. I would urge this to happen across every force where they want body-worn video played of an assault on a police officer - regardless of an early guilty plea. Regardless of circumstances, that will be played before sentencing to the magistrates or judge. That’s the moment where, you know, the true gravitas is witnessed by the person who’s going to do something about it. So, I
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17 I POLICE I JUNE 2021
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