OPERATION HAMPSHIRE
He felt there should be no difference to how a colleague was treated if they were assaulted at a demo in Westminster or while on patrol in Kingston. The Force then rebooted Operation Hampshire to help ensure the wellbeing support and level of investigation was the same for everyone. “Before 2019, we were reliant on good managers doing the right thing by officers and staff and looking after them. But we sometimes found wellbeing dropped to the bottom of the to do lists, simply because colleagues were so busy.” Last year, the Met completely
standardised Op Hampshire by investing in a new software package. Developed in-house, this game-changer created a simple electronic process which ensured every incident received maximum attention and precisely the same follow- up welfare support. Insp Kohring added: “Now a
supervisor must complete a short form electronically for every single assault victim. This identifies the victim by their warrant number and adds the relevant reference numbers. “The form details how the injury
occurred, what part of the body was assaulted, and whether it involved a kick, spit or other form of assault. Finally, it lists the level of medical intervention needed and identifies key role-holders such as supervisor, second line manager, welfare officer and investigating officer. “Once this is submitted, all the key individuals get an automated email bringing their attention to the incident. This email also provides guidance, with informative links to make it easier for them to look after our member of staff. Then there are automatic follow-ups to the welfare officer after one and three months to remind them of the incident.” After 12 weeks, each victim is sent a
survey, so the team can learn from their work and gather invaluable data which they feed to their senior management team to further increase the impact of Operation Hampshire and drive improvement. The investment in the programme is
starting to see other indirect benefits via the data the team are gathering. Insp Kohring said: “We’ve discovered
officers within their first two years are much more likely to be assaulted and after seven years’ service this drops off almost completely. “A consequence of this is we now do
eight days of safety training with new recruits, as opposed to five previously.” But while excellent progress has
already been made, DS Richards and his colleagues want more.
DS Rob Richards and Inspector Stuart Kohring working together 17 I POLICE I OCTOBER 2021
DS Rob Richards “My role is to look at why we don’t get
100 per cent justice. This might be pie in the sky, but there are still a substantial number of officers who aren’t getting justice,” said DS Richards. “The biggest struggle has been to change the culture. Some colleagues still feel wrongly it is part of the job getting assaulted. Or ‘what’s the point’ if I report it, and it goes to court then nothing happens. “We always highlight to victims and
investigators the seriousness – regardless of the level of assault. When anyone steps up to a warranted officer and assaults or abuses them, they’ve crossed a line and we must hold them accountable. “The Assaults on Emergency Workers
(Offences) Act re-categorised assaults on colleagues in the eyes of the law. For many years, we just put up with these assaults. But with the changed legislation, and the seven-point plan Mr Apter introduced locally, which we’ve built on, we’ve now got the tools to tackle this issue head-on.”
Inspector Stuart Kohring The team is working especially hard
to encourage colleagues who don’t want to make a fuss, or create extra work for colleagues, to step forward. Insp Kohring added: “An assault without injury is the hardest to get people to do something about, or to report. But this officer may have been repeatedly assaulted throughout their career and this can often be the straw which breaks the camel’s back. “Some officers don’t like to see themselves as victims, and that’s quite understandable. If you are a response team or public order officer who runs towards danger, you are a thin blue line hero who protects the public. “Then we say: ‘you’ve been a hero,
but now we’re treating you as a victim’. That’s quite a difficult mindset for some colleagues, but they need to get the wellbeing support they deserve. “They should also receive a criminal
justice outcome, so we can hold every single perpetrator to account.”
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