COLLEGE OF POLICING
EQUIPPING OFFICERS FOR SAFETY
As the College of Policing prepares to introduce its new public and personal safety training, a serving police officer explains how it will help reduce officer assaults
Sergeant Dan Phillips is one of the people tasked with reducing the number of officer assaults on duty. As the College of Policing starts to roll out its new public and personal safety training he sat down with us to explain what we can expect. “Previous safety training was often
dogmatic and ‘one size fits all’, which isn’t fit for twenty-first century policing,” he starts. Dan is part of a team at the College set up in response to 2019’s Officer and Staff Safety Review. He says: “The review found many officers wanted improvements in their training and felt the old OST was out of date for the new demands on policing”. Measures to protect police officers are needed more than ever. In the year ending March 2022 there were over 41,000 assaults on officers in England and Wales compared to 30,885 in the year ending 2019 - this is an increase of 32% in just three years. Dan says the new, scenario based public and personal safety training (PPST) has gone through a successful year-long pilot in Avon and Somerset. During that time 89% of officers said the course was relevant to the demands of their job. “Officers face situations that can quickly
escalate every day, from attending a drunk and disorderly to facing verbal and physical aggression from the public. These situations are unpredictable and require the right skills and quick decision- making to turn the situation around,” he says He is proud that this new training, has been developed with this in mind based on what officers actually face, to keep them safe on the job. The training, he explains, takes a vastly different approach than what has come before with the instructor now acting as a coach and guiding officers through realistic scenarios. It allows officers to put
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the skills and techniques that are taught into something that looks like their day job and gives them the opportunity to practice what works and what doesn’t for them in a safe environment. Dan is keen to point out that being in this realistic training environment gives
on the streets. This training will be fully delivered by
all forces by April 2024 and continue to evolve alongside a review of the personal safety training manual. “The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive.” But, he
stresses,
verbal and physical aggression from the public. These situations are unpredictable and require the right skills and quick decision-making to turn the situation around.”
officers the chance to gain confidence, get advice and most importantly, time to prepare for what may come next. When the training is fully implemented across all forces, this will mean all officers have 12 hours of the training a year to ensure they’re getting the time to equip themselves with the right tools for safety
“Officers face situations that can quickly escalate every day, from attending a drunk and disorderly to facing
“It’s really
important that officers tell us what they think about the new training. It will evolve all the
time and I’m really keen to make sure it remains fit for purpose. I want to hear all opinions, good or bad, so we can learn and improve.”
You can find more information on the College of Policing website.
www.college.police.uk
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