NEWS


MISCONDUCT RISK TO OFFICERS WHO ADMINISTER LIFE- SAVING DRUG


the subject of a criminal investigation. “We ask for a similar commitment to


protect officers in England and Wales,” added Andy. An additional six officers from the region will be trained in the coming months. North Wales Police has also commenced a six-month trial. Previously, pilot schemes have been trialled in custody suites and West Midlands Police undertook a pilot in 2019 in which 55 kits were issued. There was one recorded use in the space of a year. PFEW Operational Lead Simon


Andy Jackson


Durham Constabulary has begun training frontline officers to administer a life-saving drug to people who have overdosed on methadone, heroin, fentanyl and codeine. Forty officers have been trained since


January, but the trial has raised questions about whether police are putting themselves at risk of misconduct if they administer naloxone (which is given via a nasal spray) and something goes wrong. Andy Jackson, who chairs Durham


Police Federation, and is a Conduct and Performance Liaison Officer (CAPLO), said: “Instead of a wider roll out to the police, the focus should be on issuing naloxone to opiate users, their friends, and families. This is within the purview of the wider social and healthcare provision. The Federation cannot support a wider roll out until our concerns are addressed, including what happens to police officers if a death or serious injury occurs after administering naloxone.” In Canada there is legislation to


protect police officers administering the drug like other first responders who do not have to worry about routinely being


Kempton commented: “Saving lives is a key part of the role police officers undertake. But there should be no blurring of roles between the police and paramedics. An opioid overdose is a critical medical emergency and to give the best chance of saving a life, that emergency should be responded to by a fully trained and equipped paramedic. “The public deserve and expect their police service to concentrate on reducing and detecting crime, and to keep the peace. We are already asking our police to do more than ever before, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this will further take them away from their core role of protecting the public from crime.”


PC Becky Evans Officer steps in


for midwife “Help, my girlfriend is giving birth,” the job screen read. Gwent PC Becky Evans was working that day and little did she know that within hours she would be holding a newborn in her arms, having supported a local family with the arrival of their baby daughter. It was a February morning and with no


ambulances available, the job had been passed on to the police. “I jumped at the chance to go, I knew it


was one for me,” says Becky, who has been with her force for three years. “It wasn’t until I got in my car and started driving that I thought, what am I doing? I have no idea how to deliver a baby.” Despite this being her first experience


of childbirth, Becky, who is based at Bettws, in Newport, says helping the new mother came naturally. She walked in to find the mum holding her baby in her arms. She recalled: “It was magical but scary.


PFEW Operational Lead Simon Kempton


It sounds silly, but you really do think back to the programmes that you’ve seen on the TV. I hadn’t had any training for this. I checked the mum for any bleeding and made sure the baby was breathing. I looked to see if the umbilical cord was still intact, which it was. I knew the placenta needed to come out, so I was fully preparing myself to deliver it.” Luckily the midwife arrived, and Becky


was able to provide details, along with the time of birth, that the mum had forgotten about amid all the chaos. “I was able to hold the baby and have


DID YOU KNOW? A dog handlers’ allowance (currently £2,398) is payable where a police dog is kept and cared for at an officer’s home. A further 25 per cent of the allowance is paid for each additional police dog kept at home. For more on your rights, see – www.polfed.org


some quiet time with her. That was really nice and very special,” says Becky. “I also helped show the two toddlers their new baby sister, which was lovely. It was nice to be part of that moment.”


APRIL 2021 | POLICE | 07


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