THE CHAIR ASKS


THE CHAIR ASKS


This month we are kicking of our new feature ‘The Chair Asks’. Over the coming months, John Apter will be asking prominent figures the type of questions members want answers to. Starting of at the top of Government, the National Chair sat down with Home Secretary Priti Patel


1: Selected bits of footage being put up on Twitter and used to vilify police officers is unacceptable


John Apter (JA): In all of my service, I can never think of a time when we have been expected to police in the way that we have. It’s been a real challenge, and we’ve had to learn as we’ve gone along. I strongly believe, and I think the vast majority of the public also do, that policing has excelled during this pandemic. But it’s been difficult and some of the unfair criticism levelled at policing for some actions has been really damaging. Do you think Government asked too much of policing during this pandemic?


Home Secretary (HS): Of course, we have been in challenging times. But then look at where we are compared to policing in other countries. We police by consent. Police officers are part of the communities in which they serve, and that’s a great thing. That’s a really good and important aspect of British policing. We just have to look at some of the


practices we see elsewhere, which thankfully will never come to policing in the UK. I think, to use a phrase other organisations frequently level against the police, the criticism has been disproportionate and completely wrong in some quarters. When you see selected bits of footage being put up on Twitter, for example, and used to vilify police officers, that to me is unacceptable. Using selective bits to just vilify the


police, I don’t think that’s right. It’s an increasing new burden and pressure on police officers who are the subject of trial


by social media, which I don’t think is right. Our officers are amazing human beings. When they go to work, it’s almost as if they have a toolkit on being a social worker, a mental health advisor, as well as being an officer who upholds and enforces the law. Their skill set is so diverse, and that’s


the wonderful nature of our police officers. But throughout Covid we’ve seen those pressures pile up. In saying this, there have been some good things off the back of our Covid experiences. We’ve seen ways of working change across multi-agency organisations, and policing. We need that to continue, as we cannot go backwards. We have also gone after criminals in a more targeted and nuanced way, and we want build upon that.


JA: You passed comment about the vilification of officers. It’s almost a sport now, for individuals to video police officers being assaulted - not for any other reason other than for their own entertainment. But the posting of snippets on social media with no context and just a negative, biased narrative is incredibly damaging for policing. I’m not going to say we always get things right, because policing is difficult and complex, and we have to react to difficult things. But we are transparent, and we are highly accountable – more accountable, I believe, than any other police service in the world. But this toxification we are seeing, of posting these video clips without a balance, is incredibly damaging. I’ve written to the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing urging, where it’s possible, for us to issue/release body- worn video footage from officers where


Home Secretary Priti Patel and John Apter


it’s appropriate to do so. I think for public confidence it’s essential we balance the narrative. How would you feel about that?


HS: I’m very proactive about all of this. We need to deal with this issue, primarily because these clips have such a damaging, selective effect on both public confidence, and also for police officers themselves. That’s not right. There are ways in which we can address


this. Your point is really important about the College and National Police Chiefs’ Council. We do need to look at that. If you


want transparency, you put the full facts out basically. Also, we should stop being apologetic based on selective information and selective clips - that’s not helpful at all and actually undermines transparency. We should emphasise the fact we are


absolutely unique in British policing. There is a robust system of dealing with complaints, and with allegations of misconduct. We have guidance, we have regulation already. I think if individuals feel so strongly about certain


18 | POLICE | SEPTEMBER 2020


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