Around 70 frontline officers are already trained in the use of this vital piece of protective equipment - more officers having access to this is welcome news. This news follows a successful trial in police custody, with the decision made to extend the use of spit and bite guards to help protect police officers and staff from the abhorrent and vile act of spitting and biting. It is expected that the guards will be in police vehicles initially, but if the need arises, they may become standard individual issue.
The UK has the highest number of life-sentenced prisoners of any country in Europe, the latest edition of the Prison Reform Trust’s Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile reveals.
A public poll exposes the scale of the crisis facing police forces with almost half of the population saying they have never seen a police officer patrolling the beat at night.
The poll, carried out by the Daily Express, shows overwhelming public support to reverse the savage cuts to policing budgets and reveals 81% of the public are more concerned about being a victim of crime than they were five years ago.
Serco announces that it has signed up to the national ‘Ban the Box’ campaign from Business in the Community (BitC), which is creating a fair chance for ex-offenders to compete for jobs and bringing down the £15 billion a year cost of reoffending.
In signing up to the campaign, Serco has agreed to ban the tick box from job application forms asking about unspent criminal convictions across its UK operations and has committed to considering applicants’ skills, experience and ability to do the job before asking about criminal convictions. This means that candidates with a criminal record can now apply for jobs with Serco with the knowledge that they will be assessed on their ability to do the job before any convictions are fairly considered.
The Elite Spider X 8.0 tactical uniform boots are exceptionally breathable and comfortable uniform boots for men and women.
Doctor Meng AwYong works in Emergency Medicine, in pre-hospital care, as a forensic medical examiner for the Metropolitan Police and has co-authored the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Best Practice Guidance on the Management of ABD. Here, he outlines what is thought to be the most dangerous condition to affect detainees: ABD.
Following the Emergency Services Show at the NEC in September, we spoke to Mahbu Rahman, Blue Light Programme Manager at Mind charity, about mental health issues among police officers...
A recent Mind survey of over 1,000 current or former staff or volunteers within the police force found that 93% had experienced stress, low mood and poor mental health at some point while working for the emergency services. Over 61% had experienced a mental health problem – such as depression, anxiety disorder, OCD, PTSD, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia – while working or volunteering in their current or previous role.
A BBC report which highlights the harsh reality that budget cuts are having on frontline policing should stand as a ‘stark reminder to government’, argues National Chair John Apter.
The report revealed that there were barely enough officers to meet the demand on a busy Saturday night in Hartlepool, with two officers having to drive 15 miles to take a prisoner to Middleborough custody suite simply because the Hartlepool suite was not staffed.
Friday the 23rd November was a key date in Police Federation's campaign to protect police drivers from being unfairly prosecuted simply for doing their jobs.
A Private Members Bill by the senior government backbencher, Sir Henry Bellingham MP, is due to receive its second reading at Parliament. His Emergency Response Drivers (Protections) Bill seeks greater exemptions from civil liability or criminal prosecution for blue light workers.
The Prime Minister and Home Secretary “should hang their heads in shame” says the National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales as a highly critical report concludes that the mental health system in this country is broken and it is the police who are left to pick up the pieces.