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Hi Gemma we van definitely use the emergency services grading information that you found.

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Hi Emma. Here's some information on critical incident management.

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Management of a critical incident ( CI) should start with early identification and notification. It is particularly important that small-scale CIs are identified early, as even these can have a long-term impact on community confidence if left unchecked. Processes should be in place to manage issues that may affect the quality of the police response before they can impact on public confidence.

Particular attention should be paid to the needs of the victim, their family and the community.

Media and communication strategies should be based on openness and transparency, keeping in mind the particular needs of the investigation or operation.

Ongoing monitoring of CIs ensures that resources are used effectively and appropriately. Post-incident evaluation realises positive learning outcomes for the future.

The impact of an incident

It is not always possible to predict the impact that an incident might have on an individual, or why. It is likely, however, that the greater the impact an incident has on those closely affected by it, the greater their expectations will be about the quality of the police response. There will also be an assumption that what is important to those affected will be equally important to the police.

The impact that an incident may have on an individual is influenced by:

the circumstances of the incident

the emotional, mental or physical impact of the incident (including the effect of trauma or bereavement)

general feelings of security and/or vulnerability.

Personal perception

A minor criminal act, eg, criminal damage, may be nothing more than a nuisance or inconvenience to some, but for others it has much greater significance. This may be because the victim is particularly vulnerable or because it is the latest in a catalogue of similar incidents that the victim has suffered (eg, harassment, hate crimes or anti-social behaviour) and they do not think enough is being done to stop it.

The effect of trauma or bereavement

The sudden and unexpected death of a loved one may affect the way in which a person reacts to the police, and their perception of the service they receive (see reactions to grief). It is vital in all cases that the individual is treated with dignity and respect, and that their needs are taken into account.

A traumatic event or bereavement may not be directly related to the incident that the police are currently responding to. The individual's feelings and reaction, however, should be no less important when managing the current incident.

Impact of an event on the wider community

A traumatic event can have a significant impact on an entire community (as in the case of the fatal shootings carried out by Derek Bird in Cumbria, June 2010). Members of a community may suffer similar psychological and/or emotional trauma, because of their proximity to an event, to those who were directly affected. Their sense of safety and feelings of vulnerability may also increase.

Support organisations

The family liaison and coordination of support services ( FLACSS) have produced a booklet, Support at a Time of Loss, for those who have suffered sudden or violent bereavement. This booklet provides details of a number of organisations which can offer advice or support to victims. FLACSS do not specifically recommend the organisations named in the booklet. Victims must themselves decide which, if any, they may wish to contact.

Reactions to grief

These vary, depending on the individual, their resilience and the circumstances involved. What may be considered an irrational reaction by some, may feel perfectly rational to the individual, and it is important that these feelings are respected.

Reactions to grief may include:

Identification

It is impossible to provide a fail-safe tool or risk model for identifying a CI because:

any incident can become a CI and may include crime and non-crime incidents or operations and those that are spontaneous or pre-planned (see )

the quality of the police response can be undermined by one or more issues which can be compounded by poor quality assurance, poor victim care and/or poor community engagement (see characteristics of CI)

the impact the incident will have on individuals, irrespective of the police response, cannot be predicted (see the impact of an incident).

Tension and vulnerability

It is possible, however, to gauge general feelings of tension and vulnerability in a community (situation awareness) and to predict criticality factors which are likely to have an effect on how the victim, their family or the community may react to an incident, irrespective of the quality of the police response. These, along with the effective use of intelligence, will help forces to identify incidents which may escalate.

Early recognition of a poor police response and a prompt apology to those affected may prevent further escalation.

Situation awareness

Understanding the mood of communities and monitoring the impact that incidents and events have previously had on them, will help to identify those that have a significantly higher likelihood of escalating into a CI if they are not dealt with appropriately at the outset.

Situation awareness takes into account general feelings of vulnerability and insecurity, as well as the economic, political and social factors which impact on the local community.

Situation awareness can be developed through:

proactive community engagement

environmental scanning

collating and analysing community intelligence and information

competent call handling and interrogation of computer recording systems.

Situation awareness when linked to intelligence systems provides information for business processes such as threat and risk assessments, tasking and coordination and officer briefing and debriefing.

Criticality factors

It is not just a specific type of incident that can have a significant impact on the victim. There can also be particular factors in any type of incident which may increase its impact.

A critical thinking matrix is a tool to help practitioners identify incidents which have or may escalate into a critical incident.

Demographics

Criticality factors will change over time and between forces and reflect local demographics such as:

ethnic mix

diversity

density of population

local geography.

This list is not prescriptive or exhaustive.

Criticality factors should also take into account local situation awareness, which will reflect the mood of the community at any given time.

Critical thinking matrix

Notification

A key element of critical incident management is giving senior officers early notification of incidents that have already escalated, or which are likely to escalate, into a CI. Criticality factors will help to do this.

Note: it is the quality of the police response that is likely to cause or help to prevent a CI. On this basis, all incidents should be subject to a regime of quality assurance.

Who can call a critical incident?

All officers or police staff dealing with an incident (including call handlers and first attending officers) should continually ask these questions:

what am I dealing with?

what might it develop into?

what impact might this incident have?

whom should I tell if I think this may escalate into a CI?

Where, in an officer or staff member's opinion, an incident is, or has the likelihood to escalate into a CI, it is essential that this is communicated immediately to an appropriately trained senior officer. This may be a duty inspector, the force control room manager or another line manager. Senior officers should not discourage officers or police staff from reporting these incidents because the next one may be a CI with significant implications for the force.

Who can declare a critical incident?

Anyone can call a CI to bring it to the attention of a senior officer, but only a designated senior officer, eg, the duty inspector, can declare an incident as critical. This acts as a quality assurance mechanism to avoid inappropriate declarations.

Notification should not prevent the provision of an ongoing police response in line with the policy or procedure relevant to the incident.

Assessing the notification

Senior officers who are notified of an incident that is, or has the likelihood to escalate into, a CI need to decide whether the:

report is valid

current deployment will deliver an effective response

incident should be escalated further and/or declared a CI.

The decision to declare an incident as critical should be based on at least one objective reason why the effectiveness of the police response is likely to have a significant impact on the confidence of the victim, their family or the community.

Force policy for notification

Chief officers should ensure that local force policy and procedures are developed and implemented for the prompt notification and assessment of incidents which are, or have the likelihood to escalate into a CI.

Declaring a critical incident

Declaring a CI needs to be done when information is sparse, but there is pressure to make the right decision quickly (see decision making). To do this, declaring officers should ensure that they have access to all sources of information available at the time. This may include:

decision logs and case files

briefings

family liaison officers

current situation awareness.

Each incident should be assessed on its own merits. Chief officers will want to ensure that CIs are declared only when it is necessary and appropriate to do so, and that the response is proportionate to the scale of the incident.

Declaration is a means of supporting a competent and well-managed police response in line with standard policies and procedures. National and local policies and procedures are intended to ensure that there is a consistent and effective police response to a wide range of incidents. They incorporate key legislation and good practice, where this has been identified.

However, there are times when deviating from recognised policy and procedure can be the appropriate thing to do. Officers should clearly record their decision for this and the rationale behind it where this occurs.

Where an incident is declared critical, the response should quickly identify the cause.

Management plans should be implemented to ensure or restore the quality of the police response and maintain or rebuild confidence. A prompt and well- coordinated response enables the police to reassure the victim, their family and the community, and restore public confidence in the police service. See restoring public confidence.

Command and control

Unambiguous command and control that clearly outlines the roles and accountability of the personnel involved is required in critical incidents.

The incident may be part of a wider multi-agency response and have far reaching consequences, in which case partners will follow the Joint Emergency Service Interoperability Principles. Further information can be found at .

A tiered response

Using a tiered response allows the command structure to be scaled up or down in the light of changing circumstances. This is important where, for example, heightened community tensions could cause a minor crime or low-level ASB incident to escalate into a large-scale incident requiring a policing response crossing BCU and force boundaries. Forces should look at individual incidents and assess whether they should be managed locally, force, or cross-force level.

Chief officers may wish to adjust the suggested rank nominations at each level, depending on local force size and structure and the scale and complexity of the critical incident. Senior does not always equate to length of service, and rank does not always equate to experience. Role is, therefore, more important than rank when making sure command of an incident is allocated to the most appropriate person.

Tier 1 - BCU response

This includes critical incidents within the capability of one BCU, where actions and risk are limited to that area.

Tier 2 - cross-BCU response

Critical incidents that impact on more than one BCU, including series of linked incidents that have occurred in more than one BCU require a tier 2 response. There is limited potential for the actions and risk to spread further.

Tier 3 - force response

This level of response is applied to critical incidents with a force, cross-force or national dimension and where there is a significant threat to public confidence and the reputation of the forces involved. Management requires substantial activity by a significant proportion of the lead force's BCUs.

Strategic support

The following strategic support options are available to gold commanders to support the decision-making processes prior to and during critical incidents:

Critical incident tactical advisers

Spontaneous incidents

The MPS uses critical incident tactical advisers ( CITAs) to assist with spontaneous, crime-related critical incidents that are within the capability of a single BCU and are unlikely to require a large-scale deployment of officers or resources.

CITAs are officers with previous experience of managing such incidents and can provide specialist advice and support to the officer in charge of the incident. They report to the BCU commander responsible for the location where the critical incident is taking place. CITAs may also provide a review function for the BCU commander to help them determine whether further escalation is required.

This is a developing area of work. Forces wishing to develop a tactical adviser capacity for spontaneous incidents should contact the MPS critical incident team for further information.

Pre-planned operations

During the operational planning phases of a pre-planned operation, the gold commander may wish to consider having a CITA available to provide advice to the gold group.

Commanders may also wish to develop a contingency plan in case a pre-planned operation, or a part of it, escalates into a spontaneous CI.

PIP level 4 advisers

When providing an effective police response to a high-profile or complex incident, the gold commander may wish to use a PIP level 4 investigator to provide support for the overall strategic management of the investigation.

A PIP level 4 investigator is competent in a decision-making role and has the additional capability of providing advisory or review support as required by the investigation.

It is for individual chief officers to decide whether to use a PIP level 4 investigator, taking into account the circumstances of the incident.

The gold commander should issue written terms of reference where a PIP level 4 investigator is used. These terms should clearly set out their remit of the particular operation and be periodically reviewed as the wider policing operation develops.

PIP level 4 role profile

A PIP level 4 investigator gives the organisation additional resilience by providing:

a suitably qualified and experienced individual to take the strategic investigative lead for a complex homicide and/or other high-profile investigation

advice and support to the gold commander, where appropriate, particularly in relation to the development of a professional and proportionate investigative response as part of a wider policing operation

advice, support and where necessary, direction to the SIO

capability to review a particular operation.

Management plans

Every critical incident needs to be assessed. This helps to identify the remedial action that is needed to recover the effectiveness of the police response, and to rebuild the confidence of the victim, their family and the community.

A focused and thorough review of information can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the police response, and determine a management plan for the future progress of the incident. This includes ensuring that the incident is allocated to the most appropriate officer.

Assessment should be based on all the immediately available information, such as decision logs, briefings from officers and, if appropriate, family liaison officers. It may also include a community impact assessment.

The response to individual CIs will be as unique as the incident itself. Officers involved need to continually ask themselves:

What is right in this case?

Not all incidents will require specific action to be taken to recover the effectiveness of the police response. It may simply be a case of ensuring that the ongoing response is managed and communicated competently. Where action is needed to improve the quality of the police response and/or to restore public confidence, chief officers may wish to develop a management plan to support this process.

Allocation

An important aspect of a review is to consider whether management of the CI is currently allocated to the most appropriate officer.

Allocation key to ensuring an effective police response.

Every CI should be assessed and allocated according to the needs of the incident. Allocation should not be based solely on rank, seniority or availability of resources.

If a critical incident is identified, chief officers have a responsibility to formally consider the demands on the SIO, and who is best placed to meet those demands so that appropriate appointments are made.
Sir Ronnie Flanagan's report into Operation Fincham
This observation applies as equally to operational commanders for pre-planned non-crime events as it does for spontaneous events.

Record keeping

The primary purpose of a decision log is to help incident commanders resolve an incident by providing an accurate record of the decisions made and the reasons for them. During a fast-moving CI, completing a policy log can be difficult, but entries should always be made as soon as practicable.

The secondary purpose of a properly completed policy log is to allow the progress of an incident to be reviewed, by having past decisions placed in context.

Decision making and policy logs should not be a way of protecting organisational reputation. They should provide an open, honest and accurate account, and be used to determine whether, given the impact of the police response, an informal or formal apology may be necessary.

The victim, their family and the community

One of the most important considerations is the relationship between the police and the victim, their family and/or the community. The police should treat everyone professionally, appropriately and with respect in accordance with their diverse needs.

The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime provides that all victims of crime have a statutory right to expect a minimum standard of care, irrespective of whether their allegations are substantiated. See also the DirectGov website for advice for victims and witnesses of crime.

Positive relationships and effective communication with victims, families and wider communities during a CI will:

encourage open and honest dialogue between the police, and victims, families and communities

increase understanding of family and community needs

improve confidence in the police response

improve community intelligence

increase investigative opportunities

improve policing outcomes.

Officers should take time to understand the needs of those concerned and consider alternative ways of building relationships, as necessary. This may be through family representatives, intermediaries or community representatives.

Media and communication

During a CI, the officer in charge is responsible for the initial formulation of a media strategy in partnership with the force media department. The strategy should be based on openness and transparency, keeping in mind the particular needs of the investigation or operation. The gold commander's role, in most cases is one of quality assurance. Where a CI is declared, it may be necessary for the chief officer to take responsibility for the media response or to be the 'face' of the force. It is vital for the police service to understand the relationship and interaction between the following:

the experience of families and communities

media interpretation, analysis and subsequent reporting

the consequent impact on an investigation or other incident.

It is equally important during a complex or high-profile incident to have an internal communications strategy, keeping officers and staff up to date with progress and key messages. They may be directly affected or live in the communities affected by the incident.

The College of Policing Leadership offers courses on media skills and producing an effective media strategy.

Media strategy key principles

When developing a media strategy, the following points should be considered:

the media must not be used to negotiate with the family

the media strategy should be consistent with all other strategies

the type and tone of language should be tactful and take account of past experience

the role of the family and their representatives in liaising with the media

there should be clarity about timing and content of any acknowledgement regarding previous mistakes or gaps in the police response

the use of shared media statements with the family and their representatives - a united approach may help to build community trust and undermine the confidence of perpetrators

the perspectives of others involved in the response to the incident, eg, advisory groups, police and crime commissioners or other emergency services

key messages should have clear objectives and be consistent in future releases

the type of media to target

force websites can be used to inform and advise the local community

the effectiveness of different types of messages for particular communities.

Internal communications strategy

This helps to reassure staff and dispel any myths. It can also help to avoid mixed messages being given to the media and the local community via friends and family of staff. The strategy may include:

daily intelligence briefings for operational team briefings

weekly email briefings from a senior officer to all staff

verbal briefings to teams

all staff email briefings from the chief constable.

During Operation Sumac (available on POLKA, which is a RESTRICTED online tool available to authorised users who are logged on to the Police Online Knowledge Area ( POLKA), all of the above methods were used and helped to ensure that a consistent message was given, along with a sense of empowerment and inclusiveness.

Monitoring

A CI may affect some families for the rest of their lives. Chief officers should, therefore, consider offering support to all families for as long as it is appropriate to do so. This should include key events such as case reviews, memorial services and anniversaries.

Long and short-term imperatives

A force may have more than one CI running at any given time. Some may run for several days or months. From the outset of any critical incident response, it is important to recognise the distinction between short-term investigative inquiry or incident issues and medium to long-term community issues.

There is a clear link between investigative or incident priorities and community policing imperatives. Access to community intelligence (and evidence) in the short term is inextricably linked to the development of community confidence in the medium and long term. The ability to access witness evidence, for example, depends, in no small measure, on the confidence of a witness to come forward.

Monitoring logs and processes

Chief officers should implement a system to log and monitor critical incidents. This will ensure that each critical incident continues to be managed and progressed in a timely and efficient manner. A monitoring process could include:

a centrally maintained register of all critical incidents

regular agenda items at BCU or force SMT meetings to oversee and monitor progress (these meetings can be used to request further reviews, community impact assessments or resources, if required)

a formal closure and exit strategy.

Closure and exit strategies

It may be possible to conclude or scale down a critical incident when it has been assessed that the risk of significant loss of confidence has been averted, or where management plans are in place to prevent further loss and restore confidence. Consideration can be given to scoring the risk (loss of confidence) using the risk scoring principles, eg, impact versus likelihood.

What is normality?

Where there has been a traumatic event or significant media interest over an extended period of time, or where police activity and visibility have been abnormal for the locality, there may be an information vacuum when the police leave. It may also have caused an increased fear of crime or sense of vulnerability, or an increase in underlying community tensions. It will definitely raise questions about what has happened, why it has happened and who might be affected.

It is, therefore, important to understand what the concept of normality for the affected community looks like, and to develop an action plan which will help the community return to this. It should include a communication strategy which seeks to reassure and provide answers. This applies particularly where there is a clear operational reason for concluding the police response to a critical incident, but there has not been an arrest or any other form of closure for the victim and/or their family.

Notifying the victim, their family and the community

The decision about when to conclude or scale down a critical incident and the reasons for doing so should always be recorded and explained fully to the victim, their family or the community.

Post-incident evaluation

After a CI, whether it is crime or non-crime related, there should be a process of post-incident evaluation and learning. The focus of evaluation should be on positive learning outcomes and identifying good practice to be incorporated into national and local policy and guidance. For multi-agency responses, see Joint Organisational Learning accessed via JESIP.

Traditionally, evaluation has taken the form of a debrief. In normal circumstances debriefs are internally facing, focusing on the police response from their perspective. There is, however, merit in taking a broader view and including evaluation from the perspective of the victim, their family and community.

The use of qualitative and quantitative public confidence surveys and analysis may help a force to understand the impact that an incident has had on the local community, including:

what worked

where the police could have done better.

A quality community impact assessment could also assist this process.

Critical incident debriefs

Forces may wish to consider a formal debrief for police officers and staff involved in a critical incident, including any non-police groups or individuals associated with the police response to an incident. This provides an opportunity for identifying good practice and lessons learned which can be included in future training, planning and risk management. It also helps to address potential welfare issues, and support referrals to appropriate staff associations or occupational health representatives for further support and advice. See Joint Operations Support Debrief POLKA community for identified good practice and areas of learning. Note - the reader must already be logged into POLKA to access the link.

Management considerations aide-memoire

CI management should start with early identification. A minor incident can escalate into a large-scale critical incident if not properly managed from the outset.

Local force policies and procedures should provide clear and unambiguous reporting and assessment systems for critical incidents at BCU and force level.

Chief officers may wish to ensure that CI are declared only when it is necessary to do so, and that the response is proportionate to the scale of the incident

Critical incident management should take into account the needs of the victim, their family and the local community.

All critical incidents should be subject to ongoing review and monitoring to ensure that they are being progressed and managed in an efficient and timely manner.

After a critical incident, chief officers should be prepared to allocate long-term resources to assist in rebuilding public confidence and to help return a community to normality.

Page last accessed 18 April 2019

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Management of a critical incident ( CI) should start with early identification and notification. It is particularly important that small-scale CIs are identified early, as even these can have a long-term impact on community confidence if left unchecked. Processes should be in place to manage issues that may affect the quality of the police response before they can impact on public confidence.

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Hi Gemma this item is on the voluntary sector that helps with major incidents

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This may be useful for us to use as well Gemma 

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This may be useful for us to use as well Gemma 

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North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust - Operational Protocols

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Hi Emma, check out this essay on emergency services grading of incidents

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Thanks Gemma the information on driver training looks interesting.

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Thanks Gemma the information on driver training looks interesting.

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Thanks Emma, that chart is great. We can definitley use it.

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Thanks Emma, that chart is great. We can definitley use it.

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Hi Gemma have a look at the severity grid

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Hi Emma, here's a good link to driver training

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Each year, the police service responds to many incidents or requests for urgent help from the public or police colleagues. Police officers respond to these incidents and requests using different types of vehicle, and are required to negotiate challenging road environments and conditions.

Introduction

Marked police vehicles, whether being driven in a response mode or at other times, attract public attention and scrutiny. Officers and police staff using unmarked vehicles are expected to conduct themselves in the same professional manner as officers and police staff using a marked vehicle. Use of legal exemptions are an everyday occurrence and, where applied, the driver must be able to readily and proportionately justify their actions in the pursuance of their duty.

The police service uses the national decision model ( NDM) to assist operational officers, planners, advisers and commanders to manage their response to a situation in a reasonable and proportionate manner. The NDM provides a framework that can be applied ethically and with integrity to all driving decisions and actions and can be used to justify decision making when responding to incidents. There may, however, be occurrences where a police driver's behaviour or their decision making is called into question. The public, police officers and police staff need assurances that, where necessary, driving incidents are investigated with a fair and balanced approach to the circumstances, taking into account the driver's skills and the relevant legal requirements while applying the NDM and Code of Ethics.
Boundaries
With pressure on resources, the police service is required to work increasingly across geographical and organisational boundaries. This places additional burden on police drivers to:

embrace new technologies in order to keep ahead of criminality

remain adaptable and resilient.

Evidenced based innovation is therefore encouraged and will be used to update standards as appropriate, through subject matter expert networks and working groups.

Strategic governance

National policy for police driving is set by the National Police Chiefs' Council ( NPCC) driver training lead. The development and maintenance of driving-related national learning standards and materials is the responsibility of the College of Policing, with support from the national strategic group, (chaired by the national police driver training lead) and the practitioners group.

Legal framework

The law in respect of response driving

The law, as defined in statute by the Road Traffic Act 1988, prohibits dangerous and careless driving. This applies to police officers as well as the public. Police officers must exhibit the care and skill of a competent and careful driver, the standard by which an officer's driving is judged. This is confirmed by the High Court in the ruling from the case R v Bannister (2009) EWCA Crim 1571.

The court ruled that if the special skill of the driver is taken into account in assessing whether driving is dangerous, then it must follow that the standard being applied is that of the driver with the special skills and not that of the careful and competent driver, as the standard of the careful and competent driver is being modified.
Driving skills
However, police officers are regularly expected to attend immediate response calls to help the public or deal with ongoing road related incidents. To do so in line with duty, officers are required to extend their driving skills beyond that of a careful and competent driver. These heightened skill levels are provided through nationally approved driver training standards which are governed by the College of Policing. Where there is a departure from the legal standard, then in line with the DPP's guidance to CPS for emergency service driving personnel, officers or those involved in the delivery of higher level driver training, must be able to show justification, proportionality and necessity for their actions and decision making based on the circumstances of the incident or nature of the role they are performing.

Police officers should not be punitively treated where public interest requires a justified emergency response, or operational demands are such that officers have driven in accordance with the NDM and whilst correctly applying their driving skills in line with their training because of the legal situation which exists under the Bannister judgement.

The service has a duty of care to provide training to support officers executing their response duties, and to keep the public safe. Officers are required to implement national driving standards as set out in the driving training learning programme. These standards provide a robust mechanism to ensure officers are supported to carry out driving duties at standard and advance levels. Officers must drive responsibly, taking into account proportionality and necessity and within the confines of their level of driver training and the immediacy of the incident being attended.

Note: the ambiguity raised by the Bannister ruling has been acknowledged and is currently being addressed with the Home Office.

Further information

See CPS guidance on prosecuting bad driving
Legal exemptions
Statutory services and/or other organisations prescribed for by the Department of Transport are afforded specific exemptions in law to undertake their duties.

The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 exempt emergency vehicles from:

observing speed limits

observing keep left/right signs

complying with traffic lights (including pedestrian controlled crossings).

Police drivers may find themselves considering the contravention of signs and regulations where no statutory exemption exists. In each case, decisions on such matters rely on the professional judgement of the officer involved (linked to the NDM). Their decisions must be supported by the legitimacy of their actions based on operational necessity and the practical options available. Even where a statutory exemption exists, an officer must always give due regard to their driving manner and behaviour which should not put other road users or members of the public at a risk which cannot be justified.

When exercising the exemption to pass a red traffic light, drivers of emergency response vehicles should avoid causing a member of the public to contravene the red light. The public do not have an exemption in law to contravene red traffic lights.

Only drivers who are trained to the appropriate national standards are entitled to make use of legal exemptions. It is essential that the legal exemptions used are appropriate and their use in specific circumstances can be justified. There is no legal definition of what would or would not constitute justification for making use of police exemptions. In all considerations the NDM should be applied.

Health and safety

Further information

Health and Safety Executive (2004) Getting to Grips with Manual Handling (Not available on line).
Manual handling at work - a brief guide Health and Safety Executive (2004) Guidance on Regulations L23, Third Edition HOSDB High Conspicuity Livery for Police Motorcycles, Publication 47/06
Driving at work - managing work-related road safety

Because of the high-risk environment, policing responsibilities and the potential for serious injury and fatalities, all staff operating on the strategic road network should be familiar with, and have completed training which meets, the requirements of the College of Policing's national learning standards for policing the strategic road network.

The following risks factors are associated with the policing of roads:

exposure to inclement weather conditions for long periods of time

collisions when dealing with incidents

high stress levels from attendance at traumatic incidents

manual handling involved at scenes and debris incidents.

The following risk control measures must be implemented by forces:

adequate training which meets national standards to enable officers to work effectively and safely

the provision of clothing and/or approved equipment with instruction on its correct use (consider force policies)

incident briefing and debriefing

confidential stress management and occupational health provisions

risk assessment of all vehicle usage both operationally and for training.

Unmarked training vehicles that are used to facilitate covert response or pursuit training are expected to be fitted with covert lighting and, preferably, matrix signs that can be used to make the vehicle easily recognisable. Training and learning promotes specifics around driving safely, taking into consideration the potential response from the public.

Forces should ensure that training vehicles/machines carry sufficient, well-maintained equipment, suitable for dealing with incidents on the types of roads they are training on.

Police driving training

The Roads Policing and Police Driving Learning Programme ( RPPDLP) sets out national learning standards for police driving. It consists of a framework of integrated modules and units that together represent a whole programme. The required national driving skills and competencies are applicable consistently across forces. When transferring between forces, staff may need to become acquainted with unfamiliar vehicles, equipment or any local procedures or policies relating to vehicle use. Each force must have a designated strategic lead at chief officer rank who is accountable for compliance with the delivery and provision of driving standards and the national driver training programme. Police Driving Training Governance provides further detail in relation to the quality assurance of the programme.

The RPPDLP provides:

a framework for continuous professional development

consistency and standardisation across the range of training activities

standardised national procedures and terminology for roads policing

a conduit for the dissemination of good practice in response to lessons learnt.

Police driver trainers
All police driver trainers must meet the College of Policing's trainer standards. They must also have undertaken a course of instruction and learning as set out within the national Police Driver Trainers' Learning Programme ( PDTLP), which appears in the College of Policing's learning standards. Continuing professional development (CPD) must be undertaken to maintain the standards set out in the PDTLP.

Quality assurance

Further information

Joint Emergency Service High Speed Driver Training Advisory Group (2008) High Speed Driver Training Quality Assurance

To maintain credibility and integrity, the delivery of driver training national standards and the corresponding quality assurance process must comply with the Police Service Quality Assurance Scheme (PSQAS)

Goals for driver education

In respect of standard/response and advanced driving, the goals for driver education represent an essential appreciation of how to structure and understand more clearly what competencies a safe driver needs and how well they perform. Driving tasks can be described within a hierarchical framework of behavior/conduct, competencies and decisions in a varying number of situations at different levels within a range of driving situations. Recognising risk is something that underpins driver education. It is important that a driver is aware of how physical influences through road conditions affect a vehicle and its handling and that a driver is cognisant of a vehicle's controls and handling characteristics.

Poor driver attitudes and behaviours may undermine the reputation of the police. The following factors may be influential:

medical conditions

stressful situations

operational pressures

fatigue

traffic situations

driving at night-time

driving in difficult weather situations.

Police drivers should notify supervisors if any of these factors affect them. It is important that police drivers are able to dynamically self-assess their actions and performance. This helps them to meet the changing circumstances and pressures they face in their decisions and actions, especially when driving to incidents, working extended hours or during pursuit situations.

Police drivers may fall short of standards because of human failings and can require a considered or bespoke intervention within the structure of police driver training in order to address areas of development. A mechanism should be in place to allow supervisors to identify and discuss performance issues with the driver/rider.

Driver/rider levels and vehicle categories

There are three levels of police driver/rider:

In addition to these, there are also specialist police vehicles and roles that are set out in the Roads Policing and Police Driving Learning Programme.

Basic - for employees with DVLA full category B driving licence/category A motorcycle licence.

A basic police driver/rider:

Where a basic driver is required to drive other categories of vehicles, eg, commercial vehicles, and holds the requisite licence, the service/force must provide the relevant induction and familiarisation to ensure that the health and safety requirements for driving at work are met. This may not require on-road driver assessments, but the driver induction should cover the specific characteristics pertinent to the category of vehicle(s).

It is a matter for force policy to decide whether an individual requires additional coaching from a member of the force driver training team on specific areas of driving or police operations to improve their knowledge, or for basic drivers to be able to carry out additional requirements during the course of their duties as basic level police drivers.

Where police officers or police staff are permitted to use liveried fleet operationally, it is for the local force to determine whether additional training is provided to enable the use of auxiliary lighting equipment for safety and scene/public protection. The use of emergency equipment to facilitate progress through a traffic holdup is deemed to be response driving and outside the scope of a basic driver.

Where police officers or police staff are permitted to use operational liveried vehicles, it is for the local force to determine whether training should be provided to permit the stopping of compliant drivers.

Standard/response - driver/rider trained to a standard to enable them to respond safely to incidents requiring the use of legal exemptions.

A standard/response driver:

Advanced - driver/rider trained to a higher level than standard/response enabling them to drive high performance vehicles operationally.

Driving skills, as with any other skills, may deteriorate over time or with lack of use. This may particularly be the case with more advanced skills. Therefore, where enhanced skills are required as part of daily or periodic use those skills require regular assessment and/or refresher training. See lapse in authorisation to drive.
Categories of police vehicle
The National Association of Police Fleet Managers (NAPFM) and the College of Policing use the following engine specifications to denote the three categories of police vehicle (engine power output is measured in kilowatts and recorded/displayed as the official EU measurement of Pferdestärke (PS).

1 PS = 0.99 brake horsepower (BHP):

low performance (55PS to 115PS)

intermediate performance (115PS to 180PS)

high performance (180PS or over).

A basic police driving authorisation allows police officers and staff to drive any vehicle of the above categories commensurate with their driving duties and in accordance with the limitations placed on basic driver permits.

In respect of police motorcycle specifications, the following NAPFM and College of Policing machine categories apply:

scooters and road-going motorcycles

specialist off-road and quad machines

high performance motorcycles.

In the event that any driving qualification, police vehicle classification or vehicle use requires clarification, advice must be obtained from the force driver training lead in conjunction with the head of fleet. The overriding factor in any decision will always be safety as well as ensuring compliance with legislation and the College of Policing Roads Policing and Police Driving Learning Programme.

This APP relates to the use of police vehicles for operational purposes. The use of hire/lease vehicles is a matter for force policy.

Management of police drivers and occupational road risk

Driver training fleet

It is strongly recommended that the driver training fleet should match the operational fleet to maximise learning, to overcome frontline user familiarisation requirements, and because vehicle design and advanced vehicle aided technology change rapidly. This approach is supported by the Health and Safety Executive's driving at work guidelines which state:

'You should ensure that self-propelled work equipment, including any attachments or towed equipment, is only driven by workers who have received appropriate training in the safe driving of such work equipment.'

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires all employers who engage their staff to undertake on-road work activities to ensure the health and safety of their employees while at work so far as is reasonably practicable.

While recognising the specific responsibilities of individual chief constables and senior managers, it must be remembered that all personnel have a responsibility for health and safety at work and as such have an important role to fulfil in the implementation and application of this legislation.

Clothing and equipment

Officers and staff must ensure that they have the recommended clothing and personal protective equipment ( PPE) suitable for use in any operational scenario they may encounter during any:

prescribed driver training course

incident that they may reasonably be expected to deal with as an operational resource.

Medical conditions/standards

Further information Assessing fitness to drive

Every driver of police vehicles has a responsibility to declare any medical situation or condition that may affect or prevent them from undertaking any police-related driving duties safely or within legal parameters and there is an expectation that drivers will comply with this responsibility.

Eyesight standards and medical guidelines derived from the Association of Local Authority Medical Advisors ( ALAMA) panel should apply to all police drivers. It is a recommended that standard/response and advanced drivers should meet the DVLA group 2 medical standards and that these standards apply irrespective of any other disability. Any questions over the ability of an individual to meet these standards of medical fitness for emergency response driving must be referred to the relevant force department for a professional medical opinion.

Lapse in authorisation to drive

An officer trained and authorised to either advanced or standard/response driver/rider level, and who is deployed within a role where those training levels are neither used nor required, reverts to the level below after 12 months, ie, advanced reverts to standard/response and standard/response reverts to basic. This may follow a period of restricted duties which may be due to medical reasons or a posting to a role not requiring driving at either standard/response or advanced level.

If subsequently required, the previous training and authorisation level can be restored at any time following successful completion of a driving assessment or refresher training.
Continuing professional development
All police drivers should undertake continuing professional development (CPD). A CPD specification is currently under development. For assessment of competence detail see Police Driving Training Governance.
Record keeping
Forces must maintain a record of the following for all authorised drivers:

personal details

driving licence

driving authorisation

training

collision/damage data.

Key police driver principles

Police vehicle drivers/riders must not drive beyond their own or their vehicle's capabilities. Police drivers/riders have a personal and legal obligation to ensure that they are licensed to drive the class of vehicle to which they are assigned.

Before driving any police vehicle, the driver must ensure they have authority from their force, by whatever local procedure applies, to drive that vehicle.

It is the responsibility of any driver assigned to a police vehicle to ensure, as far as can be reasonably expected, that the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition before it is taken onto public roads.

Drivers of police vehicles must refer to the manufacturer's or force's handbook to ensure they are familiar with the controls, auxiliaries and operating systems prior to driving. For police operational staff, this includes on-board technical equipment and operation of emergency warning equipment.

Before driving or towing vehicles with specialist equipment, drivers must ensure they are confident and competent in taking the vehicle onto public roads. Where any doubt or uncertainty exists, the driver should seek assistance or guidance from their force driver training unit and/or technical help from the force vehicle engineering staff.

When a driver identifies a vehicle defect, it must be brought to the attention of the local fleet workshop in accordance with local procedures. Not every defect requires immediate suspension of the vehicle from service. It is a matter of common sense and proportionality to decide the scale or circumstances of a defect as to whether a vehicle should be driven or not.

Parking of police vehicles on a road

Care and attention to parking restrictions should be observed and complied with. There will be exceptions where parking a police vehicle contrary to parking regulations or restrictions is required and necessary to deal with incidents, including scenes of collisions. There can be no legitimate excuse for ignoring restrictions unless it can be justified. Inconsiderate or illegal parking of police vehicles may result in negative press reporting and may adversely affect public perceptions. Where an officer or staff member receives notice of enforcement for breach of any such regulation or restriction, they must take personal responsibility for the outcome unless they are able to justify their actions.

Post collision/incident review

The police driver training strategy must always seek to promote public confidence in the way in which police fleet is used. Where driving standards fall below the accepted principles it is incumbent on the force to identify, review and act proportionately in any post-collision investigation and/or intervention. All driver training leads are expected to be cognisant of emerging police collision/incident reviews following internal investigations, court proceedings, coroner's rulings, or recommendations made following IPCC reviews.

Practitioners and strategic driver training leads must bring to the attention of the NPCC lead any examples of emerging threat, risk or harm that need to be reviewed and/or actioned at a national level (eg, changes to APP or the national learning standards). All such information will be regularly disseminated through the NPCC lead and the College of Policing as part of curriculum and programme maintenance.

Police pursuits

Police pursuits APP including the tactics directory details issues relating to police pursuits and sets the standards that should be adhered to.

Emergency response

Officers are deemed to be in an emergency response when they are using emergency warning equipment to facilitate progress, at which time they may make use of exemptions afforded to them by legislation. There may be occasions, depending on time of day, circumstances and events, which are deemed unsuitable or inappropriate for the use of emergency warning equipment. Where a driver drives in an emergency response or at high speed without emergency warning equipment, it is for them to justify the decision and give a reasonable account as to why the warning equipment was not used.

Navigation devices/Airwave and vehicle recording equipment

While it is recognised that police driving standards are subject to a high level of scrutiny and attention, the increasing expectations to use mobile technology, data communications systems and other forms of electronic equipment while driving raises a number of issues likely to be in conflict with expectations for members of the public when they are driving.

The College of Policing driver learning standards now incorporate the use of such devices as part of the course curriculum.

Page last accessed 18 April 2019

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Each year, the police service responds to many incidents or requests for urgent help from the public or police colleagues. Police officers respond to these incidents and requests using different types of vehicle, and are required to negotiate challenging road environments and conditions.