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Health and Safety and the Police
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This part of the website looks at HSE’s responsibility for ensuring that the Chief Officer of the Police (as "the employer"), in each of the 43 different police forces, complies with health and safety law in relation to:

his employees (police officers);
members of the public who may be affected by the activities of police officers.

The page considers for example whether HSE has responsibility for the investigation of deaths (including suicides) in police custody.

Please note, this page does not contain information on the role of the police in the investigation of work-related deaths. To read about this, Click Here

This page relies heavily on the the contents of two documents:
an "Operational circular" produced by the HSE for its inspectors called "Inspection of the police forces";
an Agreement on the "Inspection of Police Activities by the HSE" signed by the HSE, Home Office, the Association of Police Officers and other interested parties

You can download these documents in full (both in Word) by clicking below. But you will probably find it easier to read this webpage first as it explains the situation more clearly, provides a commentary, and allows you to access other relevant documents.
Operational Circular
Agreement

This is the only website that allows access to these documents. Although they are ‘open documents’, they are not available on HSE’s website yet.

The HSE has restricted the publication of certain information from the Operational Circular, according to the Open Government Code. This relates to:
• the use of CS aerosol Incapacitant (CS Spray);

The HSE says that this information can not be disclosed since this would cause 'serious harm'. You will note that there are a couple of paragraphs in the operational circulars which are in red. These paragraphs were first restricted by the HSE, but the HSE, (after a request from the CCA) has reviewed these paragraphs and allowed them now to be published.


Index to Page

Introduction to the police
No Crown Immunity
The Effect of the Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997
The Effect of the Police (Health and Safety) Regulations 1999
Police Reform Act 2002
The police's Health and and Safety Responsibilities to employees and public
Agreement on the inspection and investigation of police forces
Inspections by the HSE
Who Inspects
What injuries and deaths should be reported to the HSE
Who Should Report Incidents?
HSE's Investigation Policy
HSE's investigation Policy into Deaths of members of the public
Advice and Training provided by Police Forces
Issues to be considered by HSE Inspectors




Introduction to the Police
There are 43 Home Office grant-aided police forces in England and Wales, and 8 in Scotland, with a total of about 139,000 police officers (in the year 2000). Police forces, organised usually on a county basis, are under the direction and control of the chief constable.

Police Authority
HM Inspector of Constabulary
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)
Role of Home Office


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No Crown Immunity
Police officers are not – and have never been - Crown servants. Neither, they, nor the 43 police forces themselves, have ever attracted any form of immunity from prosecution. The only reason they have not in the past been able to be prosecuted, is that health and safety law has not, until recently, applied to them. This is because police officers were not formally ‘employees’ and the ‘police force’ was not an ‘employer’ upon whom health and safety duties could be imposed. This however changed with the passing of the Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997 and the Police (Health and Safety) Regulations 1999. As set out below, the Chief Officer of the Police (as the 'employer') can now be prosecuted

To read about how some organisations have Crown immunity from prosecution, Click Here.

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The Effect of the Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997
The Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997 [the 1997 Act], which came into force on 1 July 1998, applied the Health and Safety act Work Act 1974 [the 1974 Act] to the activities of the police. It did this by amending section 51 of the 1974 Act so that constables (including special constables) and police cadets should be treated as employees of the chief officer of police. The Act stated that:
a person who "holds the office of constable or an appointment as police cadet shall be treated as an employee of the relevant officer".
"relevant officer" is defined as "the chief officer of police" of the relevant police force, This means:
- the chief constable for the county constabularies;
- the Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police;
- the Director General for the National Crime Squad (which replaced the regional crime squads on 1 April 1998) and the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS).
The health and safety duties, set out in sections 2 and 3 of the 1974 Act are therefore placed upon the "Chief Officers of police" (as the employer) and it is they, as individuals, who will be prosecuted.

Regulation 5 of the 1997 Act has, however, given the Police Authority discretion to pay any fine incurred by a chief officer out of a fund that is set up for that purpose.

To see the text of the Act, Click Here

It should be noted that through the Police Reform Act 2002, the Home Office has introduced measures to change the employer of police officers from the chief officer to the police authority (the police board in Scotland). No implementation date has yet been given, but the changes will not be introduced until a statutory code of practice comes into force.

Position of Civilian Officers
: The position of civilians employed by the police force is unchanged by the 1997 Act: under the Police Act 1996 s.15(1) they are the employees of the police authority.

These civilian employees include the new category of community support officers, who are given specific police powers under the Police Reform Act 2002.

Position of Special constables: Like regular police officers, they are covered under the 1997 Act, They are unpaid, but claim expenses. As with other police officers, they are warrant holders, but, whilst regular officers can use their powers throughout the United Kingdom, special constables can use theirs only in their own police authority area, and adjacent authority areas.

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The Effect of the Police (Health and Safety) Regulations 1999

The 1997 Act however only concerned the application of the 1974 Act itself and not any of the the existing regulations (made under the 1974 Act). Application of these regulations was, however, achieved by the Police (Health and Safety) Regulations 1999.

In addition, these regulations exempted the police from having to comply with the absolute requirements imposed by the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (PPE Regulations) and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).

To see the text of the Regulations, Click Here

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Police Reform Act 2002

Apart from changing the identity of "the employer" (see above), the Police Reform Act 2002 also qualified the meaning of ‘at work’ in the 1974 Act s.52 in relation to constables, so that they are at work throughout the time when they are on duty, but not otherwise. Although, in civil law, constables retain their powers and duties at all times (R v Dytham [1979]), the Home Office considered that, where an officer was acting outside the immediate direction and control of his/her senior officers, it would be unreasonable for the chief officer to be liable under HSW Act.

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Health and Safety obligations towards police officers and the public
HSE inspectors are concerned about the health and safety of both the police as employees and the public who may be affected by the police’s activities.

Employees: The obligations of the Chief Officers of the Police to their employees (the police officers) are the same as they are for any employer. Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that:

"It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health. safety and welfare at work of all his employees."

Section 2(2) states that this includes the

- provision of safe systems of work and equipment;
- arrangements for safe use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;
- provision of adequate information, instruction, training and supervision;

For further details about the general duties imposed by the 1974 Act upon employers, Click Here. These general duties are buttressed by a number of different regulations.

The Public: In relation to the Chief Officers of Police’s obligations towards members of the public, section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act states that:

It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.

It should be noted that whilst the police has a duty in relation to the welfare of its ‘employees’ it does not have have a duty to the ‘welfare’ of the public.

The extent to which the HSE does and should enforce section 3 in relation to the police is a key and contentious issue.

A briefing on the application of Section 3 will shortly be placed on the website

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Agreement on the inspection and investigation of police forces
In February 2000, an agreement was drawn up by the HSE, Home Office, Association of Chief Police Officers and other interested parties, the primary objective of which was to "establish a mutual understanding of the objectives of HSE and the police service in relation to the inspection and enforcement of health and safety legislation." Under the Agreement:
police forces will recognise their duties under the relevant statutory provisions (RSPs) in relation to all police activities;
police forces acknowledge that HSE has a right to inspect all police activities within the RSPs;
police forces will apply to all police officers and civilian employees the full protection, rights and responsibilities of the RSPs;
HSE will consider the requirements of the policing imperative when making judgements about reasonable practicability;
HSE will take full account of security requirements and have regard to the police command structure;
disagreements between HSE inspectors and police forces about the application of the Agreement which cannot be resolved locally will be discussed as necessary between the inspector, the chief officer, the Home Office or the Scottish Executive (as appropriate), and the DFP Unit;
the Home Office Standing Committee on Police Health and Safety will monitor the application of the Agreement, consider proposals for new health and safety legislation, and consider any other matters of mutual interest; and
the Agreement will be reviewed every three years, and may be amended with the agreement of the parties.

The most notable aspect of this agreement is that the HSE must "consider the requirements of the policing imperative when making judgements about reasonable practicability"

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Inspections by the HSE

An annex to the "Agreement on the Inspection of Police activities by the HSE" sets out the "procedures to be followed by HSE and police forces in arranging, carrying out and reporting on inspections of police premises and activities under the terms of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974."

It states that these procedures
"are intended to facilitate such inspections, recognising the statutory right of HSE to carry them out in all areas covered by the Act and their commitment to do so in such a way so as not to compromise the operational capability of the police service."
" Inspections by HSE are for the purpose of discharging its functions as a regulatory authority and are additional to those which HM Inspectorate of Constabulary undertakes for its own statutory purposes".

The Annex deals with ‘investigations’ into reported incidents as well as "Planned inspections". The issue of planned inspections is dealt with here, and investigations dealt with below.

Planned inspections are part of HSE's annual programme and involve:

"one or more inspectors from the HSE local office, perhaps accompanied by a Medical Inspector or a topic Specialist Inspector, over a number of days, depending on the size of the force organisation. These inspections will be brought to the attention of the regional HM Inspectors of Constabulary by HSE Principal Inspectors so that overlaps with their own inspection programme may be avoided."

The annex states at paras 4-6 that:

4 Before a planned inspection, an inspector from the local office will contact the force in order to arrange a meeting between the HSE Principal Inspector and an officer of ACPO or ACPOS rank, also probably involving the force health and safety adviser and a member of the HSE inspection team. The Principal Inspector will describe the format of the inspection and the number of days which it is expected to occupy: mutually convenient dates will be agreed.
5 During the inspection itself, Inspectors will enquire into the health and safety management of the force; in doing so they will interview key members of staff, examine documents and carry out sample visits to verify whether there is compliance in practice with the legal requirements. During the course of the inspection, inspectors will indicate where improvements are necessary and how they may be achieved.
6 When breaches of health and safety law are found, the inspector will decide on what action to take, based on the principles set out in the Health and Safety Commission’s Enforcement Policy Statement. The action may be:
a letter, copied to safety representatives, requiring a suitable work programme with a time scale for completion
an improvement notice where the breach is more serious
a prohibition notice where the activity involves, or will involve, a risk of serious personal injury
 prosecution.
In relation to the inspection of "Public Order and Other Hazardous Training", the annex states:

"HSE inspectors may inspect training areas where public order training or other hazardous training is being undertaken. HSE recognises the requirement to conduct hazardous training: its principal interest is in the organisation, arrangements and written procedures for controlling and managing these activities. Visits may be carried out to verify that appropriate procedures are adopted in practice."

In relation to the inspection of "Patrol Duties and Other Operational Police Activities", the annex states:

HSE's principal interest in inspecting operational police activity is in the organisation, arrangements and written procedures for controlling risk to officers; site visits for verification may be appropriate in some circumstances. In that case, arrangements for the visit will be agreed beforehand with the force. In the case of covert police operations, inspectors will restrict their enquiries to the organisation, arrangements and written procedures in place."

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Who Inspects and investigates

Within HSE, there is a division called Field Operations Division which is organised into seven geographical regions. In each FOD region there is a unit called "Services Sector Crown, Fire and Police Unit". It is inspectors from this unit who have responsibility for inspecting the police


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What injuries and deaths should be reported to the HSE
The Chief Officer of Police – like any other employer – has responsibility for reporting certain deaths and injuries to the HSE.

It should be noted that even if a death or injury is not officially reportable, the HSE can still investigate it; and conversely the fact that a death or injury is reported does not mean that the HSE will investigate it. To read about HSE’s general investigation policy, click here

Injury to employees
: In relation to most deaths and injuries suffered by police officers, the obligations to report are straightforward. Deaths, major injuries and over-three day injuries, suffered by employees, should be reported. This includes deaths and injuries to police officers that result "from an act of non-consensual physical violence." To find out more about the obligations upon employers to report injuries suffered by employees, Click Here.

However it should be noted that according to HSE’s Operational Circular:

"Accidents to police officers involving vehicles on the highway are not reportable, except those listed in RIDDOR reg.10(2). As a result, accidents involving officers undertaking vehicle stops or using the ‘Stinger’ device, are not strictly reportable but are of concern in relation to risk assessment and training issues, and justify investigation." (para 88).

However injuries suffered by a police officer in training are reportable. The Operational Circular states:

"The Question has been asked as to whether an injury suffered by a police officer as an employee participating in realisitic training e.g. in arrest and restraint techniques, should be regarded as resulting from an ‘act of non-consensual physicial violence’, and hence a reportable accident …. Since police officerts are required to to take part in this training, they are not considered to be in the position of professinal sportspeaople, where taking part implies acceptance of a risk of injury. It follows that such accidents in training will be reportable if the injuries fall into the reportable categories." (appedix 3, para 7)

Injury to members of the public: In relation to deaths and injuries to members of the public, An injury would be reportable if:

it resulted from an "accident", and
the "accident" arose "out of or in connection with" the work of the police, and
the injured person dies or is taken from the site of the "accident" to a hospital for treatment (whether or not any treatment is given when they got there.)

The key question therefore is whether the injury was sustained as a result of an "accident" as defined by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR 95). This states that an injury to a member of the the public resulting from deliberate police action directed at that individual, for example, during arrest or self defence, would not be regarded as arising from an 'accident', and hence would not be reportable.
To see why, click here.

However an injury to a member of the public, may be reportable if it arises from an unintentional result of police actions. The operational circular gives the following examples of this:

"For example, police officers would not intend bystanders to suffer falls, trampling by police horses, or bites from police dogs as a result of their seeking to pursue and apprehend a suspect. Those events could be reportable accidents if the outcome is death or the injured person being taken to hospital." (Appendix 3, para 2)

In addition to this, deaths resulting from attempts to restrain a person would, it appear, also be reportable since the death would not have been an intentional result of police actions.

In effect, any death of a member of the public as a result of police activities , which might be the result of neglect, gross neglect or recklessness, or simply the result of 'accidental' conduct – rather than any deliberate intention to kill - on the part of the police, will arguably be reportable

Where members of the public who are not at work are injured at gatherings where there is public disorder, do the police who are handling the disorder have the responsibility for reporting these injuries?

HSE’s operational circular states:

"The considerations [set out above] would apply so that any accident which results in a death or the injured person being taken to hospital would need to have arisen out of, or in connection with, the work of the police in order to be reportable. For example, if a person in a crowd is accidentally trampled by a police horse and injured, that accident would be reportable, whereas an accident where the injury is clearly unconnected with police crowd control operations would not be reportable. Cases lying between the two would have to be judged depending on the circumstances".

Suicides in police cells: The only suicides that are reportable to the HSE are those which take place on a "relevant transport system". Suicides in police cells are therefore not reportable - though whether or not the HSE can or should investigate suicides, irrespective of the fact that they are not reportable, is discussed below

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Who should Report these incidents

Who should report those deaths or injuries that are reportable? RIDDOR 95 imposes the obligation upon ‘the responsible person’ which is defined as the person who:

"for the time being having control of the premises in connection with the carrying on by him of any trade, business or other undertaking … at which, or in connection with the work at which, the accident or dangerous occurences [which is reportable] ..happened."

HSE’s operational circular states:

"As far as injuries to members of the public on police premises are concerned, the repsonsible person would therefore be the person for the time being having control of those premises. Where an accident takes place outside police premises such as in a street, but in connection with the work at those premises ie policing, the person having control of the police premises would again be the responsible person. In cases where the police are present on someone else’s premises, eg a football club, then the responsible person would be whoever is in overall control of the premises. In such circumstances, the police would have a duty to liaise with the responsible person, and pass on details of any reportable incidents they become aware of."

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HSE’s Investigation Policy

As noted above, the fact that the police report an incident to the HSE does not mean that the HSE will investigate it. There are two principal reasons for this.

the HSE lack resources to investigate anything but a small number of reported incidents;

The HSE has recently established a formal policy prioritising which reportable incidents should be investigated. To see this policy, click here.
an investigation into the incident will be (or has been) carried out by another investigation body, and therefore, in the HSE’s view, further inquiries on its part would be a duplication of effort.

So for example, deaths and injuries to police officers which are the result of a violent act (which are reportable) will be investigated by the police themselves and the HSE will only consider investigating the incident if, in their view, working practices of the police contributed to the incident. There is, as far as we know, no protocol between the HSE and the police as to when they will get involved in an investigation and when they will not.

In relation to HSE’s policy towards investigating deaths of members of the public, or other incidents reportable to the Police Complaints Authority, see below.

It should be noted however, that when incidents are reportable to the HSE, the HSE should follow its standard procedure concerning whether or not to undertake an investigation. To see this, Click Here. In effect, it means if there is a death (and certain kinds of major injuries), which are reportable to the HSE, it should be investigated.

However, The fact that an incident is not formally reportable to the HSE does not however mean that the HSE can not or should not investigate it; for example, although a suicide of a member of the public in a police cell is not reportable, it could raise issues about the adequacy of the working practices of the prison which would require investigation (see below).

This whole area of whether or not the HSE should carry out an investigation even though another body is undertaking some enquiries can be very contentious.

HSE's general policy on this question is as follows. The HSE will investigate an incident and enforce health and safety law:

"Where health or safety cannot be adequately regulated by the enforcement of other more specific legislation, or another authority does not have the necessary enforcement powers, or there is no other relevant authority"

However, in the CCA's experience the HSE often interprets this very conservatively (preferring perhaps to preserve its limited resources) and not to undertake enquiries even though the other body which is involved in making enquiries is not actually considering the working practices of the police or/and does not have the power to impose enforcement notices or prosecutes for health and safety, or similiar, offences.

If you want to read more on HSE’s policy on when it enforces health and safety law in relation to ‘public safety’ issues (like deaths in custody or in hospital) or in relation to incidents where other investigation bodies exist (i.e. incidents in the sea or air), Click Here.

If you need advice on this area, please contact the CCA or if it is death in prison or police custody, the organisation, INQUEST which specialises in this area.

It should be noted that para 7 of the Agreement between the police and the HSE states that before undertaking an investigation "where possible, inspectors will contact the force in advance to indicate the reason for the visit."

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HSE’s investigation policy into deaths/Injuries to members of the public

All deaths and serious injuries suffered by members of the public resulting from police activities will be investigated by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) is an independent body established under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, and has a statutory obligation to supervise the investigation of complaints against police officers in England and Wales which involve death or serious injury (as well as other complaints). The PCA has to approve the appointment of the investigating officer (a police officer) and may give directions on the conduct of the inquiry. The supervising members of the PCA are not organised on a regional basis, but are assigned to particular cases.

The question arises as to whether the HSE should investigate a death or serious injury when the PCA is undertaking its own investigation.

An agreement has been reached between the PCA and the HSE which "sets out the arrangements which have been agreed between HSE and the PCA in order to clarify their respective roles and involvement in these investigations."

In relation to ‘reportable’ deaths and injuries, the agreement states:

"When the Principal Inspector in the HSE local office receives notification from the police of a relevant accident to a member of the public, he may contact the supervising Member of the [PCA] for that police force, in order to inform the Member of whether he intends to investigate the accident, and to establish whether a complaint against the police has been referred to the Authority in connection with that accident. Whether or not the inspector decides to carry out a separate investigation, he may request from the Authority the necessary information to establish whether the findings include relevant health and safety issues."

The agreement does not state what are the factors that will determine whether or not the HSE will actually conduct an investigation, though as stated above, the HSE has a general policy that it will enforce health and safety law, in such situations, "where another authority does not have the necessary enforcement powers."

In relation to this, it should be noted that the supervised investigation by the PCA will in almost all cases deal solely with whether the death was the result of manslaughter or the injury the result of assault. Whilst the investigation may consider the working practices of the police force concerned, this will not be done in order to determine whether health and safety offences have been committed and the PCA does not have the power to impose improvement or prohibition notices that would require changes in the working practices of the police, or indeed propose prosecution for health and safety or other similiar offences.

In relation to other incidents, the agreement states:

"Members of the public and police staff may also seek to involve HSE inspectors in the investigation of complaints against the police, either in connection with accidents (whether or not they are reportable under RIDDOR), or other circumstances. In either case, HSE may decide to refer the complainant to the existing police complaints procedure, to which more specific legislation applies: Part IX of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 19841 and Regulations. Before deciding whether to investigate a particular complaint which may be of relevance to the Authority, the Principal Inspector will liaise with the relevant Member of the Authority.

"In general, HSE inspectors will not seek to investigate incidents where the main issue is whether reasonable force has been used by a police officer in dealing with a member of the public; or whether the use of equipment for self-defence or deterrence, arrest or restraint such as CS incapacitant or firearms has been appropriate in the circumstances; or where there have been third party injuries as a result of the use of CS or firearms."

In relation to suicides, the agreement states:

"Another area of potential public concern is self-harm and suicide in police custody, which are not accidents as defined in RIDDOR, and therefore not reportable. Recognising that the Authority will normally investigate such cases, HSE inspectors will not seek to carry out separate investigations, although they may request relevant information."

It is not clear why the HSE states so categorically that it "will not seek to carry out separate investigations" into suicides, when the suicide might indicate poor working practices on the part of the police. Indeed, in a number of cases, the HSE has been involved in the investigation of suicide cases. HSE’s practice in this area therefore differs from its written policy.

To see a copy of this agreement, Click Here

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Advice and Training provided by Police Forces
According to HSE’s "operational Circular", the police provide the following health and safety training.

39 Every police force now has a specialist health and safety adviser: most are qualified to IOSH Diploma/British Safety Council DipSM standard; the remainder to IOSH Certificate standard. They are all members of the Association of Police Health and Safety Advisers (APHSA), which has a regional structure corresponding with the ACPO regions.
40 A three volume package of guidance Police Health and Safety was published by the Home Office in 1996, comprising:
• Volume 1: A Guide for Senior Police Officers;
• Volume 2: A Guide for Police Managers; and
• Volume 3: A Guide on Risk Assessment.

Subsequently, a fourth volume was added A Guide on Training, covering training for risk assessors and senior police officers, and a CD ROM containing parts of Volume2, together with all of Volumes 3 and 4. Hard copies of Volumes 3 and 4, and the CD ROM were supplied to HSE office libraries and Services Group PIs.
41 Volume 3 contained a comprehensive series of generic risk assessments (GRAs) for police operational work such as patrol duties, custody, firearms, public order and searching, drawn up by working groups including safety advisers and operational police officers. Subsequently, further GRAs were produced by Home Office working groups, dealing with police wildlife liaison officers, air support units, mounted duties and an updated GRA on dog handling. These were included in Home Office Circular 36/1999 (FOD subject file 334).
42 These were followed in 2000 by a GRA on scenes of crime officers’ duties, and others covering environmental protests and land search and rescue have also been produced for distribution in mid 2001: copies may be obtained from the DFP Unit. In addition, a guidance package for manual handling training was produced in 2000 (see para 80). More recently, APHSA has formed a national GRA working group at the request of the ACPO Joint Working Group and the Home Office to prepare and review GRAs on their behalf.
43 New recruits to the police are given two weeks initial training by their forces before being sent to one of the regional centres operated by CENTREX for the national syllabus of Foundation Training. The training modules include references to health and safety in dealing with issues such as road-traffic accidents and chemical incidents. However, training to give probationers a general awareness of ‘industrial’ hazards such as fragile roofs, building sites, or electricity has to be given by their home force.
44 Other training, for risk assessors and senior officers, is often delivered by safety advisors with force training officers, although external training organisations have sought to become involved, sometimes with unsatisfactory results.

General Issues of Health and Safety for HSE Inspectors
If you want to read what instructions HSE inspectors are provides concerning the inspection of the following activities of the police, Click on the relevant title below.

Inspection of police Training Activities

- self defence training
- Public Order Training
- Firearms training

Police Operational Activities
- patrol duties
- CS aerosol incapacitant
- Firearms operations
- Scenes of crime
- Custody duties
- Diving teams
- Land-based searching duties
- Storage of explosives at police premises

Occupational Health
- noise
- lead
- musculoskeletal disorders
- hepatitis B
- Stress

Working Time Regulations 1998 to the Police




Police authorities
The general duty of the police authority under the Police Act 1996 is to secure the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force in its area. The authority is required to have regard to key policing objectives set by the Home Secretary, any local objectives set by the authority itself, any performance targets set by the authority to meet the objectives, and the local policing plan. The authority sets a budget to provide the chief constable with the resources to fulfil the annual policing plan, and then monitors progress with the plan through the year. It also has the power of appointment and dismissal of the chief and assistant chief constables. The Metropolitan Police was unique in having the Home Secretary as its police authority, but, since 3 July 2000, this has changed with the formation of the Metropolitan Police Authority.

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HM Inspectors of Constabulary
HM Inspectors of Constabulary (HMIs) have a statutory duty under the Police Act 1996 to inspect and report to the Home Secretary on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces in England and Wales.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary is supported by five HMIs, normally selected from Chief Police Officers serving in the provincial forces. They do not have statutory powers of enforcement. HMIC (Scotland) has a similar function for the eight Scottish forces.

HM Inspectors of Constabulary undertake three types of inspection, reports of which are published by the Home Office:

risk-based inspections, where poorer performing forces will receive a more rigorous inspection than high performers. The methodology used will score forces’ performance, and visits will be paid to look specifically at particular aspects of good and poor performance;
best value inspections to police authorities. As a Best Value Inspectorate, HMIC has a legal duty to inspect police authorities’ annual best value reviews, alongside their normal inspection programme;
•  thematic inspections - examine a single function across a number of forces, eg traffic policing, and public order policing.

HM Inspectors of Constabulary do not as a rule investigate individual incidents. While HMIs are mainly concerned with the performance of police forces against crime-related performance indicators, they have included the management of health and safety as part of the overall inspection of personnel issues since the advent of the Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997. The HMIC Inspection Protocol for Health and Safety poses a series of questions for forces to answer, under the headings of Leadership, Policy and Strategy, People (competence and communication), Partnership and Resources (budgeting), Processes (monitoring and review), and Results (performance against measures of success).

Past thematic inspection reports included Officer Safety - Minimising the Risk of Violence, and Lost Time - The Management of Sickness Absence. To see this, Click Here

HSE’s operational note states that:

"A number of inspectors have been approached by regional HMIs asking for views on forces’ health and safety performance as part of the information gathering phase of the HMIC inspection process. Inspectors may provide such information to HMIC under HSW Act s.28, although it would be advisable to inform the chief constable that this has taken place."

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Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)

All chief constables, deputy and assistant chiefs in England and Wales, including commanders and above in the Metropolitan and City forces in London, are members of ACPO. Its main objective is to promote the welfare and efficiency of the police service and safeguard the interests of members of the Association. ACPO (Scotland) similarly represents chief officers in Scotland.

The ACPO Council has several specialist committees to inform its policy-making role, such as crime, traffic and personnel management. The last-named has a sub group, the Joint Working Group on Organisational Health, Safety and Welfare, which has as its statement of purpose ‘to work with all relevant agencies to provide the best health, safety and welfare policies and promulgate these across the service’. This group includes members from ACPO, ACPO(S), the Police Federation, Superintendents’ Association, force medical officers, Police Welfare Officers Association, HMIC, Home Office, and HSE.

Another ACPO working group is the National Uniform Project Group (UPG), set up to commission designs for new, national police patrol uniform, from footwear to helmets. Again, members are drawn from across the service, with an HSE representative originally invited to advise on the application of the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992 (PPE Regulations). The UPG finalised the specifications for ‘bodywear’ garments in 2000, and these were approved by ACPO Council as the national patrol uniform design. The UPG will continue in existence, in order to maintain an overview of uniform and equipment issues.

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Role of the Home Office
Apart from its policy role in the policing of England and Wales, the Home Office has an involvement in health and safety through its Police Personnel Unit (PPU). The PPU provides the secretariat for the Home Office Standing Committee on Police Health and Safety, on which ACPO, HMIC, the Police Federation, Superintendents’ Association, police health and safety advisers, and HSE are represented.

The Home Office Police Scientific Development Branch (PSDB) provides technical support, and development and research facilities for the police, Prison Service and other government agencies. On health and safety, PSDB publishes guidance for police forces on hearing protection for firearms training, and ballistic and stab-resistant body armour.

Other important police-related Home Office bodies are the Central Police Training and Development Authority (CENTREX), formerly known as National Police Training, Forensic Science Service and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.
Position of Non-Home Office Police Forces:


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RIDDOR Regulation 10(2)
The only "accidents" involving vehicles on the highway that are reportable are those contained in RIDDOR Regulation 10(2). These are:

(a) was killed as a result of exposure to a substance being conveyed by the vehicle; or
(b) was either himself engaged in, or was killed as a result of the activities of another person who was at the time of the accident engaged in, work connected with the loading or unloading of any article or substance onto or off the vehicle; or
(c) was either himself engaged in, or was killed as a result of the activities of another person who was at the time of the accident engaged in, work on or alongside a road, being work concerned with the construction, demolition, alteration, repair or maintenance of-
(i) the road or the markings or equipment thereon;
(ii) the verges, fences, hedges or other boundaries of the road;
(iii) pipes or cables on, under, over or adjacent to the road; or
(iv) buildings or structures adjacent to or over the road; or
(d) was killed as a result of an accident involving a train.

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Page last updated on June 9, 2003