Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy please stand up [and as an ex-premier league pundit once used to say] “Tick-a-boo Son” [“Take a Bow”].
On 9th June 2011, Mr Fahy was quoted both locally and nationally as saying:
"sometimes in following the letter of a procedure we miss the spirit and intention behind it... pursuing a policy may mean overriding the wishes of the victim.”
He wants HIS Officers to “be driven by doing "the right thing". If that meant ignoring established policies and procedures then he would back them. [I’ve posted the links at the foot of this piece]
I stand up and applaud Mr Fahy. I think he is one of the more outspoken, ‘old skool’ style Chiefs about at the minute. He appears to be in touch with the troops on the front line and has his finger on a pulse that few others in his position have. I’ve found myself in agreement with a few things he has said over recent months on the cuts, when he spoke out against the Home Office, and his general remarks on staffing issues. In fact, my neck often has repetitive strain from all the nodding in agreement that I do when I see or read his observations.
There will doubtless be arguments that Mr Fahy has said this comment flippantly and that Officers need to know where they stand should they make decisions. It’s all well and good releasing sound bytes, but will Officers get their tunic chewed should they decide to stray off the boundaries of “Force Policy” for the “greater good”.
That said, its words of good intent and a step in the right direction from a man who is clearly in a position to express an opinion in a wider forum than most of us. He must realise that a lot of process and procedure contradicts each other and only results in time delays and inefficiencies. It’s clear to anyone who completes the paperwork on the frontline that it’s like a tug of war between agencies and departments for the gathering of information – all of which can sit on a file somewhere until the day when you behind is about to be well and truly kicked with a size 10 Magnum boot on the Chiefs landing. [Note to younger service Officers: Stuff the daily newspaper down the back of your trooosers. It’s a welcome source of padding]
To give you an example of when this should apply and why we currently operate in a working environment where Officers are fearful of doing “the right thing”.
In my area a few weeks back, there was a 999 call reporting a concern for safety for a female who had driven off in her car having taken an excessive amount of tablets in front of her petrified family. The vehicle was circulated to all local Officers and low and behold a colleague of mine found the car parked up in a secluded car park. This colleague has about 3 years service and was driving in company with a probationer [Previously known as a “Sprog” or someone who has yet to be confirmed in the role of Constable].
They approach the car and see the female sat in the driver’s seat, slumped over onto the passenger seat. Empty medication packets scattered everywhere and with white foam like liquid emanating from the females mouth. There was an apparent suicide note on the dashboard, but the keys are in the ignition and all the doors and boot are locked.
Now.....I ask.....to all of you, whether you are a Police Officer or not, what feels like “the right thing to do?”
Of course you know the answer............The car window ‘goes in’ to ‘save life and limb’ – which is the primary role of our very existence. However, what happens next left a very sour taste in my mouth and led me and my colleagues to sit down with our duty inspector to “sound-off” our thoughts on the process and protocol.
My colleagues shouted up over the air, describing the scene they found themselves in and asked for authorisation from the Inspector to force entry to the vehicle. They both knew their powers and knew what ‘felt right’. The Force has spent tens of thousands of pounds to train both of them in the law and in their legal powers, and they have committed a considerable amount of time and effort in training – yet they have been “brain washed” into “arse covering before arse saving”.
The job these days is all about making sure your backside is covered – everyone’s doing it. Why? Because – as the old saying goes – ‘shit rolls down hill’ and they know that should anything go untoward, or a complaint be made, then the job that once said “we will support you” will now have to actively be seen to leave no stone unturned in the quest for justice. There subconscious thought may have been, “If this woman is hit by a shard of flying glass and complains, I want to make sure it’s on the log that the Inspector said to do it – then he gets the ‘shoeing’”
What felt like an age passed, but it was realistically only 30 seconds, the Inspector was in the control room and gave the “thumbs up” and the window went in. The female was dragged out and an Ambulance called. Officers administer first aid and the lady is taken to Hospital where she ultimately made a full recovery.
On returning to the station, my colleagues were lambasted by others – much to their dismay. They were only doing what they thought was right, and followed the letter of process and force policy to the word. After all, we don’t want to be paying out needlessly to replace a damaged car window do we? Save money, not life!!!
As I say, it’s no real fault of the Officers who dealt with that incident, nor the control room who organised the authorisation, nor the Inspector who granted it – it’s the person who wrote the policy in stone and threatened “escalation procedures” and disciplinary should a deviation of the policy be made.
Officers live in fear of reprisals of this because we are seeing less and less support from our senior management and this is why Mr Fahy needs to be cautiously congratulated. The sentiment is spot on, and the principles are good – I just want to see them in working practice first.
Reference Links: http://goo.gl/CqUNP and http://goo.gl/XW8PB
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