Public Order Training

A couple of weeks ago I attended my annual public order training course. In the past this has involved three days of running round a former air base near Wolverhampton in a riot helmet whilst wielding a shield and fire extinguisher and dodging petrol bombs thrown by enthusiastic instructors who act as a menacing group called ‘hostiles’. Or at least it used to. Recently the training has changed somewhat as the force sees a need to make it more realistic to what we actually do. This year has seen a rise in the number of demonstrations and protests where the vast majority of people taking part are not hostile at all, they just want to air their views in a visible presence.  Peaceful protests are nothing new but the police seem to be continually criticized in how we police them.

On the second day of my training the result of the inquest into the tragic death of Ian Tomlinson was announced. I was at a local meeting that night and when I mentioned what I was doing the next day somebody made the comment ‘Don’t go unlawfully killing anyone’. Maybe it was because I was tired but I was quite put out by that. It suggested I was part of an organisation that has no regard for human life, when the reality is exactly the opposite.

The person who made the comment, who is a very decent and upstanding member of the community, had the view that police with the support of governments both past and present, are  routinely becoming  involved in violence that  seems to be coming the norm in dealing with demonstrations.  The person strongly disapproves of ‘kettling’ and arresting people before public events so that they can’t demonstrate. They felt that we seem to be turning more and more into a state which doesn’t allow freedom of expression. That person is not alone in holding these views or being amongst a section of society who see the police role as being on the ‘other side’ to the demonstrators.

I strongly disagree that violence is the norm in dealing with demonstrations. Our training is all about trying to deal with situations to prevent violence. There is a difference between being forceful (which at times is unavoidable) and being violent. Any form of force used has to be justified and proportionate.  So if someone is trying to jostle past a line to get to a rival football fan for example I may be justified in holding them back, if they tried to hit me with a brick I may be justified in striking them with my baton..it would depend on the individual circumstances.

Tactics such as ‘kettling’ (as the media have called it) and arresting people before the event are controversial and unpopular but in my view have come about not because the police want to prevent protests from taking place but because senior police officers find it so very difficult to separate the groups intent on violence & mayhem from the peaceful demonstrators. In fact rank & file officers dislike ‘kettling’ as much as the demonstrators. Would you want to be the person facing the barrage of questions, challenges and anger for hours on end in a cordon?

I think it is healthy that organisations such as Liberty question our methods and that we try to work with them to improve for everyone.  I believe we will see less ‘kettling’ in future because protesters are now wise to it and I question whether it really works in the long term. It just causes anger & resentment amongst those people not there to cause trouble and fuel to justify violence amongst those who are.

I  don’t think it is true that we don’t allow freedom of expression in this country . The soaring popularity of social media, and legislation such as the Human Rights  &  Freedom of Information Acts have made the general population not only more aware but also more likely to challenge and question.  Look at the way Facebook was used so successfully to co-ordinate last years peaceful but determined protest against the ANPR camera scheme ‘Project Champion’ in Birmingham. It is to the police’s credit that in that case they listened and took action to put things right.

I also think it is sad that people who want to protest peacefully see the police as ‘the other side’. That’s really not why we are there. There is a famous saying  attributed to the French writer Voltaire:  ‘I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it’. The police are present at public demonstrations to protect life and property and to keep the Queens peace. Sometimes they will silently agree with the protesters, sometimes they won’t, but I wager my next pay slip that every one of them passionately believes in that saying.

Running Lines

As a post script I was very proud that my serial this year was made up of 50% female officers including Inspector and Sergeant.  West Midlands Police has come a long way since I joined in 1979, when women made up just 13% of the force and were not deemed to have the physical strength to deal with public order situations. My generation fought hard for this equality and it’s one of the reasons I still attend training, despite feeling like I’m the ‘team mother’.

Why we need Youth Services

There are two topics that are currently high on the agenda at my neighbourhood tasking meetings; ‘Youth with nothing to do’ and ‘The Cuts’.

People are not only worried about their own jobs but also how the cuts in public services are going to affect them and the communities they live in. With the summer months approaching people are concerned that youth anti social behaviour will rise in their neighbourhoods as police and youth services diminish. Recent press releases do nothing to reassure them. Youth unemployment is as high as it’s ever been with one in five 18 -24 yr olds out of work. The youth services in Birmingham face cuts of a third of their services.

Over the years my team has done a great deal of joint work with our local outreach youth workers. Liz Wood from ‘The Den’ in Allens Croft and Ian White at Masefield Community centre are experienced, dedicated, professional and passionate about what they do. We have worked together on numerous projects aimed at getting some of the most vulnerable and the most difficult kids off the street corners and engaged in activities that increase their self esteem, their skills, their discipline and responsibility; in fact their whole outlook on life can be influenced for the better. We have run ‘guns and gangs’ workshops, summer play schemes, a snooker club, motorcycle CBT training, cookery sessions, art and media courses and many other activities. By being involved in these projects police officers and kids see a different side to each other from when we meet on the streets. With mutual understanding comes a better way of working and less anti social behaviour, at best because the kids get a purpose to life and at worst because they know we know who they are!

In May last year myself and PC Rob Harper each spent three days and nights of our time as assistant youth leaders so that Ian could take a group of nine 14-15 yr old boys on a one week residential trip sailing yacht ‘Faramir’ from South Shields to  Ipswich. These were kids with poor school attendance and difficult home lives, some had never been away from home, all were (very) noisy, disruptive, undisciplined and ready to test us to the hilt. It was certainly not a holiday trip for any of us, adults or youngsters. That no-one ended up overboard was a testament to Ian’s amazing calm temperament and the professionalism of the crew. At the end of the week some (not all) of these boys were demonstrating real team work in their role as crew members working together and offering support and encouragement to hoist sails, keep look out, steer the yacht, scrub the decks, cook dinner for 15 people and wash up, even clean the toilets. Watching these ‘hard street kids’ spending several hours happily crab fishing on the jetty at Harwich was the highlight of the trip for me.

Our latest project is a boxing club in Stirchley, now in its fourth week and aimed at engaging with a group of youngsters who hang around the streets and parks, some of whom have become involved in gang culture, to teach them some self discipline and structure. As usual when organising activities like this I have turned to Liz and Ian for their help and expertise both in getting the club up and running, and engaging with the kids. The club is proving a big success with 15+ boys and girls turning up each week.

When trying to answer the concerns of the residents at tasking meetings I talk about the relationship we have not only with the Youth Services, but with lots of different youth groups in the Ward, mainly run by volunteers, organisations such as the Scouts, church youth groups, Army and Sea cadets. They do brilliant work in the community and are much needed and valued. But if we are to continue to be able to tap into those difficult vulnerable groups, to have a long term effect on combating ASB we also need people like Ian and Liz. Without dedicated , professional, trained youth workers the section of our society who need it most will be the first to lose out.

Team working on board Faramir. June 2010.

How do you rate your local police?

I have written my first blog in response to this article I found in the Birmingham Post by Richard McComb.

Mr McComb is talking about the West Midlands Police website, rate your local police which was introduced for members of the public to give feedback to the police on how they feel they have been treated. He quotes a number of comments left by people who have experienced a pretty raw deal in their dealings with West Midlands Police, including one former soldier who was left waiting over five hours to see the duty Inspector at Walsall Police Station. Mr McComb clearly thinks the police are crazy to ‘wash their dirty linen in public’ and says of the website “It’s one of the barmiest ‘shoot-yourself-in-the-foot’ bits of PR guff I’ve seen in some time. Rate Your Local Police makes Birmingham City Council’s human resources department look politically incorrect”. But what Mr McComb has failed to grasp is that is the whole point of the website!  As it says in the blurb ‘If the police are to continue to improve their service to you, it is important for them to know about your experiences – both good and bad’

I have been a Neighbourhood Sergeant for over 4 years now, quite unusual in the ever changing world of West Midlands Police. I’ve 28 years police service so I have been around a bit and seen a lot in that time. The job I do now is the most rewarding I have ever had.  And one of the reasons I love it is because I get to listen, talk to, and work with the local community. The way I see it is if we don’t do that how can we possibly really know what is going on? And more importantly do something about it. One of the more difficult parts of the job has been that once you start really listening you have to accept that not all you hear is going to be praise and support.  You have to be prepared to accept that we don’t know everything, we don’t always get it right, and sometimes we get it very wrong. That is what ‘Rate your local police’ is really about. If by giving the former soldier a means to publically vent his frustration with us means that we change our approach to how we arrange contact between a member of the public and the duty Inspector then surely that has to be a good thing.

Another web site was launched last month, police.uk It attracted so many hits in the first few hours that it immediately crashed, re-enforcing my experience of neighbourhood policing that people very much want to know what is going on in their locality.

I was intrigued to see that one of the streets with the highest number of crimes in the UK was Bickenhill Lane in Solihull. My first thought was that doesn’t seem right, my mother once lived near there, hardly a hot spot of problems that I remember. Until I realised that the location includes the NEC, Birmingham International Airport and Marston Green Trading Estate. As long as you don’t live near to a large retail complex it is a great site that gives people a real insight to crime and anti social behaviour where they live. However, it will not be without implications for the local police teams. We are going to have to be prepared for tough questions from residents about crime and ASB in their streets, and also what we are doing to deal with it. We are also going to have to be thorough in getting crime locations correct.  I for one see it as another opportunity for my team to engage with the community and to work with them to come up with solutions. To police effectively, it has to be a joint effort between us all.