Category: United Kingdom National Police Chiefs Council

This is the first deployment of its kind for the volunteer officers

UK Law enforcement is proud to announce the deployment of 50 Special Constables as part of the policing support package for #Paris2024.

Later this month millions of visitors from across the world will travel to France for the iconic Olympic and Paralympic Games.

It is estimated around 500,000 tickets have been sold within the UK – making the country the second largest buyer of tickets behind France.

In April it was confirmed that officers from forces across the UK and its Crown Dependencies would be deployed to help support French officers across Paris and in Marseille, who are leading the security and engagement operation. Specialist search dogs and their handlers will also be in attendance to help with venue security.

In addition to those expert resources, 50 passionate volunteer officers from across the UK will head to France from August to help bolster the response. This is the first time Special Constables have been included in an overseas deployment. They will be joining hundreds of officers from across the globe, who have been deployed to offer their support.

Temporary Assistant Commissioner, Laurence Taylor, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for sporting and planned events praised the drive and determination of the volunteers.

He said: “This is an iconic event and we are incredibly proud to be playing such a key role.

“The security and engagement operation being planned by the French authorities is huge and our involvement gives us the opportunity to demonstrate the expertise and professionalism of UK policing, on an international level.

“I hope the presence of our Special Constables, who are some of the most dedicated and passionate officers we have in our ranks, will be reassuring and familiar for British visitors. I also hope their presence, working alongside their French counterparts, helps overseas visitors to feel safe, supported and welcome at the event.

“Policing events like this gives our officers the opportunity to learn from international colleagues and hone their skills in an unrivalled environment. Taking this expertise home to their communities is hugely beneficial and I’ve no doubt the Special Constables will do us proud while acquiring a great deal of new skills in the process.”

Dame Menna Rawlings DCMG CVO, British Ambassador to France said: “We can’t wait to welcome hundreds of thousands of UK ticket holders to Paris for a fantastic summer of sport.  Here in France, we’ve been working closely with our French partners to make sure British people travelling to the Games have everything they need to enjoy a safe visit.  

 “That includes supporting this deployment of police officers and specialist search dogs, sharing security and policing best practice with French colleagues. This draws on the UK’s extensive experience hosting previous major events, including the 2012 Olympics and the Coronation of King Charles III.

“I’m proud that the UK is supporting France to deliver a safe and secure Olympics and Paralympics, in this the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale. Let the Games begin!”

 The UK element of this operation is being coordinated by specialist officers from the National Police Coordination Centre, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and is supported by the Home Office, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Ministry of Defence and Counter Terrorism Policing UK.

Travellers to France can find the most up to date advice from the UK Government here  

 For the most recent information and updates follow @Paris2024 on X, Instagram and Facebook.  

 For updates on travel follow @BTP, and visit Safety and security – France travel advice – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Dame Vera Baird has today, 18 July, published the findings of her inquiry into the treatment of women in custody in Greater Manchester Police.

Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp, NPCC lead for Custody, said:

“I welcome any independent scrutiny of police custody because it is central to how we learn and improve, especially as we are entrusted with powers that bring with them extra responsibility. Some of the details within the report are deeply concerning and it is reassuring that the recommendations are being thoroughly considered, if not already being implemented.

“It’s important that anyone who is held in custody is treated with respect and dignity, and that all processes including the use of strip search, are in line with legislation, policy and procedure. Mandatory training for custody officers was recently refreshed with a focus on recognising vulnerability and appropriate use of powers. Most forces have introduced independent custody scrutiny panels following guidance that we issued together with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) to increase transparency, improve performance and expand accountability.

“There are often vulnerabilities and complexities that should be taken into account when making the decision to arrest and detain someone in custody, particularly for women who are themselves victims of violence and abuse. We are currently reviewing our domestic abuse training to embed a holistic approach to responding to incidents, recognising the complexity of domestic abuse and need to protect victims.

“We are carefully considering the findings and recommendations within the report with the College of Policing and the Home Office.”

Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding, Director of Operational Standards at the College of Policing, said:

“Every person who comes into contact with the police must be treated with dignity and respect. This is the foundation upon which trust and confidence is built and without this, we cannot effectively serve the public.

“Dame Vera’s report makes for difficult, but necessary reading. Today, Greater Manchester Police has apologised to those given a voice by the inquiry, who did not receive the care and consideration they were entitled to and the force has committed to implementing the recommendations in full.

“I understand that the contents of this report will cause further concern regarding the treatment of women and girls. I want to reassure all women and girls that your safety, trust and confidence remains a priority for the College of Policing, across all of our work.

“Dame Vera recognises the importance of the College of Policing’s guidance being implemented by all forces. Our guidance sets out important considerations to help determine if an arrest is necessary and how to care for those in custody, including those who are vulnerable and those with complex needs.

“Custody is one of the most complex and high-risk areas of policing. In order to support officers and staff we have invested in new immersive training which puts them in a live custody environment with real life scenarios, dilemmas and decisions that affect the safety and wellbeing of detainees. 

“We have already been working with Greater Manchester Police as they have sought to quickly learn lessons and improve their policies and practices. We’re also supporting forces across England and Wales to strengthen their custody practices, so that every single person who comes into police custody is treated with respect and empathy.

“I am thankful to Dame Vera Baird for her thorough inquiry. We will now work across policing to respond to the findings and recommendations in her report.”

Officers and staff can find a round-up of custody guidance and standards on the College of Policing website.

The UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) is reflecting on a successful overseas operation following the conclusion of the Euro 2024 Championships.

A team of officers from across the UK have been in Germany since the start of the Championships to support the local police in delivering a safe tournament.

In total it is estimated there were around 240,000 visitor trips to Germany from the UK, with the vast majority behaving well and representing the country in a positive light.

The high majority of those who travelled had tickets for matches, and England fans filled at least half of the stadium capacity at each venue the team has played.

There were a total of 77 England supporters arrested in Germany, and UK courts have served 13 notices for Football Banning Orders for offences. Eight of these have now been issued and a further five people have been bailed and will return to court at a later date. Further work is ongoing to identify and consider action against a small number of supporters who have committed offences overseas.

Mick Johnson, director of the UK Football Policing Unit, said:

“Whilst the England team ultimately had a disappointing result in the final, the overall reflections are of a very positive tournament for our travelling fans.

“The vast majority of supporters were well behaved, and it was fantastic to see people enjoying both the football and everything else that Germany has to offer.

“As with any event of this kind there were instances of disorder, and these were swiftly dealt with by the German police with the support of UK officers. There has also been positive action from the CPS and the courts when fans involved in disorder have returned to the UK.”

Throughout the tournament there were numerous cases of England fans attempting to enter stadiums without a ticket, as well as a number of examples of fans, family members and officials being soaked by alcohol during matches. Mr Johnson added:

“We are seeing more instances of people trying to gain entry to matches without tickets, and also an increase in the use of drugs in recent years. These are areas we are looking at more closely to try and prevent them continuing to happen in future.

“The issue we have seen with alcohol and containers being thrown reiterates our stance that drinking in the stands shouldn’t be allowed at matches in the UK. Currently fans can enjoy a drink before the game and, if they wish, at half time in the concourse, which is a sensible balance for everyone.

“The overall good behaviour of fans abroad has also been reflected at home. As expected, we did have a busy night across the country for the final, but on the whole we have seen a reduction in the number of football related incidents across the UK in comparison to the last few international tournaments.”

Operation Spotlight brings together police forces in national campaign

• Fatal 4 includes: speeding, driving under the influence of drink or drugs, not wearing a seatbelt and mobile phone use
• Numbers of people killed and seriously injured on the roads increase by over 20 per cent (20.23%) in July based on the average across the year in data collated from 2018-2022

Police forces are coming together in a national operation to tackle the fatal 4 behaviours which cause a spike in road users being killed or seriously injured during the month of July.

STATS19 data analysed by the National Roads Policing Operations Intelligence and Investigation (NRPOII) team shows the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads increased by over 20 per cent (20.23%) in July based on the average across the year in data collated from 2018-2022.

While many forces undertake proactive operations around the fatal 4 behaviours through the summer months, Operation Spotlight is the first time it will be nationally coordinated, building on the success of Op Limit – the Christmas drink and drug driving campaign.

Speeding is the biggest cause of casualties and people killed or seriously injured (often referred to as KSI’s), driving under the influence of drink or drugs is second, not wearing a seatbelt is third and fourth is using a mobile phone while driving.

The overarching aim of this operation is to protect communities by disrupting criminal activity on the UK road network, and reducing the number of people who are killed and seriously injured on our roads. Operational activity will be determined based on each force’s individual needs and risk assessments, but may include; enhanced patrols of known hot spots, education and engagement events, partnership working with other agencies, charities and emergency services and roadside stops.

Chief Constable Jo Shiner is National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing. She said:

“Our roads are busier in the summer due to holidays and days out, plus an increase in vulnerable road users such as cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders, so this is all the more reason to drive safely and be more vigilant.

“We consistently see a rise in fatalities and serious injuries through these months with on average more than 2,700 people killed or seriously injured each July over a five year period.

“For each one of those people, there will be multiple friends, families and communities affected and the true impact is almost impossible to quantify.

“The key fact that stands out to me is that each and every one of these incidents was completely avoidable. Driving in excess of the speed limit is a conscious decision, driving or travelling without wearing a seatbelt is a conscious decision, driving under the influence of drink or drugs is a conscious decision and using a mobile phone while behind the wheel is a conscious decision. You can choose not to do these things and many lives can be saved as a result.

“Every casualty is one too many and we all have a responsibility to keep each other safe on the roads.”

Individuals killed or seriously injured in road collisions as a result of four key offences:

Around 80 young people from across the country came together to reimagine policing in a landmark Hope Hack event.

Five violence reduction units partnered with the Hope Collective, UK Youth, the National Citizen Service, the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, the National Black Police Association, West Midlands Police and the Police Race Action Plan for the landmark event in Coventry yesterday (Monday).

Hope Hack events provide a platform for young people to debate and come up with solutions to the problems that matter to them. Led and hosted by young people, the events feature panel discussions and performances as well as workshops where young people come up with their proposals for change.

The concept led by the Hope Collective, a partnership of youth organisation formed originally to support the 20th anniversary legacy campaign for Damilola Taylor, has so far hosted more than 30 similar events across the country.

The event in Coventry was the first time Hope Hack focused on a single issue, specifically the future of policing and what young people see as the solutions.

The event saw a keynote talk from Jermaine Jackman, a former winner of BBC talent show The Voice.

Suggestions put forward by the young people included putting more importance on mental health and mutual respect, as well as young people being aware of their rights around stop and search.

Hope Collective Chair, Professor Niven Rennie, said: “This was the 33rd Hope Hack we have delivered across the UK and we think it’s possibly the most important yet. ‘Hope Hacks’ are youth led events – led by young people for young people. We put young people at the front and centre of the conversation and ask them to define a fairer society. 

“I spent the vast majority of my career as a police officer. I know the problems the police face but I also know that many of our communities have significant vulnerabilities and that these need to be taken extremely seriously. After all, the cornerstone of the British policing system is the need for the police to undertake their duties with the consent of the public. 

“Our young people have a legitimate right to have their voice heard in this respect and to define that level of ‘consent’ from their standpoint. 

“A wonderful team of people from across several police regions and from many of our violence reduction units have been worked with the Hope Collective and the Police Race Action Plan to ensure that this event was a great success and that the voices of our young people can be heard.”

Police Race Action Plan programme director T/Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dr Alison Heydari said: “I am delighted that the plan has been able to support such a positive event and platform for young people to give their views on policing.

“The Hope Hack is a remarkable concept and I have seen firsthand just how powerful their work is in putting young people front and centre of the conversation on huge issues facing society, including the future of policing.

“Meaningful engagement with young people is a big part of what we are trying to deliver through the plan and we are grateful for the support of all the groups here today to help us do that.

“I have heard some really insightful and at times challenging conversations and I will be taking the thoughts of these young people away with me determined to put their ideas into action.” 

The five violence reduction units involved were the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Violence Reduction Network, the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network, the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Violence Reduction Partnership, the West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership and the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit.

For more information on the Police Race Action Plan please visit the plan’s homepage.

Drone as First Responder supports event policing

• Use of remote piloting tested to give live ‘eye in the sky’
• Learnings will inform future development of drone use in policing

In one of the first UK trials of Drone as First Responder (DFR), Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and Thames Valley Police trialled the innovative technology as part of policing the 2024 Isle of Wight Festival.

DFR is a concept being developed and tested by the National Police Chiefs’ Council Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) pathways programme. DFR sees police drones launched and piloted remotely to provide a fast response to incidents, feeding back real time information to police control rooms and operational units.

The trial at the Isle of Wight Festival created a simulated DFR capability in addition to the force’s routine police drones resource and saw a drone being flown from an IDI Automated Deployment System (ADS) – essentially a remote box from which the drone is launched.

Pilot and NPCC Project Lead, Chris Stagg, led the experienced team running the trial which was stationed at a temporary heliport set up for the festival within a temporary restricted area.

In addition to the live view, the DFR capability was deployed in response to a request to check that road closures were correctly in place, freeing up officers on the ground to continue their public safety patrol duties.

Chris Stagg is part of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and Thames Valley Police Joint Operations Unit and is the NPCC BVLOS Project Lead. He said:

“This was the first time we’ve been able to put the DFR technology to use in a live environment and it gave us a great insight to just how effective it could be as part of a routine policing response in the near future, helping keep people safe and providing a dynamic and responsive view of the situation on the ground.”

A response Police Officer from Cheshire Constabulary has been recognised for their dedication and commitment to response policing during this year’s annual NPCC Response Policing ‘Week of Action’ (24 June – 30 June).

Hundreds of nominations for police officers across the country were carefully assessed by 39 police forces to find a single representative from each force. 12 nominations were assessed by a judging panel comprising: Mr Andy Cooke QPM, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary; Mr Andy Rhodes, Director of National Wellbeing Services (Oscar Kilo); Mr Leigh Godfrey, National Police Federation; Chief Superintendent Andy Walker, College of Policing and Chief Constable Rob Carden, national lead for Response Policing. The panel was immensely impressed by the quality of the nominations and the professionalism and commitment demonstrated by all the nominees.

PC David Elliott from Cheshire Constabulary was chosen by the panel as the winner of this year’s award. 

NPCC lead for Response Policing, Chief Constable Rob Carden said:

“Congratulations to David, he is a very worthy recipient of this award. David has been a response officer for over 18 years and has been responsible for over 1200 arrests since 2010. His undoubted proactivity is matched by his strong desire to help and protect victims of crime.

“Response policing is a challenging role. The reality is that response officers tend to be the youngest in service and the first to respond to danger.  It is great to have an ambassador and role model for response policing with the experience, positivity and professionalism consistently demonstrated by David.

“I would like to thank of our judging panel for their support in raising the profile of this crucial policing role. I would also like to thank and congratulate the nominees from each of the 39 forces that took part, they are all winners and have all played a key role in keeping our communities safe.”

His colleagues have said “This nomination isn’t just about one act of bravery or conviction secured it’s about an officer who dedicates his working life to protecting his community by doing his best every single shift.” 

In the last 12 months David has made 161 arrests, 68 of which related to domestic abuse, he has submitted 181 intelligence reports and conducted 76 stop searches, all of which achieved through dedication to his communities. David is a role model to all student officers starting their response policing journey. 

Superintendent Claire Jesson, Force Response Lead from Cheshire Constabulary said:

“On behalf of the Constabulary, I would like to congratulate David Elliot, affectionately known as ‘Billy’ by us here in Crewe, on being honoured with such a prestigious award – he thoroughly deserves this national recognition for all that he does to support and promote Cheshire Police in the best light. What made him stand out to the panel is the length of time he has spent on response, whilst still managing exceptional levels of proactivity with his arrests, stop search and intelligence submissions.  

“The standard of the nominations from Cheshire for the 2024 ROOTY Awards has been outstanding, with all seven of our nominees having excelled over the past year and were definitely worthy of winning.

“I personally, and the force as a whole, are extremely proud of our Response Officers who represent the Constabulary with such distinction and making a significant contribution to policing and the communities we serve every day.

“Unfortunately, there can only be one winner, but I do not think but we could ask for a better officer to be flying the flag for Cheshire than David.”

Also recognised for their contribution to response policing are runners-up PC Inderpal Sandhu from South Yorkshire Police, and an officer from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).  

PC Inderpal Sandhu from South Yorkshire Police is described as having:

 “An Invaluable amount of experience with over 20 years police service, where he consistently passes his knowledge onto the younger officers on his team.   

“With the recorded highest number of arrests in the force, 127, this has been down to his level of drive and motivation as well as his high level of passion for being a Police Officer on a Response team.

“His commitment to response policing is second to none and is the first one through the door and last to leave every shift, as well as volunteering to support colleagues not just on his team but the wider district and force.”

PSNI described their officer as:

“An extremely active and productive officer and someone who very clearly acts selflessly placing the needs of others ahead of even his own safety and security. 

“His capacity for compassion has been evidenced frequently when attending several life-threatening situations and the care and reassurance he has provided to victims and their families in the most traumatic circumstances. 

“In the past year this officer has submitted 129 file submissions and 269 stop searches” 

In a world that is becoming increasingly digital, criminal tactics are constantly evolving. Cyber-crime in particular is highly complex, presenting unique challenges to policing and accelerating demand force-wide. As such, we too are evolving.

Commissioned by the National Police Chief’s Council’s (NPCC) Digital, Data and Technology Coordination Committee (DDAT CC) and in close collaboration with the Police Digital Service (PDS), this month the National Policing Cyber Security Strategy has been published. 

It sets out a three-year programme of focused work, to support the advancement of cybersecurity across government and policing. 

Working to the very highest cybersecurity standards and supported by PDS, the NPCC’s Police Information Assurance Board will focus on a number of key areas, to ensure long-term resilience against cyber-attacks of any kind. 

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Information Assurance, T/ Commissioner Peter O’Doherty said:

“This Strategy marks a critical moment, as we strive to safeguard society from cyber threats that are escalating in prevalence and impact, risking harm to the public. The Strategy will enable us to take a proactive, collaborative approach to cyber defence, ensuring that every officer and staff member is equipped to tackle these threats head-on. Together, our imperative is to defend as one, no matter which police force or agency is called upon.” 

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Digital, Data, and Technology Chief Constable Rob Carden said: 

“We absolutely recognise that crime types and the requirements of policing are changing and are determined to stay one step ahead of those within society who pose a threat to the public. To the untrained eye, cyber-crime is invisible, actioned by those who unfortunately seek to use specialist skills to harm others. We will continue to drive advancement wherever it is needed, in order to track, intercept and disable this activity, and destroy the networks that facilitate it. This Strategy will be pivotal in driving that work forward”.

National Chief Information Security Officer of PDS Jason Corbishley said:

“The Strategy is a significant opportunity to ensure that the cyber defences for policing are robust and respond to the ever-growing threats that are faced. Each of the initiatives set out in the Strategy, will enable policing to improve its resiliency to cyber-attack, and to maintain public trust and confidence in policing services”.