Health and Safety: PC Bloggs Style.

A colleague has drawn my attention to recent reports of police officers being potentially sacked for chasing criminals.

This is nothing new. If my memory of training school serves me well, Health and Safety applies to US ALL. Our employer, us, the users of our service. For example, if you go to a public swimming pool and ask the cafeteria to give you a toaster so you can make toast by the pool, and you subsequently knock the toaster into the pool killing eighteen schoolchildren and burning your toast, you will find the pool, the cafeteria attendant and you are all responsible under Health and Safety. Possibly even some of the children are responsible too.

I do not think police health and safety goes far enough. Check out this story of a police officer who got away with the most brutal leg-squashing of a car thief. Or think about the tragic de Menezes shooting. Or the one where officers died falling through a roof and the police were not convicted. The Met Commissioner even said that it was impossible to make the police workplace safe unless officers were to never leave the station.

I think you will agree that the keyword here is UNLESS. As the years pass and we learn more and more about the dangers of taking risks in the modern world, the evidence is stacking up for a decision not to let the police out of the station unless it is on fire. This should especially apply to WOMEN. We just aren't safe out there. This is a view supported by Surrey Police, as I reported yesterday. Hertfordshire also comment on the dangers of a woman living, walking or doing anything alone. Cambridgeshire goes one step further and describes how you should react if you are attacked. While this is purportedly aimed at both genders, they recommend you defend yourself with "umbrella, hairspray or keys", so it is fairly clear who this is really for. (It is worth noting that Cambridgeshire is excited about their new "revolutionary" ink-less fingerprint machine. Even Scotland has had these two years.)

At the moment most police forces slap their WOMEN on "light duties" the moment they fall pregnant. Many women take a year or so to return to "shift" work after having a baby, especially if they go onto have more. This is one successful way forces have got their vulnerable officers off the streets. It is time for forces to go further and put us WOMEN on light duties the moment we start. Every woman has the potential to have BABIES and we should not be put at risk. We are also prettier and get more upset by being hurt.

It's time our employers WOKE UP and realised they have a RESPONSIBILITY towards us!

So what could we do if we are not allowed out on the streets? The answer is obvious. We are excellent multi-taskers and could therefore take reports from members of public at the front counter whilst simultaneously throwing them in the bin.

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