WIREDGOV

Following publication of guidance on how evidence should be gathered in the immediate period after the death or serious injury of a member of the public following contact with the police there has been considerable comment on the possible impact seperation of officers could have.

This has included comment from Che Donald, who is the Police Federation firearms lead, to Police Oracle (link is external).

In response Deputy Chair Sarah Green provided the following comment to Police Oracle concerning the guidance.

“Police shootings are thankfully rare. We know those who are most likely to come into contact with these guidelines are officers who come from other parts of policing, such as custody officers and those on the front line. Therefore we encourage all officers to read our guidance to draw their own conclusions.

“The guidance is designed to help us gather best evidence and aims to improve public confidence in that evidence by minimising the potential of contamination from any other source.

“We believe the best way to do this is by separating key police witnesses, where it is operationally safe to do so, only until they have provided their initial account. This mirrors the approach the police take with key witnesses to incidents they themselves investigate. Further, we recognise that separation may not always be practical, so we ask that other measures - such as utilising body worn video - are put in place.

“Importantly, separation does not mean isolation. We understand the potential for the incidents to have a significant, traumatic impact on officers and staff. Our guidelines do not prevent them having access to legal, medical or federation assistance or support from colleagues who were not involved in the incident.

“This is not a half way house. It is only if evidence indicates that a criminal or disciplinary offence may have been committed that a police officer will become a suspect. They will then be afforded all of the safeguards that come with that status."