POLICE PRIORITIES

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After protests from environmentalists, police are to stop using CS gas sprays on violent suspects and will carry a deodorant-style roll-on version instead. A leaked memo sent to area commanders gives details of how suspects must be told to get their hands up so trained officers can move in rapidly to apply the roll-on to one or both exposed armpits. Within seconds, the roll-on causes nausea, vomiting and streaming eyes while its sandalwood-and-musk scent creates a disabling degree of social embarrassment that can last several hours.

Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace called for CS Gas aerosols to be withdrawn after research showed that their use during the G20 summit in London led to high levels of airborne toxins and could damage the ozone layer. "We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously," said assistant chief constable Derek Hill. "The idea of the roll-on CS Gas applicator came to me in the bath one morning. It’s cheap, fits easily in a pocket or handbag and is easy to get refills for, whereas we normally throw the empty CS spray cans into a fire where they often explode dangerously."

In a move to cut costs, police in more rural areas of the county are to be issued with abbatoir-style bolt guns to tackle potentially violent offenders instead of the more sophisticated but less effective Tazer stun device. ACC Hill said, "Applied to the forehead, the bolt guns will save us many thousands of pounds a year, particularly in the controversial area of failed prosecutions. Research shows that many of the suspects we use them on won’t regain consciousness until the Statute of Limitations has expired, if indeed they wake up at all." (Source: News Biscuit, Jun/09)

A woman has won £8,000 damages from Strathclyde police force after one of its officers knocked her to the ground while running after a suspect. Glasgow Sheriff Court heard Mary Reilly was shopping in Glasgow when Sgt Scott McCarren chased a car thief. The officer knocked Mrs Reilly over and she was left with a number of injuries. A sheriff ruled Sgt McCarren, of Strathclyde Police, had breached the duty of care expected of him.

In a written judgement, Sheriff Ian Miller said Sgt McCarren's "fault and negligence" was to blame for the accident. He said, "In the exercise of his duty as a police constable, he owed a duty of care to the woman. That duty was to take reasonable care for the safety of pedestrians including the pursuer and to avoid exposing her to the risk of injury. In the circumstances that existed on that pavement, he ran too fast to avoid striking the pursuer and failed to keep a proper lookout for her." (Source: BBC News, Feb/07)

Police arrested two pensioners for armed robbery after one of them jokingly told foreign poachers they would be shot. World War II hero Geoff Mogg, was fishing with best pal Alan Cox, on a private stretch of the River Teifi in Pembrokeshire when Alan spotted younger anglers, believed to be Spanish. He asked them if they had the right to fish there, but they didn't understand. He said, “If I were you I’d go because if you’re caught without permission you’ll get shot.” The two pensioners were arrested and quizzed for two hours. Geoff, who owns shotguns which were locked away at the time, has had them confiscated and faces losing his licence. Alan said, “The police asked if I’ve held someone up at gunpoint for fish.” (Source: The Sun, Oct/06)

Jane O'Rourke, a mother of two young children, was alone with her young sons when she heard a burglar trying to smash his way through a window in the middle of the night. She made a desperate call to the police explaining the stranger was still trying to gain entry to her Hampstead semi-detached home. She told the emergency operator she was in three storey townhouse with her two children but after waiting for half an hour she realised no help would arrive.

By the time the police called back, a neighbour had scared off the would-be burglar and also searched the house to make sure it was safe. Superintendent Roger Smalley, of the Metropolitan Police, said, "We are aware of this matter and it has been brought to our attention. We are fully investigating the circumstances." Police also said they receive a large number of burglar alarm triggered calls and simply cannot respond instantly to them all. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Oct/06)

A government assessment had calculated a grant increase of £9.6m was needed to meet the pressures of modern policing but Derbyshire police has been told it is getting £3.3m instead, losing the rest to offset the costs of funding other police authorities. Chief Constable, David Coleman, has warned the public not to expect improvements in police services over the next two years and said he was disappointed and frustrated by the announcement, which fell well short of what the force was hoping for. He said it was too early to say if the cuts would affect front-line services and, although the force would do everything in its power to prevent it, it could not be discounted.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, the Evening Telegraph discovered 59 marked police cars were sent notices of intended prosecution, after they were photographed speeding but apparently not showing an emergency blue light. After the officers' own divisional commanders and the head of the force's criminal justice department looked at the incidents the 59 cars were attending, they decided none of them should be prosecuted. Royston Smith, head of Derbyshire police's criminal justice unit, said, "Every case accepted the vehicle being used was for operational police purposes in circumstances where it was necessary for the speed limit to be exceeded in the course of their duties."

Stuart Barlow, freedom of information manager for the force, also said that some of the officers would not have been prosecuted because the photo may not have picked up that they were actually showing their blues and twos. On older vehicles the halogen lights rotate, and Mr Barlow said the speed camera photo may have been taken at the exact point the lights were pointing in the wrong direction, away from the camera lens. All new Derbyshire police cars have a strobe light which flashes on top of the car, which may not be captured by the camera. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

A futuristic gadget which disables suspect vehicles with radio waves could soon be used by police in car chases. Senior officers believe it could offer a safe alternative to high speed chases, which all too often result in deaths. The number of people killed by crashes involving police cars in the UK is "far too high", the Police Complaints Authority warned.

At the flick of a switch, the zapper directs a beam of intensely concentrated radio waves at the target car and makes it stall, safely bringing it to a halt. The system works, according to its inventor Dr David Giri, because it turns the very technology which has revolutionised motoring over the past decade against the driver.

Computer chips are now used in most cars to control the fuel injection and engine firing systems. By knocking these out the car cannot be driven. The system relies on a battery and a series of capacitors stored in the police car's boot. The radio waves are produced by sending a short burst of electricity into a roof-mounted antenna, which has a target range of about 50 metres.

Tests on the device are being conducted by Home Office scientists and police also appear to be keen on it. "It seems to have potential, there's no doubt about it," said Mick Barker of the Police Federation. But officers still want to know more about the effect of the device on non-suspect cars in the area. And, of course, it does not work on vehicles built before on-board computers were standard.

A police force stood its ground after being criticised for prosecuting a motorist who accidentally splashed an officer. Driving instructor Tahir Mahmood was driving in Blackburn, Lancashire, when he went through a large puddle. The water splashed over Pc Anthony Ellison, who was on traffic duty at the time, leaving him “completely drenched“.

Mr Mahmood was pulled over by a police patrol car and immediately apologised, but was arrested and charged with driving without consideration for other road users. It was claimed he could have avoided splashing the officer by pulling into the right hand lane, which was free of traffic.

But Mr Mahmood told Blackburn magistrates this week he had been looking into his wing mirror to change lanes and did not see the puddle until it was too late. The legal proceedings cost an estimated £20,000 and were described by one local councillor as “an utter waste of time“.

A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary insisted the force had acted correctly. He said, “It is not a question of apologising. The officers presented a file to the Crown Prosecution Service and they judged it appropriate to prosecute. This was rejected by the court, which is something that happens in the British legal system.”

A CPS spokeswoman said, “On every case we decide whether there is enough evidence to bring a case and whether it is in the public interest to do so. The answer to both of these in this particular case was ’yes’.”