Police are told to risk assess and consider health & safety issues

The Chair of the HSC Bill Callaghan gave a speech to the Police Federation whereby he advised senior management to look more closely at the risks posed by the job.

Despite sounding as though he was stating the plainly obvious, the message really was about reminding the Police that the their "staff" whilst on the front line, might well be undertaking risks that could be better managed. Injuries at work need to be reduced wherever possible. Risk assessment is a crucial part of every workplace in every industry but so far as the police were concerned there was room for improvement.

He said ""Police officers face risks in their everyday work that most other workers cannot begin to comprehend. HSC, the police and police employing authorities must work together to better manage those risks and not lose sight under any circumstances of the policing imperative.

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"We must recognise that it is neither possible, nor desirable to eliminate risk altogether. Rather that risk needs to be sensibly managed. By its very nature risk will always be an inherent part of policing, but managing it can make an enormous difference to police services and those who work for them. We must concentrate on practical steps to control the risks that cause real harm and suffering, not bureaucratic back-covering".

The Federation supported the speech and his talk was very well received by observers.