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Safety training leaves 70 Met police with cuts, bruises and fractures
Justin Davenport26 Mar 2009
More than 70 members of the Metropolitan police have badly injured themselves during safety training in the past two years, it emerged today.
The officers and civilian staff suffered fractured wrists and ankles, dislocated shoulders, cuts, bruising and sprains - often because warnings about how hard to strike colleagues were ignored during role-play exercises. Injuries occurred as officers practised carrying out arrests and while trying batons, handcuffs and CS spray. The study by the force's human resources department and presented to the Metropolitan Police Authority's corporate governance committee called the injury toll "extraordinary".
It identified "horseplay" and "lack of skill" as among the main causes of the injuries, which accounted for a fifth of all the 382 accidents caused to Met officers and civilian staff between January 2007 and December last year.
Lord Harris, chairman of the corporate governance committee, told industry magazine Police Review: "It appears the most dangerous training an officer can do is safety training."
One officer, who suffered a dislocated shoulder during a mock arrest, said: "It's called safety training but lots of the officers are a bit too gung-ho and sometimes don't know their own strength. I suffered a dislocated shoulder and it was pretty painful I must admit."
Paul Lewis, of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "A big percentage of civil claims from officers against forces come from injuries sustained during officer safety training."
A Met Police spokesman said: "All training is meant to prepare officers for situations that they will face on the streets. Officer safety training by its very nature involves physical contact, which carries a risk of injury."
Neil Johnson, who sits on the corporate governance committee, said: "Although training has to be realistic, you do not need to walk away with a broken leg. Or rather hop away."
Reader views (1)
"A Met Police spokesman said: "All training is meant to prepare officers for situations that they will face on the streets. Officer safety training by its very nature involves physical contact, which carries a risk of injury."- This is the only sensible thing that has come out of the Met's press office in months.
Personal safety training MUST be realistic, otherwise it is completely pointless.
Given that there are around 26,000 Police officers in the Met', I would say that 70 injuries in almost 2 years is hardly a scandal. I would have expected more.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster, 26/03/2009 16:59
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