Source · IOPC Learning Case

Moped driver injured after contact with police vehicle - Metropolitan Police Service, November 2017 & national recommendation - National Police Chiefs' Council, July 2019

Metropolitan Police Service Ref: 2017/094428 Recommended 4 Jul 2019 Response due 29 Aug 2019

Death and serious injury Road traffic incidents Use of force and armed policing

On 7 November 2017 at approximately 1am, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) was made aware that a motorcycle which had been driving dangerously in the Kent Police area was entering the MPS area. The driver of the motorcycle was not wearing any protective equipment. The motorcycle continued to be monitored and various tactical options were considered to stop it. At approximately 2.18am an MPS police car made physical contact with the motorcycle. The driver lost control of the motorcycle, fell …

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Recommendations

1 total

Recommendation 1

The IOPC recommends the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) ensures that clear national policy and guidance is developed on the use of tactical contact (use of force involving police vehicles) in relation to two-wheeled vehicles and similarly vulnerable road users. The guidance should pay regard to the level of risk to the rider, the public and police personnel, particularly if there is a risk of serious injury or death. The guidance should help Tactical Pursuit and Containment (TPAC) trained and authorised drivers assess the most appropriate tactic to resolve a pursuit situation of a two-wheeled vehicle with the least risk of harm, and set out the range of tactics available to them. Authorisation and use of tactical contact should be proportionate taking into account all the relevant known factors. Do you accept the recommendation? Yes

Addressed to: National Police Chiefs Council

Linked bodies: National Police Chiefs Council

Accepted

Force response

Accepted action: As the NPCC lead for pursuits I chair a national working group of practitioners and stakeholders. The IOPC are standing members of that group. I accept that there was a gap in the national policy and guidance and have been working with the national group to rectify this for some time. The relevant national policy comes under the heading of Authorised Professional Practice most of which is publicly available through the College of Policing website. However, the subset of this doctrine which details the specific tactics endorsed by the NPCC with guidance on how they should be implemented is known as the Tactics Directory. This is the document that individual Forces will use to inform their training, their operating procedures and their own approach to tactical contact. The IOPC have access to the latest version of this document which has now filled the gap in guidance that the national learning recommendation relates to. My assessment is that the Tactics Directory when taken together with wider Authorised Professional Practice now makes it clear under what circumstances two wheeled vehicles can be subject to tactical contact by police vehicles to manage pursuits. The National Decision Making Model runs as a thread through the guidance as does minimising risks to the public the subjects and the police. Proportionality is also an explicit requirement of the guidance which is now available to all Forces.