Roads policing to be put under the spotlight at Federation seminar

24 January 2024

Roads policing officers from across Wales and England are coming together later this month to discuss the key issues they are facing.

They will be attending the Police Federation’s Roads Policing Seminar which is being held virtually on 30 January this year.

“This seminar gives those officers working in this critical area of policing the chance to come together, discuss current issues, hear from key stakeholders and share their experiences,” says Zac Mader, the Federation’s joint Welsh lead.

“Each year around 1,700 people die on the UK’s roads, while more than 25,000 are seriously injured and last year, for the first time, the Government included roads policing in the Strategic Policing Requirement, which sets out the threats police must address.

“This was a significant development and one that should show just how important it is for the Federation to consider forces’ current roads policing capability, the challenges roads policing officers face and what improvements could be made to help reduce road casualties and also criminality on our roads networks.

“Of course, in September last year here in Wales we saw the introduction of a 20mph speed limit in built-up areas so I am sure that might be a topic for discussion during the seminar.”

The seminar will be opened by Brian Booth, the national Federation’s driving lead, who will also take part in the first session which will consider a victim led approach to roads policing. Others joining this session will include Dr Jami Blythe, head of development at the road safety organisation Brake, and Richard Crabtree, principal lawyer for serious injury at solicitors Slater and Gordon.

The morning will also feature a session considering the effectiveness of new legislation designed to give police drivers better protection in law. Tim Rogers, the national Federation’s pursuits and driver training lead, will explain forces’ progress in meeting the requirements set out in the new legislation introduced through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

“As it stands we have been encountering three main challenges in embedding this legislation consistently across the police service: forces failing to comply with the law around licensing their driving schools and trainers, chiefs deviating from learning standards and the Subject Matters Experts, who are now charged with assessing officers’ driving skills, moving away from their areas of expertise,” says Tim, who will be joined by Roger Gardner, police staff driver training manager at Lancashire Constabulary.

Jo Boxall-Hunt from the College of Policing and barrister Mark Aldred will also be taking part in this discussion.

Other seminar sessions will cover health and safety around electric vehicles and forensic collision investigation while the closing key stakeholder debate will focus on the future of roads policing.