The recent murder of PC Andrew Harper has sparked a number of swift actions to improve the safety of our frontline police officers. Quite right too. But we must not forget that the long term safety of those on the front line depends on long term actions.
Just a few days ago, Northamptonshire Police announced it planned to arm all of its frontline officers with Tasers. Days later it was joined by Durham Constabulary, which said every frontline officer who wanted one would undergo training to use the stun guns. Earlier in the year, Kent Police announced it was quadrupling the number of officers carrying Tasers to around 1,500.
That is all well and good. I would also want to see all those out on patrol equipped with body cameras and with guidelines to use them whenever interacting with the public.
Now we hear that Martin Hewitt, the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), has called an urgent meeting for all chief constables to discuss officer safety.
"If we can't protect our people, how can we protect the public?" he said.
The meeting is due to take place in early September. I am told that the top officers will share lessons from the recent attacks on their frontline officers as part of a discussion to see what can be done in the short term to improve their safety. It is going to be interesting to see what they come up with.
