1. Authorised Professional Practice
Armed Policing
Post Deployment
Kev Nicholson
26th October 2016

2. Session Aims
To explain the recent history and key events related to APP development To explain the proposed changes to the APP To explain next steps and the development of wider APP for death or serious injury incidents

3. History and key events 5th March 2014
IPCC issues its Draft statutory guidance to the police service on achieving best evidence in death and serious matters;
Introduces the term ‘Key Police Witness’
Insists on separation of KPWs as soon as “operational safe”
Requires a Detailed Initial Factual Account before a KPW goes off duty
The consultation period ends on 27th May 2014

4. History and key events 24th September 2014
Following advice from leading counsel & in preparation for a Judicial Review hearing; national armed policing circular 20AP’2014 is published;
Introduced the ‘organisational learning debrief’
Introduced the ‘Appointed Officer’
Clarified the guidance on conferring
Clarified the position on separating officers

5. History and key events 14th & 15th October 2014
Court of appeal hears the application for Judicial Review in the cases of Mark Duggan and Rafal Delazuch;
Linked applications which challenge the lawfulness of post incident procedures
Main argument relates to the failure to immediately separate police officers who used or witnessed the use of force until statements are made
Submission is based on the risk of deliberate collusion or innocent contamination of evidence
Both applications for Judicial Review dismissed (19th December)

6. History and key events 2nd October 2015
Following the JR conclusion a complete review of APP Post deployment was undertaken, under advice from John Beggs QC;
National circular 13AP’2015 advises on changes to;
Principal Officer changed to Key Police Witness, and defined
Introduction of BWV guidance
Further rationale and clarity regarding separation
Enhanced detail provided with Personal Initial Account
Revised APP went out for consultation in November 2015

7. History and key events January 2016
Following the Paris attacks and with the inception of a UK armed policing ‘uplift’ the PM announces a ‘Review of the investigatory & legal framework underpinning police use of firearms’;
Ministry of Justice, HO and Attorney Generals office included
Feb 2016
IPCC ‘draft guidance’ submitted to the Home Secretary for approval
The guidance is almost identical to the pre-consultation draft
Meanwhile - APP development continues under consultation

8. History and key events
The latest draft of APP reflects full consideration of consultation feedback and is ready for publication.
Negotiation continues with the IPCC regarding perceived residual conflict between APP and their draft guidance
The draft guidance is not yet approved and remains with the Home Secretary
The PM review appears to have actually been an internal HO discussion on the law which has concluded- but not changed anything

9. Key police witnesses
Key police witnesses are police officers or staff who can give direct evidence of the circumstances leading to the discharge of the firearm(s) or less lethal weapon(s). This is a flexible definition which must be interpreted according to the particular circumstances. Key police witnesses may include: • officers who discharged weapons • those who immediately witnessed the discharge of weapons • those who authorised or commanded the deployment of firearms officers • those who provided tactical advice.

10. Separation of KPWs
Officers need not be separated as a matter of routine, and should only be separated when it is safe, necessary and practical to do so.
The decision on whether or not to separate key police witnesses should be based upon the consideration of three separate questions in turn:
Is separation safe?
Is separation necessary?
Is separation practical?
If it is operationally safe to separate officers, and if the TFC decides that it is necessary to separate officers, they must consider whether it is practical to do so, based

11. BWV and other reference material
No legal restriction to a key police witness viewing their own BWV footage prior to making their personal initial account. However, the potential impact upon the individual’s perception and recollection of events makes the viewing of such footage inadvisable prior to the completion of the personal initial account.
May be appropriate for other types of reference material, such as log information, and notes contemporaneously recorded in writing or audio format, to be viewed or listened to before a key police witness provides a P.I.A. Such material may have captured information that assists them to accurately recall relevant and essential information as it had been perceived and recorded by the individual at the time of the incident.

12. Personal initial account
Subject to legal/medical advice, KPWs should provide a P.I.A. before going off duty.
Should record the witness’s role, what they believe to be the essential facts and, where relevant, outline the honestly held belief that resulted in their own use of force.
So far as possible, personal initial accounts should include:
• the officer’s identity (or pseudonym if appropriate.)
• the officer’s understanding of the nature of the operation
• the officer’s role in the operation
• essential details of the officers’ recollection of force being used (e.g. the nature of force and what the subject was doing at the time)
• if the officer used force, their honestly held belief that resulted in their use of force.

13. Next steps
An MTFA plan is in mature draft. Key areas addressed include;
The decision to re-deploy KPWs where capability and/or capacity requires
Appropriate Article 2 priority given to public protection v post incident investigation
Potential for provision of accounts to be delayed
Work in progress to produce wider PIP APP
APP to be developed for all DSI matters

14. Questions ?