EFFECTIVE neighbourhood policing is more important than ever in tackling terrorism, the Police Federation\u00a0of England and Wales\u00a0conference has heard.<\/p>\n
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Rowley, the national lead on counterterrorism, said that as criminals moved from gangs to terrorism, local officers working with communities to spot potential risks was \u201ccritical\u201d.\u00a0He told delegates: \u201cFrontline policing is at the forefront of our fights.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cIt is critical. Community intelligence identifies attack planners and safeguards the vulnerable.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than ever we are dependent on the success of local policing. The success of neighbourhood policing in working with communities and spotting those risks is more essential than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll officers are critical in the fight against terrorism and the public confidence you command is increasingly critical.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe professionalism and bravery of officers must continue. It is a fantastic illustration of your determination to protect the public and maintain the greatest traditions of our service.\u201d<\/p>\n
AC Rowley (pictured) added that routinely arming officers will not make them safer, and said turning the service into an armed paramilitary-style force would undermine public trust in the police.<\/p>\n
He announced that officers across the UK are to be given new training on their personal security in the light of the terrorist threat, which currently stands at severe.<\/p>\n
A new campaign co-ordinated by the National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council Counter Terror Command will be launched in the next few weeks. The campaign will cover security at work, personal security and the safety of police buildings.<\/p>\n
The Police Federation also launched a safety campaign last month, urging officers to vary their commutes to work and change their daily routine.<\/p>\n
AC Rowley said: \u201cThe balance of protecting officers is really difficult. We\u2019re not routinely armed but how do we look after our officers?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the balance at the moment is quite right, and every officer going out armed with a Taser is not the right approach.\u201d<\/p>\n
AC Rowley was challenged by a member of the audience who claimed that the unarmed British bobby \u201csticks out like a sore thumb\u201d and officers\u2019 lives are undervalued.<\/p>\n
The officer, from West Midlands police, said:\u00a0 \u201cOur lives are put down the pecking order when it comes to the British model of policing and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n
AC Rowley described the new counterterrorism guidelines for officers as \u201cgood practical security advice about how not to make yourself an easy target\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe all recognise the terrorist threat but it is also our duty to get the balance right.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to ensure officers are as safe as possible but we need to find way to do that without overreacting. If we become a paramilitary force the terrorists would have won and nobody wants that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EFFECTIVE neighbourhood policing is more important than ever in tackling terrorism, the Police Federation\u00a0of England and Wales\u00a0conference has heard. Assistant Chief Constable Mark Rowley, the national lead on counterterrorism, said\u2026 read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":223,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lancsfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lancsfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lancsfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lancsfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lancsfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lancsfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lancsfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lancsfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lancsfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lancsfedfocus.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}