Having been contacted by concerned members about British Transport Police's stance on assisting during industrial action by members of the ambulance service we wanted to make our position clear:
When it comes to pay and conditions, we absolutely understand the feelings of our emergency service colleagues. Our members recognise the impact of immense workloads, extreme pressure, and wages that have in no way kept pace with inflation; they are experiencing the same unacceptable challenges.
For us, this is partly a question of the safety of our members and the legal protection afforded to them. Police officers are not trained, qualified or experienced medical professionals. As a staff association we are yet to receive any reassurances about the impact on our members should someone sadly die in the back of an ambulance driven by a police officer. We cannot support a situation where officers may currently find themselves facing gross misconduct proceedings for a 'death following police contact'.
It should be noted that the demands on policing continue to grow, and officers are working to capacity. This must also be part of BTP's decision-making when considering how best to support other emergency services. Policing is used to being the service of last resort, but we don't believe it should become involved with this dispute. The police service is struggling and to be frank, so are many of our officers.
Stuart Cowan
Chair, BTP Federation
Contact the Federation
Tel: 0208 761 8071
Email: info@btpfed.co.uk
Web: www.btpolfed.org.uk