TalkTHROUGH

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Fighting FitFORCE WEIGHS UP

FITNESS TESTING OPTIONS

THE MAGAZINE OF THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE POLICE WINTER 2013-14

ISSUE 156

INSIDE�OFFICERS’ BRAVERY RECOGNISED �

� ACC ROBERT CHIDLEY RETIRES �

Editor:Norman HicksCorporate CommunicationsRoom 116/1070MDP WethersfieldBraintree, Essex CM7 4AZtel: 01371 854216 fax: 01371 854010e-mail: norman.hicks905@mdpga.mod.uk

We welcome articles and photos of interest to readers, but reservethe right to shorten/edit contributions.

Staff contributing articles should ensure they are suitable for openpublication.

If you would like to discuss your contribution, please contact the Editor.

“Where do we go from here?” 1

Officers’ actions earn high praise 6

Op Granite 9

My Multi Stage Fitness Test Journey . . . 13

Overseas Operations 15

Minister visits AWE 20

Disability hate crime 26

Overseas Trident training 30

ISSUE 156 WINTER 2013-14CONTENTS

CONTINUED . . .

TalkTHROUGH

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� SINCE CHIEF CONSTABLEAlf Hitchcock arrived fromBedfordshire last June to takethe helm of the MOD Police,the Force has become re-energised, shaking off theeffects of four years’ enforcedmarking time and movingforward with a new spring inits corporate step.

The re-set of the Force is almostcomplete, recruitment is under wayand there is a new buzz around theorganisation.

TalkThrough caught up with MrHitchcock as he approached the endof an action-packed eight months incharge and asked him: “Where dowe go from here?”

He replied:

‘ For me, we have achieved asignificant part of the change thatwe started off last year and there isstill more of that to be done, butwe are starting to get the Force intothe shape that is required.

“We are getting to the positionwhere we understand what our newrole and function is. We’ve still a

little way to go to understand howwe should tick as an organisation,which will give us the foundationfor more devolved decision-making, but I think the view wouldbe that we are making goodprogress.

“When you land change it isnever just how you want it to be –there are always things that aren’tright. So, the next phase will be totake stock of what we need to lookat during 2014, starting with a postimplementation review, to find outif we have got the right people inthe right places with the right skills

“Where do we gofrom here?”Chief looks ahead to thenext 12 months . . .

Q&A WITH THE CHIEF

Interview by Editor Norman Hicks

Photographs by Paul Kemp

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“We have also received greatsupport from the likes of JonathanSlater (Director General Transform-ation and Corporate Strategy) andMark Preston (Director of BusinessResilience), who have been helpingus on this journey and who, forexample, have sanctioned additionalfunding for kit and equipment thatwill help us to get the Force back toits peak.

“As I have gone around the Force,meeting officers face-to-face, I havefound them to be genuinely open.They are certainly not backward incoming forward and telling me about things that they feel are notquite right.

“So I think that from thesesessions, which I have been conduct-ing for the past few months and willcontinue to do so throughout therest of this year, I will get a feel forwhether or not we are going in theright direction.

“What we are also looking at issome of the lessons that we have got from the MOD ‘Your Say’ staffsurvey and whether we cansupplement that with our own in-house version, because whilstsome people are happy to talk in

those focus groups, we need to make sure that there are other ways of gathering information andcapturing opinions from across theForce, so that we get a feel for thethings that we need to do toimprove. ’

“WHERE DOWE GO FROM HERE?”to do the job effectively, or if we stillneed to tweak that.

“Another factor to take intoaccount is that we have recently had a Her Majesty’s Inspector ofConstabulary (HMIC) inspection,which has given us a series ofthirteen recommendations,providing us with an external view of areas for improvement.

“They will play a key part in whatwe do over the next twelve months interms of command and control andthe way we operate as a Force.’LEADERSHIP

Mr Hitchcock said the Force would berunning leadership selection processesover the next few months forSergeants, Inspectors and ChiefInspectors. He continued:

‘We should be looking at howwe carry out leadership developmentand how we are going to supportnewly-promoted people in thosenew ranks.

“We also need to look at how wemarket and sell the organisation andparticularly think about how wemove into the more modern digitalage, that the MOD is moving into,and that we should be moving into.

“Why would we want to do that?Well, partly to be part of the widerGovernment agenda of openness andtransparency, but also to give a clearmessage about the Force’s operat-ional capability to anyone who wouldseek to cause harm – letting themknow that we are up for the job.

“I think those are the key thingsthat we need to be doing over thenext twelve months, as well as thevarious work strands under OpGranite that we have still got to land.The key element to this is how muchcan we implement simultaneouslyand how much of it involves havingto wait for one thing to finish beforewe can start the next?

“For example, we may need tostrengthen officer training in orderto achieve all of our trainingrequirements simultaneously.

DOING IT EVEN BETTER

‘ Looking a bit further ahead, whatwe are doing at the moment is allabout getting the Force into theplace it should be to deliver thecurrent requirement, to deliver it to a very high standard and tocontinue to improve.

“We do it well, but can we do it even better? That ability to do the job well and to do it in anexceptional way is where we aretrying to place ourselves in terms ofnumbers and skill sets.

“We have got to get ourselves inshape, capable, competent and fit, sothat we look like we are the business.Once we’ve got to that stage, it willbe more likely that people within theMOD, when they’re looking aroundfor someone to fulfil a particular rolewill look to us first.

“They will realise that theDepartment has already got its ownvery capable and professional policeforce and that they should be makingmore use of us.’TalkThrough asked Mr Hitchcock

if his ideas for rejuvenating the Forcehad been largely welcomed by officers when he’d met them on hisoperational visits to stations:

‘ People have been reallywelcoming towards me, which isgood. One officer, who shall remainnameless, after I’d met him for a

second time said: “We still haven’tmanaged to knock the energy andenthusiasm out of you yet then!” –Definitely not!

“There is not an easy way ofachieving our ultimate objectives,because we are trying to change a lot of things about the Forcesimultaneously. I do think howeverthat people recognise that I amtrying to do this not just to changethings for the sake of it, but tochange things to try to make us abetter police force.

“Effectively, we’re trying to get usfrom a being a good organisation tobeing a great one, as the saying goesand we are trying to tick off all thethings that will make us better. ’SUPPORT

Given that the Force is standingbehind the efforts of Mr Hitchcockand the Management Board to get itback in fighting shape, we asked himif he felt he was also getting thesupport he needed from MOD MainBuilding and the Police Committee.He replied:

‘ The Police Committee has soughtto widen its remit by including aperformance and risk auditingfunction to its terms of referenceand I think that that holding us toaccount is actually very helpful.

“It’s good to have independenteyes looking at what you’re doingand challenging it.

� Continuing his programmeof OPERATIONAL VISITS tokey locations policed by MDP,Chief Constable Alf Hitchcockspent time at RAF Oakhangerand HMNB Portsmouth inJanuary.

At RAF Oakhanger he metCommanding Officer Sqn Ldr JohnThompson for a private briefingbefore getting a run down of thecurrent policing operation at the base from Senior Police Officer SergtBob Hutton (pictured right).

Chief pays operationalvisits toOakhangerandPortsmouth . . .

By Editor Norman HicksPhotographs by Paul Kemp

This was followed by a focus groupwith some of the officers based atOakhanger. The Chief gave an updateon the Force re-set and plans for apost implementation review later thisyear, recruitment, fitness training, theweight of equipment review and theForce response to HMIC’srecommendations, following an auditof MDP’s Command and Controlarrangements.

Mr Hitchcock also touched ontraining, the debate about theappropriate retirement age for MDPofficers and the current review ofterms and conditions of service forthe Force. He then answered officers’questions about some of these issues.

At HMNB Portsmouth he coveredsimilar issues at another focus groupand answered questions about thevehicle fleet, leadership developmentand occupational health mattersamong other topics.

Following an awards ceremony, atwhich he presented Royal HumaneSociety Awards to two officers andChief Constable’s commendations toanother five (see full report onfollowing pages) he met with theMDP’s Senior Management Team atPortsmouth – Senior Police OfficerChief Inspr Fiona Kerr, Inspectors Tom Huntley (marine) and MichelleMahony (land) – and Supt FindlayMacDonald from Territorial Division,for a discussion about currentoperational policing issues at the Base.

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� Portsmouth-based MDP officers involved inacts of courage and cool professionalism,gathered at the Naval Base police headquartersto hear tributes paid to their actions and toreceive personal thanks from Chief Constable Alf Hitchcock.

Mr Hitchcock was introduced by Senior Police OfficerChief Inspr Fiona Kerr, who told the assembled friends,family and colleagues of the officers concerned:

‘ Days like these are when we recognise theactions carried out by officers from the MDP andsay thank you for the acts of bravery, courage,professionalism and determination that they havedemonstrated. It is appropriate that they should be recognised at the highest level.’

A Royal Humane Society Testimonial inscribed onparchment was presented to PC Amelia ‘AJ’ Dowler who,as reported in TalkThrough issue no.154 (Summer 2013), had previously received a Chief Constable’s commendation for her actions on the night of 13 December 2013.

Together with PC Richard Le Moignan, she had beensent to the area of 2 Basin in the Portsmouth dockyard,following a report expressing concern for the welfare of aheavily intoxicated Naval Rating seen heading that way.

Inspr Michelle Mahony, reading from the RHS citation,said that when the two officers arrived, they soon becameaware that there was a person in the water, lying face downand not moving.

“PC Dowler removed her boots and outer clothing and,assisted by PC Le Moignan was lowered into the water usinga life buoy. She swam out to the person and rolled him faceup before pulling him back to the jetty.

“Additional officers then arrived at the scene and themale was placed in the recovery position on the pontoon.Paramedics subsequently arrived at the scene and thecasualty was taken to hospital, where he later made a full recovery.

“It is evident that this Royal Navy Rating only survived by the fortunate reporting and actions by various parties.Both MGS (the MOD Guard Service) and MDP assisted in his survival; however, it was the unselfish efforts by PC Dowler, who made an instinctive decision to go in thewater to rescue him, that inevitably saved his life.”

The Testimonial for PC Dowler reads that she ‘at personal risk, courageously assisted in saving the life of aman who was in danger of drowning, near the floating jettyin No. 2 Basin, HMNB Portsmouth’.

PC Le Moignan (pictured left), who had also beenpresented with a Chief Constable’s commendation on anearlier occasion, was also recognised by the RHS, whichcommended him ‘for his praiseworthy action in assisting insaving the life’ of the same man.

Mr Hitchcock also presented commendation certificatesto five other officers who were involved in a separateincident, described by Inspr Tom Huntley, PortsmouthMarine Unit Commander.

He outlined the events of 8 April 2011, when a man wasshot dead on board a Royal Navy vessel during a goodwillvisit to Southampton.

He said: “Specialist Marine Unit officers Sergt John Taylor,PC David Kennedy and PC Matthew Smith were waterside alongside DSG officers PC Ray Springer and PC Owen Parker, land side, on an operation to providepolicing and Force Protection to a strategically vital Defenceasset, HMS Astute, a submarine at that time positioned inSouthampton Docks.

“During the course of that shift it was reported by amember of the submarine’s crew that shots had been fired on board. Marine Unit officers showed no hesitation in coming alongside the jetty and taking up armedcontainment positions, whilst DSG officers boarded thesubmarine, detained the suspect and took control of thecomplex crime scene.

“Strong decision-making was evident throughout thatincident, including the decision to self-arm. It was aconfusing situation with officers unsure whether this was alone threat or part of a wider, larger co-ordinated assault.

“All officers took responsibility and placed themselves inpotential harm’s way that day to protect the crew, the publicand the Defence assets, thereby providing armed protection,command and co-ordination with the unfolding events,’ saidInspr Huntley.

“It was a tragic incident in which Lt Commander IanMolyneux lost his life and three others were seriouslywounded. Able Seaman Ryan Donovan was arrested by MDPofficers and subsequently charged and convicted of murderand three counts of attempted murder.

“That day those MDP officers clearly demonstrated the qualities demanded of our Defence police but rarely spoken of – courage, selflessness, resilience and quietprofessionalism.”

Following the presentations, Mr Hitchcock told those inattendance – including Captain of the Base Col Mike Tannerand Base Security Officer Simon Harfield – “It’s always apleasure to come out to a station and see people who havedone amazing things and it’s always very humbling to bereminded of the work that we are doing day in and day outto protect the public and those who operate within aMinistry of Defence environment. He added:

‘ I’m incredibly proud and honoured to be theChief Constable of this Force and it is a greathonour to meet this group today.’

Officers’ actions earn high praise

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CID SUCCESSES

TO HELP CID CLYDE INVESTIGATE an allegedfraud committed in Afghanistan and a linkedmoney-laundering inquiry in Scotland andelsewhere, three uniformed MDP officersundertook specialist training in how to conductvideo ID parades.

The suspect was then a serving member of the ArmedForces. Under Section 11 of the Criminal Procedure(Scotland) Act 1995, given specific circumstances, the casecould be prosecuted in a Scottish Court, even though thefraud was alleged to have taken place in Afghanistan.

On the direction of the Crown Office and ProcuratorFiscal Service, Serious and Organised Crime Division inEdinburgh, detectives from CID Clyde, with the assistanceof MDP Afghanistan Police Unit, organised a VIPER IDParade in Lashgar Gah.

VIPER stands for Video Identification Parade ElectronicRecording and is a system used by 30 UK police forces.

The video ID parades which are shown to witnesses,replace the old fashioned line-ups of suspects. They allow

witnesses to identify a suspect without the need toconfront them face-to-face.

The video ID parade is played to witnesses from aDVD onto a television screen, which can be located in apolice station, or even at their home on a laptop, topromote witness care.

The service – co-ordinated by the National VIPERBureau – has a number of advantages to assist forces in conducting video ID parades quickly andeffectively.

In keeping with Scots Law Procedure and followingthe necessary training with Police Scotland VIPER Unit,the three volunteer uniformed MDP officers travelled toLashgar Gah and successfully achieved their objective,conducting the VIPER ID Parade, with four Afghanwitnesses taking part.

Said Det Sergt Peter Cassidy: “Partly due to thesuccess of the VIPER technology, we secured a convictionin the case.”

� In an unconnected fraud and money laundering inquiry,detective officers from CID Clyde recently travelled toBelfast, where they arrested a suspect and under theProceeds of Crime Act seized an Audi A4 motor vehicleand three motorcycles (pictured right). The suspect was aretired member of the Armed Forces.

� A further unconnected money laundering inquiry sawCID Clyde officers obtain Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA)search warrants which were executed at two residentialaddresses in the South West of Scotland, resulting inproperty being seized, suspected to having being used inconnection with money laundering. The suspect in this casehad been a civilian contractor, working in Afghanistan.

VIPER training leads toAfghan Identification parade

CID CLYDE –FRAUD AND MONEYLAUNDERING INQUIRIES

� AS THE PACE OF CHANGEaround the Force gathersmomentum, the programmedesigned to pull it all together– Op Granite – has beenticking off some notablesuccesses.TalkThrough caught up with Chief Supt

Rob Hoblin, Head of Central Operations,and Supt Derry Montgomery, Head of theOrganisational Change Unit – set up byChief Constable Alf Hitchcock last summerto manage the change programme – andasked them for an update on its variouswork strands.

FIREARMS LICENSING

RH: Firearms Licensing is a really goodnews story. In June last year, for the firsttime in seven years, we were given afirearms licence without a developmentplan. Usually there is always some kind ofcaveat that goes with it, but back in Junethere was none and that was thanks togood work done by the then Head of theOperational Capability Centre (OCC), nowForce Firearms Officer (FFO), Supt KevinMcAndrew, Chief Firearms Instructor (CFI)Inspr Jeff Renton and their teams.

In December it was confirmed that we had still got the licence without adevelopment plan, but this time with acaveat that we must have a trainingdatabase. That’s all going ahead, with theintention of getting the new software(Chronicle) installed by the end of March.

We’ve always relied on HRMS in thepast, but it doesn’t really do what we needit to do, because the bottom line is itwasn’t designed for police use.

Chronicle is a training database usedby 36 other police forces, and will meetour needs not only for firearms, buteventually for the whole training side ofthe business. At the moment it isspecifically for firearms and all those

Op Granite– some quick winsand long-term goals

CONTINUED . . .

By TalkThrough Editor, Norman HicksPhotographs by Paul Kemp

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things that go with that training area. So we’ve moved on a lot with firearmslicensing in the last twelve months.

The other thing that is worth noting isthat, with Kevin’s appointment in Januarythis year, our 54 OCC firearms trainershave now got a separate line managementcommand chain leading up to the FFO,which has not happened before.

HMIC AUDIT OF COMMANDAND CONTROL

DM: Following the HMIC Inspection, thisis now a new project and will embrace all the various work strands andrecommendations of the HMIC report.

RH:We have had an HMIC audit ofcommand and control, recommendationshave been placed before the PoliceCommittee and we now have an ActionPlan to take forward as a new project beingled by Supt Kevin McAndrew, the FFO,which will be driven through Op Granite.

FITNESSRH:With new recruits and NEOFs (NewEntrants from Other Forces) we have setthe fitness level at 7.6 on the 15 metreMulti Stage Fitness Test (more commonlycalled the bleep test); we currentlyidentified eleven officers who are PhysicalTraining Instructors and as part of theirContinuous Professional Developmentthey have received MSFT standardisationtraining, ensuring that they have aminimum Level Two nationally qualifiedlevel and we’re looking to make that up to12 as a minimum. We’ve appointed InsprBrian Abram (pictured below left withDBR Mark Preston) to an interim positionas the Force Fitness Lead.

We will soon be advertising for aqualified Force Fitness Adviser, and we aregoing to expand the Occupational Healthside from one to three full-time staff, toprovide guidance and advice pre and postfitness test.

Five venues have been identified in thecountry for facilitating the MSFT andfacilities may increase as a result of ongoingwork being done alongside our Tri-ServiceFitness Working Group colleagues.

DM:We are currently working to expandthe number of training venues to providemore local options and are exploring themerits of increased PTI numbers andadditional qualifications or capabilities.

RH: The fitness tests will initially bevoluntary for existing MDP officers, butnot for new entrants or transferees, forwhom it forms part of their terms andconditions of service.

For everybody else it will be part ofconsultation with the Defence PoliceFederation around future fitness testing.

We are engaged with the Institute ofNaval Medicine on two fronts. First, withDr Piete Brown, who is leading on theprovision of a fit for purpose, non discrim-inatory fitness test for AFOs in the MDP.

The DPF are fully engaged with this andhave representation via PC Karen McKeown.

The second work strand with the INMis with Dr Fran Gunner, who is leading onthe health and well-being front and gettingpeople prepared for the fitness test. Shewill also be able to put in a remedialtraining pack for people who are unable tomeet the standard, as well as advising onthings like food, nutrition, general healthand well being, in addition to educatingour PTIs around the science of fitnesstesting and developing their knowledge.

Information about all of this can be found on our Fitness pages on theMDP Intranet: Central Operations/OCC/FitnessProgrammeand on Dii: MDP MOSS homepage/Business functions/Fitness,Health and Wellbeing.

It is anticipated that we will haveidentified a fit for purpose fitness test forMDP AFOs by December this year. That isa year earlier than previously expected, soanother good news story.

We will be looking for up to 100volunteers in the summer to come to HQover a two-day period to undertake initialtesting and subsequent pilot of the INM’sproposed fitness test.

It is important that we run a selectionof tests to a 50:50 ratio of males andfemales, therefore validating the researchand supporting our officers to ensure theright fitness test and level is recommended.

WEIGHT OF EQUIPMENT

RH:We’ve established throughManagement Board (MB) agreement atwo-tiered approach towards setting up the procurement of uniform and personalprotective equipment (PPE). The first tier isat Divisional level, where Superintendentsfor Divisions – and I include Central Ops inthis as well, as a kind of third Division – will look on a quarterly basis at anyrequests for new items of uniform or PPEkit and equipment. They will do that with a small Board of attendees from Divisionwhich will include LGBT Uniterepresentation, other groups, DPFrepresentation and SHEF.

The proposal will then come up toHeadquarters, to a strategic meetingchaired by Head of Central Ops where alsowill be present the same groups as before,plus Procurement, Training and Firearmsrepresentation.

Where an item is given the green light,this is where the INM come in on anassisting basis, checking for compliancewith Human Factor Integration (HFI) andwith interoperability with other kit andequipment that we have already got. Thisis what we’ve never done before, this isthe new way of working with kit andequipment – looking at new purchases ona ‘requirements’ basis as opposed to a‘policy’ basis and, in my view, it is a goodpositive story.

Any item given the green light thengoes to the Operational Capability Board (OCB), chaired by ACC CentralOperations. If it is something that is largescale, in terms of cost, it would then go to Management Board, if required. ButProcurement is represented fromStrategic, through to OCB and MB asrequired through the process.

An example of where we probably gotit wrong, but because of this new set-upmanaged to spot it, was the purchase ofMOLLE body armour vests. We bought1,000 of these last year, rolled them out,but didn’t have fitting instructions orqualified people to fit them.

We sent Ron Staples, in his new role of Operational Capability Delivery, out toone of the stations that got them – theCNI sites and SEG – to check the fitting ofthe MOLLE. He found that nobody waswearing the right size and, as a result, thereis now a process of identifying how we fitthe right-sized equipment to every officerin terms of these MOLLEs.

DM: To address this challenge, clearwritten instructions and a DVD have beendeveloped to show officers how to size,adjust and correctly wear MOLLE bodyarmour.

RH: The real positive news is we have nowengaged with Subject Matter Experts fromDE&S on what they call ‘Virtus Scaling’,which looks at all kit and equipment beingused by the military in theatre, to assessand evaluate it. They have offered to assistus in taking forward our Weight ofEquipment issues.

Ron Staples and his team, as the nextstep, will look at current kit andequipment being used to make sure it isHFI compliant and interoperable withequipment already issued.

We will look at each role profileseparately, because a Marine Officer willneed different kit to an officer at CNI, whowill have different kit and equipment to aTSG officer at AWE and so on.

This will take some time, it isn’t aquick job, but new kit and equipment willonly be sourced if it is HFI compliant andinteroperable with current kit andequipment – that’s the key to success forthe future.

I said before, we are also looking at a‘requirements’ based approach as opposedto the policy based approach when usingkit and equipment and that’s the keymessage we’ve brought back from ourrecent visit to colleagues at DE&S. We’vebeen so strung up about what the policysays we must do . . . we’ve got it wrong. In the future we should firstly look at therequirement, and then set the policy tomeet the requirement. We’ve got it thewrong way round and this approach willneed to change.

Key successes so far are ‘plates off thegate’ in the Nuclear Division, on a riskassessed basis and the second big win is arisk-assessed approach to wearing bodyarmour when driving vehicles.

In the last few months, respectiveForce Orders have been published to assistin addressing these issues locally.

OP GRANITE

CONTINUED . . .

� THIS YEAR, 2014, is asignificant milestone for mepersonally and probably forthe MDP. It marks the 30thanniversary of my joining theMDP (1984), and later in the year I have a milestonebirthday beginning with a five (1964).

During my 30 years as an MDPofficer I have seen key events thathave shaped the organisation and seen it evolve and, in my opinion,implementation of a fitness test isanother key event that will further

professionalise the Force. Indeed, inyears to come, all MDP officers willwonder what all the fuss was about, asit becomes the norm.

Some form of annual fitnesstesting is probably long overdue, andit has been with some interest that Ihave listened to the debate as thewider police service has started thetransition, firstly to voluntary testingand ultimately to compulsory tests.

I have also read with interest thevarious Force Orders relating to fitnesstesting, as MDP seeks to implementits own test. It is clear that whateveryour view, whether to test or not, orthe type of test to be undertaken,

some form of fitness testing is comingand will be here to stay; henceanother key milestone for the Force.

WHAT DOES 5.4 OR 7.6ACTUALLY MEAN?

From my own perspective, and I knowthis view is shared by others, thedreaded ‘bleep test’, filled me withfear, mainly because I didn’t fullyunderstand what was involved. Whatdoes level 5.4 or 7.6 actually mean, or more to the point, what does itfeel like?

I have spoken to many peoplewho have done the test, I havewatched videos, and I’ve listened to

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OP GRANITE

DISPOSITION OFRESOURCES

DM: A key element of Op Granite hasbeen the twin projects of uniform and non-uniform redeployment. Despite beingcomplex, resource-intensive and potentiallydivisive, these projects are in the finalstages of completion and both projectleads and their teams have worked tirelesslyto meet the needs of the Force whilstremaining sensitive to the needs of staff.

MDP now have all staff in place, or enroute to their new posts, and are lookingto the challenge of recruiting to fill theremaining posts, in order that we cancontinue to provide the level of serviceour customers need and expect.

RECRUITMENT ANDTRAINING

RH:We have engaged an advertisingagency, Havas and to date (January) havereceived almost 400 new recruitapplications and 142 applications fromNEOFs (formerly known as transferees).That should put us in a position to meetour targets over the next 12 months.

DM:Many of our vacancies are forspecialist posts or in ‘hard to reach’ areassuch as the far North and North East ofScotland. This presents a significantchallenge to the MDP and to Havas, whichhas refocused its efforts to ensure therecruiting profile matches Force andcustomer needs.

RH: As far as recruit training is concerned,we have got something like 40 differentwork strands running to bring us back up

to speed, having not done any recruittraining for the last four years. Recruittraining has moved on a lot with theCollege of Policing in that period and isnow very much technology-based, asopposed to hard paper based.

We have had lots of positiveengagement with the College of Policingand Tulliallan – Police Scotland’s TrainingCollege – to use their products. We nowhave an agreed curriculum, for England,Wales and for Scotland, working towardsthe Policing Diploma, as well asconstructive engagement with staff atTulliallan, where we are currently scopingthe viability of conducting some trainingfrom the end of this year.

We have got the requisite staff in placenow, although we are looking to recruitthree civilian D bands alongside ourcurrent training staff to assist with training.

The first graduation ceremony isplanned to take place in November 2014.NEOFs started their training on 17 Marchand the first recruits’ course starts on 30June. By the end of the year we shouldhave successfully trained up to 86 officersthrough our training centre and deployeda mixture of NEOFs and new recruits.

Supt Dave Hewitt has taken over from Kevin as Head of OCC and will beoverseeing and leading on the non-firearms aspects of all training.

PROMOTION ANDDEVELOPMENT

DM: For some years opportunities forpromotion and development have beenseverely restricted as the Force and itscustomers have striven to establish a new

footprint. Thankfully, these constraintshave eased and, as with recruitment,things are moving fast.

Promotion processes for Super-intending ranks were recently completedand re-started and revised processes for allranks are now in place, allowing officers tolook around the Force for opportunities todevelop and progress.

ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE UNIT

DM: The OCU continues to support Op Granite project teams. Recently, itsprincipal focus has been the Weight ofEquipment and Fitness projects, but it hasalso provided long-term support to theWorkforce Planning Team and has a keyrole in co-ordinating the GraniteProgramme, providing reassurance to theChief Constable that projects will deliveron time and to target.

It picks up project work that does notsit easily within existing portfolios andconducts preliminary research prior to newprojects being commissioned.

The OCU relies heavily on secondedstaff and I am actively seeking officers and staff of all ranks for short or medium-term secondments throughout 2014 and beyond. The OCU offers excellentdevelopment opportunities, withseconded officers and staff contributing to the development of the MDP in keyareas, as well as gaining an invaluableinsight into the complex issues andchallenges facing the Force.

DEPUTY CHIEF CONSTABLE GerryMcAuley presented certificates toeight officers who had successfullycompleted a National FirearmsInstructor Course, delivered by theMDP’s Firearms Training Centre(FTC) to nationally-accreditedCollege of Policing standards.

Inspr Nigel Stinchcombe, FTCtraining manager invited Mr McAuleyto present the certificates individually,to underpin the officers’ success onwhat is a difficult and challenging six-week course, he said.

Pictured (left to right): Inspr NigelStinchcombe (FTC Training Manager);Lyndsay Barber (FTC Admin Support);PC Rob Bendy (FTC); PC Robert Barnes;PC Matthew Loose; PC Matthew Francis;

PC Maguire Agnew; Deputy ChiefConstable Gerry McAuley; PC JonathanSherwin; PS Michael Nimmo; PC JamieCameron, PC Martin Finnerty; PC CliveQuaite (FTC) and PS Steve Butler (FTC).

Firearms instructors pass tough test

My Multi StageFitness TestJourney. . . By Supt Dave Pawley, SPO

AWE (Aldermaston)

CONTINUED . . .

various mobile phone apps. And yet I still didn’t feel I knew what 5.4actually meant. Therefore, I decidedthe only way to find out was toactually do the test. So I signed-up totake a voluntary test during a TSGinitial course.

On Wednesday 5 March, I arrivedat the MSFT designated centre at AWEfor an 8 o’clock start, with an air ofapprehension, and thinking what a dafttime to be out running; privately I wasalso cursing myself for eating an extrapancake the previous day (ShroveTuesday). I was put at ease by theofficers conducting the test who wereextremely professional and I felt verywell briefed as I took my position inlane eight with the TSG officers, all ofwhom were a lot younger and fitterlooking than me and who were aimingfor a score of 10.5.

No sooner had the dreaded beepsstarted, and with a moderate amountof effort, my test was complete, and Iam pleased to say I achieved therequired 5.4, with some to spare.

So why have I written this article?In 2011, I suffered a broken ankle, andthis caused a number of other health

issues. This became a bit of an excuseto do even less exercise than theminimum I was doing before. I alsoknew I was carrying a little bit toomuch weight (either that or I had oneof those wardrobes that miraculouslycaused clothes to shrink).

Last summer, my partnerunderwent an intrusive medicalprocedure, and as part of herrehabilitation, she was advised by hersurgeon and GP to undertake regularexercise building up gradually at a rateshe felt comfortable with. I wanted tosupport her in doing this and westarted carrying out slow and shortlocalised walks.

Over a period of about twomonths these walks increased to aregular route which was exactly twomiles, and which we did every evening when I got home from work.Fast forward four months and thetwo-mile walk became part of ourdaily routine and we now rarely miss aday. Over this period we also graduallyincreased our speed, and some of thewalking has become a slow jog, evendespite the fact I hate jogging and find it boring.

However, we both agree this subtlelifestyle change has not become achore; it is quality time away from themultitude of modern day work andfamily distractions. As well as doingthe regular exercise, we also chose toeat more sensibly and try to maintaina balanced diet (without it being anactual diet); in my case this meantcutting down on biscuits (includingbroken ones), and cakes.

The net result of these subtlelifestyle changes has been loss ofweight, an increased level of fitnessand a more general healthy wellbeing,even despite the obvious day-to-daystresses of work.

Having completed the MSFT, apart from feeling a real sense ofachievement, I no longer see it assomething to fear. However, unlessyou have a real interest in fitness,achieving 5.4 will involve some workon your part, but I hope my storydemonstrates you do not need asignificant exercise regime. It justneeds some subtle lifestyle changes,which can provide both personal andprofessional benefits.

This can only be a win-winsituation for us as individuals and forthe professionalism and evolution ofthe MDP. My MSFT journey started by putting aside 30 to 40 minutes a day to walk around my localneighbourhood and, over time,increasing the level and intensity ofthe exercise at a rate at which I feltcomfortable. My two-mile walk/jognow takes less than 25 minutes a day, which I consider to be a smallinvestment of my time.

I am not for one minute sayingwhat I have done will suit everybody,as all of our circumstances andinterests are different. What I amsaying is that simple lifestyle changescan have a significant positive benefit.One last thought. I still love biscuits,but now I feel less guilty about someindulgences. That said, it probably isgood advice to avoid the MSFT theday after Pancake Day!

MY MULTI STAGE FITNESS TEST JOURNEY . . .

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A reflection on MDP’ssignificant contribution

OverseasOperations

CONTINUED . . .

� THE END OF 2013 saw the main drawdown ofMDP deployments to Afghanistan. At its meeting inFebruary, the MOD Police Committee was advisedon and noted its own support for the significantcontribution to overseas operations madeby the Force over the past two decades . . .

By Editor Norman Hicks

Photos by Neil Parry,Paul Kemp and

supplied

1716

The MDP’s contribution wasrecently summarised in a briefinggiven to Minister Armed Forces byChief of Staff at Permanent JointHeadquarters (PJHQ) on the role ofMOD civilians on deployedoperations.

MDP’S ROLE

The role of the MDP in Afghanistan,mentoring the Afghan UniformedPolice (AUP), was particularlyhighlighted as follows:

‘ The MDP have been ofcritical importance in providingthe capability to build govern-ance in Helmand Province since 2008. MDP have, in over200 deployments mostly toForward Operating Bases,trained and developed theAfghan Uniform Police (AUP)in building the necessaryprofessional expertise forAfghanistan to develop its ownpolicing capability.

Of particular note hasbeen the contribution of 15female MDP officers deployedto Afghanistan with eightbased at Lashkar Gah, to assistin the training of womenemployed by the AUP. Thisrole concluded in September2013 as part of the UK’sTransition process. MDPofficers conducted training forall female officers including amiddle management syllabusand Train-the-Trainer activity.Many female Afghancolleagues also received livefirearms training.

The bravery and achieve-ments of the MDP team, andthose they instructed duringtheir tenure, is all the moreimpressive as recruitment offemale personnel to the AUPincreased during their tenurefrom 16 to 39 people,including the first female AUPofficer in Gereshk.’

Following the statement and witha small but important training andinvestigation team of MDP officersremaining in theatre, the ChiefConstable and Management Boardput on record their thanks andcongratulations to all officers and staffwho have deployed or played a role insupporting MDP deployments inAfghanistan and other key Defencemissions overseas.

RETIRING ACC REFLECTS

Retiring ACC Central OperationsRobert Chidley has played a key role in co-ordinating the MDP’s responseto calls for overseas policing since he joined the Force in 2005 and soTalkThrough asked him to reflect onhow that response had fitted in withthe wider UK and global policingpicture.

He said: “When I joined MDP in 2005 we already had some commit-ment. We’d started the Pitcairnguardianship. My old Force, Kent, hadstarted this off when one of its femaleofficers went over there on a second-ment and realised that there were allsorts of wrong-doings occurring andraised the alarm.

“As well as the Pitcairn operationMDP were also in the Balkans, wherewe’d been for several years, initially ina joint operation with the Royal UlsterConstabulary, as it then was, butlatterly as one of the prime suppliersof civilian policing expertise from the UK.

“That made so much sensebecause actually it was the militaryunits that were trying to impose somesort of law and order there andworking with the military was what MDP did as the day job.

“Many international policingorganisations are as much based on amilitary model as they are on a civilian policing model. This isespecially noticeable when we wentoverseas on international duty and

worked alongside the Gendarmeries,for example. We tend to be very wellsuited to that because of the way wework and who we work with and thefact that if we need to be armed wecan be and are used to working in thatenvironment.

“So, for all those reasons I think itwas recognised, thank goodness, that

MDP was actually the natural policeforce that should be workingalongside UK military assets,” said Mr Chidley, adding that significantly ithad been agreed by the thenSecretary of State for Defence thatMDP could increase its numbers by upto 100 officers to take account of thisnew overseas commitment.

OVERSEAS OPERATIONS

CONTINUED . . .

PC CATRIONA McBEATH, currently stationed with OSUNorth, receives a Commendation from Chief Constable Alf Hitchcock for her ‘professionalism and dedication,building on previous work and acting as mentor to thefemale Afghan Uniformed Police (AUP).’

The citation continues: ‘This work required you to operate atsignificantly above your substantive rank in both the ISAF and AUPenvironment. You also displayed a high level of understanding ofthe cultural nuances and operational issues, where your skills weretested when you were called upon to use all your tact, diplomacyand empathy to rebuild the faith and resolve of the female AUPofficers following tragic deaths of three of their colleagues. Yourendeavours throughout your deployment have been exemplaryand upheld the finest traditions and ethos of the MDP.’

Afghanistan efforts commended

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It was frustrating to him that cutsin police numbers since then hadmeant that this standing capability wasno longer able to be called upon soreadily, he said.

“At one stage we had a high degreeof expertise, as you can see from thenumber of deployments we have done – 612 overseas deployments in14 locations to date. There are veryfew forces that would have anythinglike that level of experience.

“But more importantly are thelessons learned that we bring backfrom these things, so that when wehad people spread around a numberof countries we also had a review-learn-and-improve philosophy.

“As soon as people came back wedebriefed them, sometimes with theseconding department – FCO, theStabilisation Unit or whoever thatmight be – but we made sure that wecaptured what could be done betternext time.

“Also, the team that was runningthe show, up to and including me,were linked into theatre. We went andsaw what the issues were, we spoke to the people and tried to actuallyidentify what was working and whatwas not working and where to go with that.

“I’m pleased to say that MOD didrecognise that and in our Statementof Requirement, when it came to bereviewed a number of times, they said:

‘ Yes, we think actually your ability to support theGovernment and MOD overseas is something that we want to encourage andindeed support. ’

“If we look at the number ofplaces we have been to and who wehave worked with, we have coveredmost of the policing continuum, fromworking with beat bobbies andputting that in place right the waythrough to counter terrorism andorganised crime involvement.

“That doesn’t mean that we areexperts in any of these things, but itdoes mean that we understand thecontext in which we are working. The level that’s required probablydoesn’t need to have the all-singing,all-dancing expertise in any one ofthose fields; just an appreciation ofactually how that element works inthat country.

“For our officers, understandingthe environment that they work in,but transposing that to a completelydifferent world and different culturewas their biggest challenge. You’ve gotto get that challenge right.

“I think that’s where MDP hasdelivered, because of this innateunderstanding and the fact that we’vebeen at it a long time. We have had awonderful relationship with PJHQ inparticular, ever since we went intoAfghanistan in 2007-8.

“The thing that we can offer thatnobody else can is that we and ourpeople are more than happy workingright at the front line, or as near thefront line as practicable under theduty of care and safety regime, whichmeans that we’ve worked in ForwardOperating Bases which have only gotMOD staff in.

“I think the safety regime thatMOD has got, which is normally MDPworking in conjunction with theSupport to Operations team, meansthat we rely very much on our militarycolleagues, making sure that we havethe best information and that we thenassess the risks on that basis; that’swhat has worked so well.”

The first team that went out toAfghanistan in 2008 found conditionsto be very testing, he said. “It was nota normal situation for any cop to face– a quite extreme environment, notjust the physical conditions, but thepolitical environment, the danger,trying to engage with a very scepticallocal populace and an embryonic butalbeit then somewhat more corrupt

environment than we had ever beenused to working in, even at some ofthe other places we have been. Thewhole thing was a very challengingpicture.

“I can honestly say that almost to aman and woman that went out therefrom the MDP we do feel we made adifference. Whilst an officer is anofficer, I really take my hat off to ourfemale officers, who had to face notonly the difficulties of the situation,but also this in-built bias againstfemales, as well as having to deal withthe indigenous policing force, whichwas ninety-nine per cent male and,one could argue, was anti-female ofany description.

“If you look at the other stuff thatwe’ve done, some of which can’t bepublicised, we’ve pulled together anddone some things that no other forcecould put together. There are very few other forces that have got thesort of skill sets that are useful in thisalien environment – marine capability,the best in the UK, we’ve got theability for dealing with protest that are first class.

“We want to go to thesecountries, assist as either part of the UK Government’s or widerinternational community’s effort togive the indigenous population areasonable life.

“That’s got to be rule of law,whichever way you look at it. It mightnot be our rule of law. It might be acompletely different system, aninformal system, a tribal system,whatever. I think we’ve learned overour time doing this work that the firstthing you must always do is look atwhat you’ve got out there, decide ifyou can work with what is there and,if so, how you can do that.

“We had a very close relationshipwith the Stabilisation Unit five or sixyears ago, when it was working withinthe Foreign and CommonwealthOffice (FCO). We did a lot of jointthinking about what does theGovernment want to achieve, howcan the rule of law play a part andtherefore what part does policing and,in particular, MDP play?

“We put together some really goodpre-deployment courses covering theneed to understand the culture, the

politics, what the international regimeis trying to achieve out there and so,when we did go out there, we wereable normally to hit the groundrunning, with a pretty good idea ofwhat we were going into.

“Looking forwards, I think we havegot in UK policing and within MDPstill some very capable people whowould definitely be up for thechallenge and want to contribute toany future overseas policingoperations.

“I’d be confident that if we weregiven the challenge we would rise toit. Because we are now so much moreintegrated with the thinking and theplanning with PJHQ in particular andtherefore Joint Force Command, I’dlike to think the next logical step isthat we would be integrated withinGovernmental thinking and MODhierarchy that this is where we shouldbe going.”

OVERSEAS OPERATIONS

2120

for continuation training and thedevelopment of firearms tacticaldoctrine at AWE.

The day concluded with a visit tothe indoor range, where the Ministerreceived further demonstrations andtook the opportunity to talk to opera-tional officers about the variety of rolesundertaken by the MDP. This beganwith a demonstration by a ProtestRemoval Team, and an overview ofoptical evidence gathering.

The Minister then met some four legged members of the MDP,including a General Purpose policedog, a TFSD, and Explosives andDrugs search dog teams. She was then given an overview of the widerange of lethal and non-lethalweapons, and introduced tooperational AFOs from shift.

This was followed by an overviewof TSG capability, including CBRN and Teams Medics. The visit endedwith a Tactical replay and de-brief ofthe TSG-led exercise, using the TESsoftware.

At the conclusion of the visit theMinister stated:

‘ I had a broad understand-ing about the depth of the roleswhich the MDP undertakes, butthere is no substitute for seeingit on the ground. I am deeplyimpressed with the level ofcapability, professionalism andpride displayed by members ofthe Force. I was particularlystruck by your high end capabilityand comparisons with the workof Home Office Police Forces. ’

The Minister also acknowledgedthe effort and hard work that hadgone into putting the visit and thedemonstrations together by everyoneat AWE.

� The Rt Hon ANNA SOUBRYMP, Minister for DefencePersonnel Welfare and Veteransvisited AWE in February andreceived a comprehensivebriefing on the role and operat-ional capability of the MDP.She was welcomed by ChiefConstable Alf Hitchcock andT/ACC Divisional OperationsPaul McLaughlin.

The visit began with a briefing onthe role and structure of the Force,followed by specific operationalbriefings on the work of the SpecialEscort Group (SEG) by Supt JimmyRussell and the MDP operation atAWE by Senior Police Officer SuptDave Pawley. The Minister was also

introduced to other key stakeholdersincluding the AWE Managing Directorand Strategic Weapons (MOD DE&S)personnel.

The briefings were followed by avisit to the SEG, where the Ministerwas given a comprehensive overviewof all aspects of the convoy by aconvoy commander, Chief Inspr John Avery, and shown many of theconstituent parts that make up aconvoy when operationally deployed.

She also participated in a live Taserdemonstration.

This was followed by a compre-hensive demonstration of the layeredapproach to the MDP operation atAWE, commencing with a visit to themain control room, followed by a liveexercise led by Chief Inspr Phil Lucy (a tactical firearms commander),which included a demonstration of capability by officers from theResponse Force and the TacticalSupport Group (TSG). This dynamicphase of the visit also allowed thecapabilities of a Tactical FirearmsSupport Dog (TFSD) and a RifleOfficer to be shown.

Following conclusion of the liveexercise, a second TSG demonstrationwas carried out to show the positiveutility of the Tactical EngagementSystem (TES), an important tool used

Minister visits AWE for fullbriefing on MDP capability

Photos by PS Pete Drummond

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� Chief Constable Alf Hitchcocktook part in the first College ofPolicing EVIDENCE BASE CAMPin February, involving more than60 officers and key staff beingtrained in research techniquesand using them to address fiveimportant issues on behalf ofthe police service.

The research teams took part in ahighly intensive process over two daysto systematically examine andsynthesise the following issues:

� Dealing with people suffering a mental health crisis

� Policing approaches to prostitution

� Mental health within the police service

� Barriers to progression of minorities in the police service

� Approaches to tackling theft fromthe person

The teams all started with wideresearch parameters, and began withmore than one thousand research andacademic papers, which were refinedto establish those most clearly alignedto the questions to be addressed andthose that would provide the greatestvalidity to the problem beingexamined.

Having used the process to identifythe 30-50 most useful papers, theteams then provided a synthesis of thekey findings.

Mr Hitchcock and four other seniorpolice officers were used as part of theassessment and challenge panel for thework carried out by the teams. Thiselement was designed to allow rigorousquestioning of both the methodologyand the research conclusions.

The Evidence Base Camp wasconcluded by an expert panel sessionchaired by Professor Dame ShirleyPearce, Chair of the College ofPolicing. The Chief Constable joined

Dame Shirley and the other seniorofficers on this panel answeringquestions on the research areas andwider policing issues.

The full panel comprised:

Professor Dame Shirley Pearce –Chair of the College of Policing

ACC Paul Kay, Leicestershire Police –National lead on Mental HealthPolicing

Det Sergt John O’Brien, Met Police –Met Police Prostitution Lead

Dr Steve Chase, Thames Valley Police– National lead on People andWorkforce

CC Peter Vaughan, South WalesPolice – National lead on Crime –Acquisitive Crime

CC Alf Hitchcock, MOD Police –National lead on Equality Diversity andHuman Rights

Rachael Tuffin – College of PolicingDirector – Research

‘EvidenceBase Camp’probes keypolicing issues

� Assistant Chief ConstableCentral Operations ROBERTCHIDLEY retires from theForce this month aftercompleting almost 40 years’police service.

Appointed at the end of 2004, hetook up his ACC duties in January 2005after a distinguished career in theMetropolitan Police Service and KentPolice, from where he joined MDP.

TalkThrough asked Mr Chidley to look back at his time with the MOD Police and to cast his mind back to whathad attracted him to the Force in the first place.

He said: “I suppose, looking back, I joined MDP, or MDPGA as it then was, because it had a number of different facets.

“Until you are inside the organisation

I don’t think anyone can really appreciate

or understand the differences between

what MDP does and what most other

forces do – particularly purely territorial,

geographic forces.

“What appealed to me was the

different capability that was required of

this Force. Accepting that we don’t do all

of the policing cake, there are some slices

of that cake where we are either amongst

the leaders or are indeed the market

leaders in what we do.

“I think that’s developed over my

time with MDP, not because of me, but

certainly as part of my contribution

towards building up where we are. And

the things that I would identify there

would be high value niche capability for

the MOD and for the Government

as well.

‘One of my passions is thatUK policing is one of the bestpolicing models in the world forthe service it gives to the publicand, therefore, the internationalpolicing element of what we doon the UK’s behalf and to assistother countries has been verydear to my heart.’

“But also, if you look at the expertisethat exists in handling some very complexpolicing operations, including our maritimecommitments and the escorting and safecustody of elements that are vital to theUK, then we do become pretty unique inthat respect,” said Mr Chidley.

“Over my time I think we have movedfrom being broadly similar to a number ofother forces into a much more specialised,refined area of policing capability that veryfew forces have got.

“When you overlay that with thegeographic locations we work in, and thelocal knowledge that’s needed to beeffective in there, you could argue thatprobably no other force has got thosequalities, which is why we’ve got the jobthat we’ve got.”

Mr Chidley said he had seen thisaspect of the MDP mature and developduring his nine years with the Force: “That says a lot about our people andtheir enthusiasm, drive and capabilitywhen, quite honestly, it has been a bit of arollercoaster almost for the last six years,”he said.

“We have been in some state ofdegradation, either because of financiallimitations – including, for example, the cuts in overtime and the ban onrecruitment – or because of thereorganisation of the Force, following the down-sizing of the whole of the MOD establishment, which obviouslyincluded us.

“Added to that has been theuncertainty over whether some of ourspecialist areas were going to even

ACC RobertChidley retires

Interview by Norman Hicks

CONTINUED . . .

2524

ACC ROBERT CHIDLEY RETIRES

continue – and the prime example for methere is CID, where we weren’t big tobegin with. Although we deal only withvery specific elements of crime, I think wehave had some outstanding successes,some of which will never become public.

“That’s another great strength that Isee in the Force – although it is probably toits own detriment – we just get on and dothe job and in the majority of cases do itcompetently, confidently and confidentiallyand I think that’s a real asset.”

Some of the bureaucratic hoops theForce had been made to go through toachieve its current position he had foundfrustrating, he said, adding: “Some of thatis just as a result of us being a very smallpart of the huge organisation that is theMOD, and in some respects being neitherfish nor fowl.

“We are not military, clearly, butneither in some respects are we civilian.We sit somewhere in an uncomfortablemiddle very often. That, particularly in myfirst job here, as Director of ProfessionalDevelopment, highlighted how we wereworking within a hybrid of a bit of a policesystem, a bit of a civil service system andthen a bit of MDP home-grown, yetwithout the ability to really steer our ownship in many cases. That was frustrating,”he said.

Mr Chidley thought ‘the jury is stillout’ on whether the merger of MDP withthe MOD Guard Service to form a singleAgency had been a good or a bad thing.

“We put an awful lot of effort into‘two badges, one service’ and particularlywithin my area of responsibility, to movetraining together and I think we werepretty successful in doing that,” he said.

A lot of effort had been put intoreorganising the Force to a smallerorganisation since the Agency was de-merged and Mr Chidley said he felt theproposed post implementation reviewwithin six to twelve months would beessential, to give assurance that the finalsize and shape was the correct one.

He said: “I’d be the first to say, well wedidn’t get that quite right, but at least wedid something and we moved in the rightdirection and then you can fine tune it.”

One of MDP’s strengths was itsgeneral stability, said Mr Chidley.“Although we do have people who don’tstay with us for very long and come in

from other forces, as indeed I did, thestability we offer, with many people doingthe same or much the same role for anumber of years is of huge benefit.

“It’s great because we understandwhat we are doing and in the main provethat we can do that. The problems arisewhen the people who we work with, ifthey’re on an eighteen months or two-year rotation, move on just as soon as they really start to understand how orwhere that policing and guarding jigsaw all fits together.

‘ Looking back at mycareer, the Olympics andMDP’s role and contrib-ution to the excellenceprovided by the UK policeand military will remain oneof the highlights if not thehighlight – apart from thepeople I have had thepleasure of working with.’“I think a similar issue exists with

people who come and look at us, whetherthey are consultants or whether they areinspecting in some shape or form. Unlessthey have a really good understanding ofhow that jigsaw fits together it’s verydifficult for them to realistically apprisehow good we are or not.

“I think one of the things that I’velearnt over my somewhat long experiencenow is trying to rationalise constructivecriticism against ill-informed judgment is abit of a personal as well as an organis-ational challenge. One is welcomed andone is unhelpful.

“Where I think we differ from manyforces is that much of what we do, we doto stop things happening, or to react

decisively where something has gonedrastically wrong. In both of thosescenarios we actually hope that we don’thave too many live experiences to say well, how did that one go?

“In some cases we do an awful lot ofsome quite specific policing. I’ll mentionprotesters as a classic example. We reallydo understand how to deal with protestersand how to balance the rights to peacefulprotest – or lawful protest, it’s not alwayspeaceful – against the disruption andpotential risk to the very purpose that weare there to safeguard. I don’t think that’sover-stated at all.

“If you asked me what has been thehighlight of my time with MDP, I think itwould have to be the sheer delivery thatwe’ve done on a number of fronts thateither I’ve been a party to or, certainly insome cases, a party to the delivery of.

“And they would be Internationalpolicing, definitely, both in the Balkans andAfghanistan in particular; the developmentof the high end capability, such as theTactical Support Group, OSU and MarineUnits; the discreet skills that we’ve honedwith regard to dealing with protest,ensuring safety at difficult public eventsand the once in a career event, when I wasthe Olympic Gold for MDP.

“Throughout the period of theOlympics we were getting asked for moreand more contribution on a range ofissues that never made the headlines, butwere an essential part to the UK’s verysuccessful security operation around theGames and which I think MDP were proudto play a part in and contribute to.

“I certainly recognise that our peoplein particular did an outstanding job, oftenat short notice, in difficult circumstances,in a unique environment. We had firearmsoperations where we never dreamed wewould be doing that sort of thing andbringing the marine crews, especially manycoxswains down from Scotland to work onthe Thames, with all of the differentnuances that that involved was atremendous job.

“Looking back at my career, theOlympics and MDP’s role and contributionto the excellence provided by the UKpolice and military will remain one of thehighlights if not the highlight – apart fromthe people I have had the pleasure ofworking with,” he said.

� AN EVENT led by MDPChief Constable Alf Hitchcockin January drew together keyleaders from police forcesacross the country to tacklethe issues of violence, gangs,knife and gun crime.

Held in central London, it involvedsenior practitioners from almost everyHome Office police force in aworkshop to share good practice andto examine ways of building onprevious successful approaches.

Attendees were welcomed byStephanie Waddell, acting head of theHome Office’s Public Space ViolenceTeam, who introduced Mr Hitchcockin his capacity as National PolicingLead for the Knife-Enabled CrimeWorking Group.

Mr Hitchcock set the workshopinto the context of previous work orinitiatives and current patterns in

relation to violence, gangs, guns and knives.

Presentations were also given ongun crime, national ballisticintelligence, stop and search, tacklingpriority gang nominals and changingcommunity perception.

The interconnection of violence togangs, guns, knives and wider societalissues and solutions was exploredthroughout the day. Facilitatedsessions worked through the methodswhich are seen to be tackling theseissues effectively, how forces canrespond to future challenges and howthe Government and local partnerscan assist.

Det Supt Paula Parker, from theNational Crime Agency, and IainO’Brien, from the National BallisticsIntelligence Service, gavepresentations on the changing natureof gun crime and how preventionmethods can work.

Metropolitan Police and WestYorkshire Police provided updates oncurrent initiatives being used for thetargeting of priority gang membersand how work with communities canchange perceptions of young people.

Karyn McCluskey, Director of theScottish Violence Reduction Unit tookdelegates through the health-centredapproach which has been adopted asthe national model in Scotland.

The sessions were closed by theHome Office Minister for CrimePrevention, Norman Baker MP, whorecognised the vital work of the policeservice in tackling violent crime, aswell as explaining that sustainablechange requires continued strongpartnership working.

The outputs from the workshopare now being drawn together toprovide short, medium and long-termthemes, with significant learning beingshared with forces through theCollege of Policing.

Chief leads violent crimenational workshop

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� The COLLEGE OF POLICING(COP) at Ryton was the venuefor a stock take event, to mark the anniversary of theEquality and Human RightsCommission’s (EHRC) reportinto disability hate crime – ‘Out in the Open: A Manifestofor Change’.

Leading the debate was MDP ChiefConstable Alf Hitchcock, who heads upthe Equality, Diversity and HumanRights Business Area for the Associationof Chief Police Officers (ACPO).

As well as updates from EHRC and the Crown Prosecution Service,workshops focused on a number ofaspects of disability hate crime andthere was also a session led by FionaMcLean, of COP’s Research, Analysisand Information Unit, on its work tocreate profiles of disability hate crimeperpetrators and to launch a dataanalysis toolkit for police forces.

In his opening address MrHitchcock recalled the background tothe EHRC report ‘Out in the Open’.

He said: “Back on December 3rd2009, which was the International Dayof Disabled People, the Equality andHuman Rights Commission announcedthat it was going to conduct a formalinquiry into the actions of publicauthorities to eliminate disability-related harassment and its causes.

“This announcement followed theCommission’s research earlier that yearinto the safety and security of disabledpeople, which had concluded that thefocus within policy and legislationneeded to shift to ‘justice and redress’from that of ‘help and protection’.

“In November 2010 the EHRCInquiry Panel took formal evidencefrom colleagues in their dual capacitiesas senior police leaders and ACPO

Business Area leads, gathering muchevidence from this exercise and withcertain key themes to their questions:

� The importance of leadership

� The impact of the public spending review

� The range of interventions being delivered for disabled people, young disabled people and disabled people who are victims of domestic abuse and serious sexual or violent crimes

� The benefits of partnership working

� Reporting and recording practices

� Risk Assessment

� Access to services

� Monitoring of Investigations

� Use of Special Measures

� Understanding the causes of disability-related harassment

The final report, titled ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’, was published inSeptember 2011, with nationalGold and Silver Groups establishedahead of publication to advise andsupport forces, said Mr Hitchcock.

There were eight police specificrecommendations:

� Understand the characteristics and motivations of perpetrators

� Review ‘no criming’ and ‘motiveless’ procedures

� Take a prompt lead in investigating all repeat cases of disability-related harassment

� Repeat victimisation should receive a higher-priority status for resolution

� A named officer should provide victims and witnesses with acknowledgment of their incident

� Potential aggravated offences should be considered where disability may be a factor

� The seriousness of the offence should form the basis for any police investigation

� Identify where ‘special measures’ may be required as soon as possible

Mr Hitchcock reminded delegatesthat the response to ‘Hidden in PlainSight’ had been a real commitment bythe police service to tackle disability-related hate crime.

“It was apparent that we werepushing on an open door, with themajority of forces agreeing with thespirit of the recommendations, with afinal response and joint COP andACPO Action Plan submitted to theEHRC and rolled out to forces in June 2012,” he said.

In October of that year theCommission released its Manifesto for

Change: Out in the Open and said that authorities needed to take furthersteps to ensure that harassment ofdisabled people was taken moreseriously and is not allowed to escalate.

The recommendations in themanifesto were broadly similar to thosein the original Commission report andon that basis the joint COP and ACPOAction Plan remained unaltered.

A year on and all forces were asked to provide a progress report andshare good practice, with a responsesubmitted to the EHRC in Septemberlast year, two months ahead of theStock Take event.

“This event has been designed tobring delegates up-to-speed with whatis going on at the national level, toshare good practice and to networkwith colleagues from other forces andagencies,” said Mr Hitchcock.

The EHRC has pledged to revisit its inquiry after three and five years(2015 and 2017) and the COP andpolice service, both nationally and

locally, will do the same, he added.

“I am really pleased towelcome Lord Holmes, aCommissioner for theEHRC, and Mike Smith, who was the chairman ofthe report ‘Hidden in PlainSight’ and who workedclosely with the College and ACPO whilst we wereformulating the nationalresponse.

“It’s great that ChrisHolmes is continuing tosupport us as we moveforward,” said Mr Hitchcock.

He also welcomed otherkey speakers and colleaguesrepresenting Welsh forces, as well as those from thirdsector organisations, charitiesand disabled people’s organis-

ations, thanking them for giving uptheir time to deliver workshops andinformation stalls, in order to sharetheir expertise.

“By the end of the day it is hoped you will be going back to yourrespective areas with a wealth of newinformation and practice that willenhance your in-force hate crimeaction plans and policies and enableyou to continue to identify ways inwhich you can improve how yourecord and respond to hate crime,particularly disability hate crime.

‘Whilst it is clear we havemade significant progress overthe last 18 months or so, we arestill in the early stages of thejourney – a journey that needs tocontinue until disabled peoplehave complete confidence in thepolice to report hate crime andthe belief that they will be takenseriously and will achieve asatisfactory outcome,’said Mr Hitchcock.

MDP CHIEF LEADS THE DEBATE

Disability hate crimeput in spotlightat national event

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FRIDAY 31 JANUARY 2014saw the retirement ofTerritorial Division (TD)Operational Support ChiefInspector Tony Penfold, afteralmost 40 years’ service.

Tony joined the MOD Police in1975 at HMNB Chatham, andcompleted 39 years and 18 days ofeventful and noteworthy service.D/SPO RAF Menwith Hill, SPO RAF Fylingdales and overseasdeployment to Sudan are amongstthe highlights of Tony’s variedcareer.

TD HQ and OCC police andcivilian staff gathered together togive Tony a good send off, presenthim with a hand-made cake andwish him all the best in the future.

TD Divisional Commander ChiefSupt Mick O’Byrne gave a shortspeech where he congratulatedTony for his dedication andprofessionalism though out hiscareer. Mr O’Byrne then presentedTony with a framed ValedictoryLetter from MDP Chief Constable

Alf Hitchcock and presented a floralbouquet to Tony’s wife, Coleen.

Tony thanked everyone for theircomments and gifts. He said he waslooking forward to retirement, togive time back to Coleen, whom hethanked for following him aroundthe country.

He was now going to let hermake the decision where to go nextand was looking forward to movingto Staffordshire.

Tony gave a final comment thathe was most looking forward to –“no more getting up at stupido’clock.”

Long-serving Tony retires

FROM: The Judge Advocate General,His Honour Judge Jeff BlackettI write to thank all of those who provided supportto OP TELEMETER, during the recent Marine trialat Bulford Military Court Centre. From thesubsequent public and press reaction to the eventsin court, it is easy to see with hindsight, the criticalimportance of the security plan. More significantlywe can now imagine the consequences had it notbeen successful.

It would be wrong to pick out any one individualfor special mention, but given the importance ofthe trial it is right to say that everyone involvedcan view their effort as contributing to animportant moment in the history of the ServiceJustice System. The fact that the trial wasconducted in a safe and secure manner is a matterof great credit to those participated in theoperation.

I would ask that my thanks are given the widestdissemination and that regardless of rank orfunction everyone take pride in a job well done.

LETTERS

FROM: Rear Admiral John Lippiett,Chief Executive, The Mary Rose TrustNow that the dust is settling after last week’s mostsuccessful visit by TRH The Prince of Wales andThe Duchess of Cornwall, I wanted to drop you abrief letter to say how much we appreciated yourdiscrete and sympathetic approach to the searchduties.

I am fully aware of the enormous amount of workthis creates and the way in which you, as the Polsa(Police Search Adviser) pull together the securityaspects behind the scenes. Your attention to ourneeds and the way in which you accommodatedthe searches to ensure minimum visitor disruptionis admirable and very much appreciated by me andthe entire Mary Rose team.

I know you and your police officers are on duty andhave a task to perform, but I hope that you allenjoy the Mary Rose experience and feel at homeamongst the team. I know that you have followedthe new museum project throughout itsdevelopment and I hope that there are futureopportunities to be involved again.In the meantime, I would be grateful if our thanksand appreciation could be passed on to the MDPteam for a well-executed and professional job.

Well done, and thank you_.

Farewell from JudithAfter more than 11 years in the CorporateCommunications Department, including ten workingin support of the Editor of TalkThrough, andfollowing the Headquarters Review, Judith Slater hasfound a new role at Wethersfield.

Before she left, she sent in this final submission:

‘Dear Readers,

I could not leave the editorial team of TalkThrough without saying ‘Goodbye’ to you all.

Having the opportunity to support the Editor, by contributing articles, and makingcontact with many MDP officers throughout the country, has been inspiring andenjoyable.

I just hope you have gained as much enjoyment from reading my articles, as I havehad putting them together. I stayed the course for so long, because this was a new-found role which has been the best in my working career so far.

I am moving on and my new post will be as Capability Manager at the OperationalCapability Centre (OCC) here at Wethersfield. Working more closely with police wasmy wish, and so it has transpired.

Best wishes.

Judith Slater’

Thank you Judith and we wish you well in your new role.

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� A FIRST for the Clyde MarineUnit (CMU) and indeed UKpolice and military units tookplace between 11 and 20January 2014, when sevenCMU officers and 18 militaryranks from 43 Commando,Faslane Patrol Boat Squadronand the Maritime WarfareCentre deployed overseas fortraining purposes to Kings BayNaval Base in Georgia, USA.

The Kings Bay United States NavalBase is in the south-eastern corner ofGeorgia, immediately north of theinterstate boundary with Florida. TheBase supports US Trident submarineoperations and benefits from the fulltime presence of the United StatesCoastguard, who fulfil the mission ofassuring the safe and unimpededpassage of submarines into Kings Bayand out to sea.

To assist the US Coastguard inrehearsing operational deployments,developing operating procedures anddefensive tactics a Trident TrainingSimulator was introduced several yearsago as a means of creating computergenerated virtual escorts.

Ongoing development ofcomputer technology has enabled thecreation of a catalogue of security,natural hazards and law enforcementincidents which can be played out forthe benefit of students who are ableto exercise and hone decision making skills.

In the context of how the UKprotects submarines at sea thefacilities demonstrated the ability toreplicate a situation on the Clydewaterways, which lent further realityto the 14 exercises that spanned thefull range of possible events fromnavigational hazards, peace protests,through to the need to counter adetermined terrorist attack.

The intensive series of exercisesheld over four days were preceded byUS Coastguard tactical demonstrationson the water. As would be expected,this stimulated a great deal ofdiscussion over craft and weaponcapability in particular.

Whilst it’s fair to say that theCoastguard perform their role with an impressive array of hardware andcapability, they were keen to learnfrom CMU in particular as to howpassive protest actions are counteredin Scotland and how our tactics can be adapted within the US context.

The exercise and precursor events were opened and closed bySuperintendent Dennis Jackson,Senior Police Officer, Clyde Group,who reflected:

‘ All of the UK participants –both police and military –benefitted enormously from theexposure at Kings Bay.’

By Inspr Christopher Burt,Operations Inspector,Clyde Marine Unit

DIVISIONAL COMMANDER’SCOMMENDATIONS werepresented in October 2013 toPS Chris Watkins and PC AlexOsman of Whitehall for theirwork in obtaining convictionsagainst a member of contractcleaning staff who had plaguedoffices in Main Building forseveral months with a series ofthefts of personal and MODproperty.

Also commended was Det InsprIain Stackhouse, who supportedthe investigation with analyticalwork and advice on obtainingtelecom authorities.

The offender eventuallypleaded guilty to ten specimencharges of theft and was sentencedto three years’ imprisonment,suspended for 12 months. Propertyvalued at £4,000 was recoveredfrom various premises.

ANTIQUE SWORDIn June 2013 an antique sword wasreported as stolen from the MainBuilding offices of the Chief ofStaff. The sword was described as‘irreplaceable’ and dated from thereign of George IV.

Enquiries were initiated and ona hunch PC Tahir Mahboobsearched the utility areas in the

basement of Main Building whilsthe was on night shift. He locatedthe sword and retrieved it from arubbish compactor machine.

It appears that the sword, whichwas inside a nondescript box, hadbeen inadvertently collected bycleaning staff and would have beencrushed and lost the next day if itwere not for PC Mahboob’sinitiative.

In January 2014 a male wasdetained early one morning by PC Patrick Knight for smashingwindows valued £3,000 at TheBanqueting House in Whitehall.

The offence had been reportedto MDP by a member of MODcontract cleaning staff who was enroute to work at the Old WarOffice. PC Knight located the malenearby and arrested him, followingan admission of responsibility.

Whitehall officerscommended

“It is difficult to imagine a situationat home where such a range ofchallenging and realistic exercisescould be put together to depict such asense of realism. To have both tacticaland operational level personnel fullyinvolved was a major benefit andallowed all present to contribute

meaningfully toward the refinementof escort tactics relevant to theprotection of the UK deterrent.

“Speaking from a police perspectivein particular the understanding we havebuilt this week with our US Coastguardcolleagues has been mutually beneficialand I sincerely hope creates the

momentum and intent to develop anenduring professional relationship.”

The Clyde Marine Unit is currentlyrecruiting personnel. Anyone wishingto learn more about the currentprocess to join the unit are encourag-ed to telephone Inspector ChristineCameron on 01436 674321 x 3047.

Overseas Trident trainingfirst forCMU Royal Marines 43 Commando, RN Fleet Protection, Coastguard and CMU MDP

Were you lucky?

DECEMBER 2013

1st £4,000 Miss S Hill, MDP HQ Div Ops

2nd £1,000 PC J G Brown, HMNB Devonport

3rd £200 PS G M Kinney, HMNB Clyde

4th £200 Mr P Covill, RAF Menwith Hill

5th £200 Chief Inspr R J Pezet, AWE Aldermaston

6th £200 PC G P Monk, MDP Hereford

7th £200 PC E A Tripp, MDP Hereford

JANUARY 2014

1st £4,000 PS D Greenhill, HMNB Clyde

2nd £1,000 PC R J Randall, DSTL Porton Down

3rd £200 PC D E Fryer, MDP Hereford

4th £200 Inspr S J Wilson, HMNB Clyde (Coulport)

5th £200 PS D J McIlwraith, OSU (North)

6th £200 PS D Glenn, AWE (A)

7th £200 PC P A Parks, AWE (A)

FEBRUARY 2014

1st £4,000 PC M P Bull, AWE Aldermaston

2nd £1,000 PS N A Chisholm, HQ PSD

3rd £200 Mr D Parnell, Retired Officer

4th £200 PS G Lyttle, DCPO NI

5th £200 PS C E Smith, OSU (South)

6th £200 PS I A Hurrell, Kineton

7th £200 PC P W Hurford, Porton Down

See who won the MDP Central Sports and Welfare Association’sLottery draws in December 2013, January and February 2014.

3332

The Chief Constable ofEssex, Stephen Kavanagh –who took over the countyForce at about the sametime last year as CC AlfHitchcock was beginninghis term of office with MDP– paid a familiarisation visitto Wethersfield HQ inDecember.

He was welcomed byDeputy Chief Constable GerryMcAuley and given an overview of the Force and itsHeadquarters facilities by MrHitchcock and the DCC.

Mr McAuley then took Mr Kavanagh on a windscreentour of the site, including a visitto the accommodation block,hosted by Cheryl Spiers of theDefence InfrastructureOrganisation and theOperational Capability Centre(Training Centre), hosted byChief Inspr Matt Spiers.

New Essex CCvisits MDP HQ

� THE PROMPT ACTIONS of Devonport Marine Unitofficers prevented a badsituation getting worse after a motor boat fire in PlymouthSound.

The incident occurred at around2.45pm on Wednesday 22 January2014. Whilst on patrol in PlymouthSound in a Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB), PC Mick Anderson andPC Nic White were made aware by amember of the public that there wassmoke coming from a motor boat onthe West side of the Sound.

The officers made for the area at maximum speed and as they app-roached they could see smoke risingfrom the 27ft motor cruiser ‘Sukit’.

Getting closer still, they could see that the fibreglass cruiser was well alight and that the crew of threemen had jumped into the sea andwere swimming away from theburning boat.

Fortunately, the crew in the waterwere all wearing life jackets and PCsAnderson and White quicklyrecovered them into the police RHIB.

Although the casualties had onlybeen in the sea for a few minutes theywere extremely cold and shocked, butreported no injuries.

Police Launch Integrity was in thearea carrying out training for potentialMarine Unit officers, so the recoveredcrew were transferred aboard wherethey could be warmed up beforebeing taken ashore to the Yacht

Haven, where they declined anyfurther medical attention.

PCs Anderson and Whiteremained on scene, along with asecond MDP RHIB, to keep the public away whilst the PlymouthLifeboat and Devon and SomersetFireboat attempted to extinguish the fire.

The blaze proved difficult to putout and what remained of the ruinedmotor boat was later deliberately sunk just off the Breakwater, where it would not cause any obstruction toother vessels.

It was later established that the fire had been caused by an electricalfault and that the on-board fireextinguisher had failed to function.

Threerescued

from boatblaze

Published by the Ministry of Defence Police and produced by Williams Lea Ltd (03/14)

Photograph: Paul Kemp

Sniffing out crimeMDP dog handler PC Glen Morby and his dog Bono,patrolling thequayside at HMNBPortsmouth.