Police officers warned of 'slippery leaves' and 'bright sunshine' in new seasonal safety leaflet

Published 30th Oct 2009

Police have been told to watch out for a peril which could lurk around every corner - wet leaves.

In a health and safety campaign, bobbies on the beat are being warned to beware 'slippery leaves' in autumn, snow in winter, 'sudden downpours' in spring and even the sun in summer.

But the seasonal poster campaign by West Midlands Police has angered officers, who say it is just 'stating the bleeding obvious'.

It comes after the force, which is Britain's second largest with 8,460 officers, saw the number of accidents rocket from 787 officers injured in 2002-3 to 1,411 in 2008-9.

That is almost double the number of officers injured when they were assaulted on duty, which stood at 822 in 2008-9.
A policeman walking

Between April and August this year, 66 police officers and 17 members of police staff reported slipping, tripping or falling on duty.

In a bid to tackle the problem, the force will launch a series of seasonal poster campaigns in November.

A report from the force's personnel committee seen by the industry magazine Police Review states: 'It is intended that a series of four seasonal campaigns will be introduced throughout the forthcoming months.

'As the winter approaches, a campaign dedicated to slips, trips and falls and adverse weather conditions will be introduced in November based on safety awareness posters.

'The other seasons introduce their own seasonal risk, for example heat stress in the summer and impaired visibility through sunshine; in autumn, slippery surfaces due to leaves, sun at low point in sky affecting visibility; and in spring, sudden downpours.'

But critics accused police chiefs of ' nannying' officers and wasting taxpayers' money.

Andy Gilbert, chairman of West Midlands Police Federation, told Police Review: 'While we welcome anything that enhances officer safety, there is a clear danger here of being patronising and stating the bleeding obvious.'

A spokesman for the TaxPayers' Alliance called the initiative 'absurd'.

Yesterday a spokesman for West Midlands Police said the force would now consider emailing officers with the advice rather than printing posters.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

View All Nonsense News