West Midlands Police (WMP) has defended the high number of officers injured during training last year.
The police department reported 125 officers who were injured during personal safety training (PST) in 2006, up from 54 in 2005.
WMP said a new training protocol had been introduced in 2006, which meant that all injuries, including minor incidents, were now recorded.
PST involves two-and-a half days of intensive training, incorporating a wide range of exercises including public order training, using shields, fire-arms training, and other training regimes that carried a risk of injury.
Chris Rowson, corporate services personnel manager at West Midlands Police, told Personnel Today: “We introduced a new training protocol last year where we took the decision to record every injury – the vast majority of which are minor.”
Rowson also pointed to a decline in injury figures for 2007. “So far this year, up to the end of August, 67 incidents have been recorded, with the end-of-year figure projected to be about 100.”
He said the WMP has launched an accident and assault analysis group to meet every month to examine figures for accidents sustained during PST, and that an increased health and safety culture would lead to a reduction in the number of accidents.
