Health and safety performance

Report: 10
Date: 11 September 2008
By: Director of Human Resources on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

1. A comparison of injuries reported on the Metropolitan Police Accident and Incident Reporting System (MetAIR) between July 2006 - June 2007 and July 2007 - June 2008 indicates:

• Total accident rate fell by 8.1%;
• major accident rate remained the same;
• over three day accident rate fell by 19.1%;
• slip, trip and fall accident rate decreased by 2.6%;
• moving vehicle accident rate fell by 9.2%;
• injuries to police officers following assault rate fell by 5.6%;
• injuries to PCSOs following assault rate increased by 41.3%.

2. The MPS with other police and fire leaders are working with the Health and Safety Executive to develop a high level statement defining the balance between emergency services response and compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act.

A. Recommendation

That members note the report.

B. Supporting information

Summary of injuries reported on the Metropolitan Police Accident and Incident Reporting System (MetAIR)

1. A summary of the injuries reported on the Metropolitan Police Accident and Incident Reporting System (MetAIR) between July 2006 - June 2007 and July 2007 - June 2008, is shown at Appendix 1. In summary comparing these two reference periods indicates:

• Total accident rate fell by 8.1%;
• major accident rate remained the same;
• over three day accident rate fell by 19.1%;
• slip, trip and fall accident rate decreased by 2.6%;
• moving vehicle accident rate fell by 9.2%;
• injuries to police officers following assault rate fell by 5.6%;
• injuries to PCSOs following assault rate increased by 41.3%.

2. June 2008 saw a reduction in the total numbers of reports on the MetAIR system (538) compared to May 2008 (589). This shows a continued, sustained reduction in accident reports in the last three months. When compared to the same period in 2006/07 the figures show a significant drop in the number of reported injuries (608). The annual rolling average for 2007/08 is in decline, and is at a lower rate than for the year 2006/07.

Major and over three day injuries

3. A summary of the major injuries reported on MetAIR between July 2006 - June 2007 and July 2007 - June 2008 is shown at Appendix 2.

4. There was a slight increase in the number of major accidents recorded on MetAIR from 12 in April 2008 to 14 in June 2008, as demonstrated in the table below. Despite this increase, the annual rolling average is still in decline.

5. Of the 40 Major accidents recorded on MetAIR between April 2008 and June 2008:

• 32% were classified as ‘another kind of accident’;
• 30% slipped tripped or fell (inc from height);
• 25% were physically assaulted;
• 10% were as a result of hitting something fixed/stationary;
• 3% were hit by a moving vehicle;
• the main types of injury sustained as a result of a major injury over this three month period are as follows:
  • 52.5% - injuries to the wrists, hands and arms;
  • 17.5% - injuries to the shoulder/collarbone;
  • 15% - injuries to the legs, ankles and feet;
  • 7.5% - injuries to the chest;
  • 5% - injuries to the head resulting in concussion;
  • 2.5% - injuries to the nose;
• training accidents accounted for 25% of the major injuries for this period.

6. A summary of the over three day injuries reported on MetAIR between July 2006 - June 2007 and July 2007 - June 2008 is shown at Appendix 3.

7. There was a decrease in the number of reported over three day injuries from 96 in April 2008 to 63 in June 2008, as demonstrated in the table below. The annual rolling average for the year is still decreasing.

• Of the 235 over 3 day injuries recorded:
  • 35% were as a result of what is classed as 'another kind of accident';
  • 22% were as a result of being hit by a moving vehicle;
  • 21% from being physically assaulted;
  • 11% were as a result of slips, trips and falls;
• the remainder of 11% had a wide range of causations with no obvious trends.

Injury following physical assaults on police officers and PCSOs

8. A summary of the injuries following assault reported on MetAIR between July 2006 – June 2007 and July 2007 - June 2008 is shown at Appendices 4 and 5.

9. There were 582 assaults recorded on MetAIR between April 2008 and June 2008, of which:

• 554 were to police officers;
• 28 were to PCSOs.

A monthly breakdown for Apr-Jun is shown in the tables below:

10. Overall, injury following assaults against police officers (Appendix 4) has decreased from April 08 to June 08 (193 to 167). For the same period in 06/07 the total figure was 588, which shows there has been a like for like decrease of 34 injuries.

11. There was a reduction in the assault rate per thousand police officers of 5.6% over the two-year reporting period, which continues the downward trend in the number of assaults. A further breakdown of these injuries by accident classification (Annex 4a) indicates the following:

• major injuries decreased by 18.8%;
• over 3 day injuries decreased by 15.3%;
• non-reportable injuries decreased by 4.3%;
• the actual number of injuries following assault fell by 99;
• there is little change, other than a slight reduction in both figures, in the number of injuries following assault by gender over the two year period (note this is a total figure and not expressed as a rate) – shown at Annex 4b.
• assault injury data are communicated to the Officer Safety Unit so they are able to review and improve their training as appropriate.

12. The number of PCSOs who reported injuries as a result of being assaulted (Appendix 5) has risen in June 08 to the same number as in April 08 after a drop in May, giving a total of 28 for the three months. For the same period in 06/07 the total figure was 36, which shows there has been a decrease of eight injuries over this quarter comparison.

13. The assault rate per thousand PCSOs showed a significant increase of 41.3% over the two-year reporting period, although this is down against the previous comparison made in the June MPA CGC report, which recorded a 48% increase. This is almost wholly accounted for by the increase in non-reportable injuries and it can be seen from Appendix 5 that the rate line for 07/08 is significantly raised above the rate line for 06/07. However, the rate per thousand employees for the year is not showing a significant rise, and the total number of assaults for the year 07/08 is in decline. A further breakdown of these injuries by accident classification (Annex 5a) indicates the following:

• Major injuries decreased by 27%;
• over 3 day injuries decreased by 2.7%;
• non-reportable injuries increased by 49.3%;
• the actual number of injuries following assaults rose by 52;
• the proportion of male PCSOs to female PCSOs being assaulted has remained fairly consistent, although the figures for both genders have increased over the two-year period (note this is a total figure and not expressed as a rate) – as shown at Annex 5b.
• it would appear that although significantly more PCSOs per thousand employees have been injured as a result of an assault, the injuries suffered are minor in nature, and there has been a decline in the rate of major injury following assault in this category.
• assault injury data are communicated to the Officer Safety Unit so they are able to review and improve their training as appropriate. They are also communicated to the PCSO Programme Board for review of policy and standard operating procedures as appropriate.

14. The overall yearly figures for injuries following physical assaults (Appendix 6) shows a rise in the rate of assaults on PCSOs and a reduction in the rate of police officer assaults over the two year period.

Slips, trips and falls (including falls from height)

15. A summary of the injuries following slip, trip and falls reported on MetAIR between July 2006 - June 2007 and July 2007 - June 2008, is shown at Appendix 7.

16. There were 226 injuries as a result of slips, trips and falls between April 2008 and June 2008. This number is significantly lower than the same period in 2006/07 (274), and as a result the annual rolling average is decreasing.

Hit by a moving vehicle (including injury from RTAs)

17. A summary of the injuries following staff being hit by moving vehicles (including RTAs) reported on MetAIR between July 2006 - June 2007 and July 2007 - June 2008, is shown at Appendix 8.

18. There was a decrease of 15 incidences of injury following being hit by a moving vehicle from 57 in April 2008 to 42 in June 2008. In the same period in 2006/07 there was also a fall but not on the same scale (50 to 49). The rate of injury has dropped back below one per thousand employees. The annual rolling average for this type of accident is decreasing steadily and consistently.

The figures show a decreasing trend over the year 2007/08 and, in comparison with last years figures of the same period, there is a reduction in the number of moving vehicle injuries.

Contact with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) 

Workshop on balance of health, safety and operational duties

19. On the 28 January Geoffrey Podger, HSE's Chief Executive, met with Ken Jones (ACPO), Ronnie Flanagan (HMIC), other police and fire leaders to discuss the balance between emergency services response and compliance with the health and safety at work. As a result of this meeting, the HSE agreed to produce a high level statement identifying the principles underpinning the balancing of health and safety with operational policing duties. To support this work the HSE organised a workshop on the 12th June at Rose Court to consider and discuss relevant operational scenarios to assist in identifying the principles from a police perspective. The MPS contributed both senior operational and safety staff to this workshop.

20. The Director of HR represented the MPS at a meeting with Geoffrey Podger and other high level stakeholders on the 1 July 08. A subsequent draft high-level statement has been circulated within the MPS for Management Board comment. The HSE have now stated that they wish to engage further with the MPS regarding this work prior to further circulation of this draft high-level statement. A date has yet to be arranged for a meeting between the HSE and MPS to continue these discussions.

Other HSE contact

21. The Safety and Health Risk Management Team (SHRMT) approached the HSE on behalf of Notting Hill Carnival (NHC) Gold in order to brief them on the noise related challenges faced by the MPS and to engage them in the debate on noise control at this event with other relevant stakeholders. The HSE have indicated they have been previously been briefed on the noise issues and do not believe they have much to add to the further debate with other stakeholders.

22. The HSE received two complaints within the space of two days regarding a series of leaks from the toilets in the property storeroom in Islington Police Station. The matter has been thoroughly investigated by Property Service Compliance Team and no problems were found. HSE have been advised of the above and at this stage are taking no further action

Assault study

23. A study looking at officers' perceptions of being assaulted was launched at the beginning of July and finishes mid-August. The project has been sponsored by SHRMT, Officer Safety Unit, Federation and PCS Union. Three thousand questionnaires were sent out to all officers and operational staff who had reported an injury following assault on MetAIR since Jan 2007. The MPA CGC will be updated of the findings in a future report.

Investigation of accident claims

24. A small team of staff from the SHRMT are assisting the Directorate of Legal Services (DLS) in a review of accidents that may have potential injury claims/ liability against the MPS. The members of the team have all been trained in advanced accident investigation techniques and will be investigating a small number of key accidents where DLS have received notification of an injury claim against the MPS. The primary purpose of the investigation will be to assess the extent of the MPS liability in the litigation, and offer a professional opinion on the cause of the accident. An agreed joint working protocol has been drafted and the first investigation has now commenced.

HR and Resources Joint Health and Safety reporting

25. The Director of HR and Director of Resources are exploring options for joint reporting on general safety and estate safety issues to Management Board and the MPA CGC.

Shrinking Clouds

26. Occupational Health will be launching the final part of their stress solutions DVDs titled Shrinking Cloud in the MPS in September. The presentation consists of a short power point presentation followed by a 10 minute DVD that demonstrates coping mechanisms to assist individuals to manage stress for themselves both in the long and short term. This presentation and DVD is followed by a short question and answer session. A launch to potential external customers was delivered in July and received positive feedback.

Notting Hill Carnival

27. The SHRMT are continuing to work closely with the Central Operations Planning Team (CO11) Notting Hill Carnival (NHC) Planning Team and Gold Commander to address noise related issues and support discussions with other relevant stakeholders. A summary of the ongoing work and plans for managing noise at this event are as follows:

• The SHRMT has supported negotiations with relevant stakeholders to determine noise levels and monitoring protocols at NHC. This work continues;
• a cohort of 40 officers/staff will be fitted with noise dosimeters at this year's NHC. As in previous years, some of this selected cohort will receive a hearing test both pre and post carnival. This work is essential to monitor staff that are exposed to hazardous noise levels;
• moulded earpieces will be issued to supervisors and those requiring communications as per previous Carnivals. ‘E.A.R.’ ‘push ins’ earplugs will be issued to all other officers/staff;
• a NHC noise information leaflet will be issued to all officers/staff attending this year’s event. The noise hazard message will be reinforced by displaying noise poster wing banners at the main feeding stations;
• Gold has stipulated that all officers/staff must wear their hearing protection whenever noise is sufficiently loud to interfere with ordinary conversation with someone no further than 1 metre away;
• as with previous years the SHRMT will be deployed at NHC to support Gold. This will include three static noise assessment posts at three key points around the NHC footprint with environmental noise mapping being undertaken by advisors from SHRMT, and specialist noise consultants;
• the team will also deploy to monitor noise at any site should airwave communication be disrupted.

28. A full report of the results of the environmental noise mapping will be fed back into the Carnival Gold and the MPS Hearing Conservation Working Group as soon as they are available. A summary of the findings will also be presented to Management Board and the MPA Corporate Governance Committee.

29. Increased noise at work issues are exerting an increasing strain on SHRMT resources.

Abbreviations and acronyms

MetAIR

Metropolitan Police Accident and Incident Reporting System (the METAIR system provides a means for reporting and collecting mps accident data including that required to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive)

HSE

Health and Safety Executive

OST

Officer Safety Training Unit

SHRMT

Safety and Health Risk Management Team

DLS

Directorate of Legal Services

CO11

Central Operations Planning Team

NHC

Notting Hill Carnival

C. Race and equality impact

There are no immediate implications on equality and diversity arising from this report. The team will monitor all health and safety matters, including MetAir statistics, to determine whether there is any disproportionate impact on any particular group, and, where there is, take appropriate action.

D. Financial implications

There are no immediate financial implications from this report. Although there are no direct financial implications the increasing burden of extracting and analysing data to answer specific accident data questions is placing a heavy workload on the MetAir system and analyst. This reinforces the need for greater investment in the MetAir system.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Nick Kettle, Head of Safety and Health Risk Management

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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