Overtime and conduct whilst Policing London

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.21.021405

I note you seek access to the following information:

Please send full details of Police Overtime payments and reasons for service in Central London by members of all Police Forces in each of the last 5 years, including any that would not normally serve within the M25.

Please also explain the inconsistencies when dealing with large numbers of people in Central London, particularly;

- On what grounds can Police 'take the knee'?

- At what point and for what reason are baseball caps replaced by riot helmets and truncheons drawn?

- Why are some public groups met by Police smiling and in baseball caps while others that are indistinguishable from them just a few meters away met by intimidating looking police in full riot gear?

- At what point do horses go from being passive modes of crowd control to the point where they're likely to endanger the public?

- On what grounds are Citizen Journalists/ YouTubers physically manhandled, arrested and/or their equipment seized and/or damaged and on what grounds is the legal accreditation of many of them (including the English Media group/Workers of England Union) not formally recognised?

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Q1 - Please send full details of Police Overtime payments and reasons for service in Central London by members of all Police Forces in each of the last five years, including any that would not normally serve within the M25.

Below are the Police Officer overtime values submitted as part of the annual census:
2017/18 £104,595,838.65
2018/19 £106,982,357.85
2019/20 £140,593,110.34
2020/21 £138,136,357.79

Please note there is no data available prior to this period and it is not possible to determine how much of this was undertaken in Central London or why.

Q2 - On what grounds can Police 'take the knee'?

Officers, if they feel it to be appropriate in line with their personal values and emotions took ‘the knee’, if they felt that it was the right thing to do at the time as an appropriate mark of respect and empathy. No action will be taken upon any officer who took the knee.

Q3 - At what point and for what reason are baseball caps replaced by riot helmets and truncheons drawn?

Baseball caps are issued to level 2 public order trained police officers for use when they are deployed in full public order protective equipment. They are easily folded away if officers are required to wear public order helmets when the dynamic risk assessment suggests a reason to do so. Public order helmets are issued to level 2 public order officers to protect their heads and form part of their issued equipment. Police commanders will try to have officers patrol in helmets, flat caps or bowlers but if the risk is assessed to be higher, officers will patrol in baseball caps and will only utilise helmets when the risk to safety is deemed high enough.

Police are not issued truncheons but are issued positive lock batons. Batons are lawfully carried by police officers when on duty. The use of a baton is covered by legislation and use of force policy and officers have to justify their use. Police commanders can command units to draw batons when the risk assessment dictates a group use of force. If an officer uses their baton to strike an individual they will have to justify its use individually.

Q4 - Why are some public groups met by Police smiling and in baseball caps while others that are indistinguishable from them just a few meters away met by intimidating looking police in full riot gear?

Police Commanders at Public Order/Public Safety events are responsible for the dress code of the officers under their command. This is informed by all the information and intelligence at hand during the planning process.

When officers are deployed without public order PPE or when they are wearing some of it but with NATO helmets on belts, a commander in charge will make use of the National decision Making Model when deciding whether to have officers don full PPE. This will take into account the mood of the crowd, intelligence received, whether any missiles have been thrown and violence offered towards officers. Individual supervisors and officers may make the decision to don a helmet or instruct their staff to do so in order to mitigate a specific threat. This decision may also depend on the task officers are being asked to carry out and what the likelihood is of a reaction from a crowd as a result of that task.

All tactics used must be proportionate, supported by a legal framework and necessary. Commanders and supervisors are also responsible for the safety of their staff and must take reasonable precautions to ensure they are protected in the same way a member of staff on a construction site must be provided safety PPE to protect them. Officers are all equipped with batons and depending on the circumstances and the risk to officers they may be asked to draw their batons by a supervisor having regard to the collective use of force and the national decision making model. Officers have the individual discretion to draw their batons if necessary. Each officer when deciding to strike a person with a baton must be in a position to justify that use of force and it must be proportionate, supported by a legal power, have a legitimate aim and no more force than is necessary.

Q5 - At what point do horses go from being passive modes of crowd control to the point where they're likely to endanger the public?

Mounted police within public order operation carry out a number of functions including:

• Assist with monitoring crowd dynamics and gathering information/intelligence
• Demonstrate that force is about to be/may be used
• Support cordons
• Escort marches/groups
• Assist with the dispersal of a crowd.

Before any deployment mounted officers will be briefed and the command team for any operation will ensure they consider any crowd safety matters before deploying mounted officers into a crowd. This will be an ongoing assessment and under constant review. Any change from a passive to an active deployment should be proportionate and necessary to the threat and risk faced.

Q6 - On what grounds are Citizen Journalists/YouTubers physically manhandled.

The police work with the media and understand the important role they undertake in reporting to the public. However, there are some occasions where it is necessary to restrict media access to areas. Examples (but not limited to) are crime scenes, when deemed unsafe including some public order, firearms and terror incidents for example. Accredited journalists will have a recognised form of identification and we work with the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) to ensure that there is continuing and open dialogue.

The police can use force in many circumstances and guidance is contained within the College of Policing APP 

The webpage provides an overview of policing powers in a public order environment.

The police have powers of seizure in different circumstances however the most utilised is Section 19 PACE – General seizure powers
(1)The powers conferred by subsections (2), (3) and (4) below are exercisable by a constable who is lawfully on any premises.

(2)The constable may seize anything which is on the premises if he has reasonable grounds for believing:
(a)that it has been obtained in consequence of the commission of an offence; and
(b)that it is necessary to seize it in order to prevent it being concealed, lost, damaged, altered or destroyed.

(3)The constable may seize anything which is on the premises if he has reasonable grounds for believing:
(a)that it is evidence in relation to an offence which he is investigating or any other offence; and
(b)that it is necessary to seize it in order to prevent the evidence being concealed, lost, altered or destroyed.

(4)The constable may require any information which is stored in any electronic form and is accessible from the premises to be produced in a form in which it can be taken away and in which it is visible and legible or from which it can readily be produced in a visible and legible form] if he has reasonable grounds for believing:
(a)that—
(i)it is evidence in relation to an offence which he is investigating or any other offence; or
(ii)it has been obtained in consequence of the commission of an offence; and (b)that it is necessary to do so in order to prevent it being concealed, lost, tampered with or destroyed.

(5)The powers conferred by this section are in addition to any power otherwise conferred.

(6)No power of seizure conferred on a constable under any enactment (including an enactment contained in an Act passed after this Act) is to be taken to authorise the seizure of an item which the constable exercising the power has reasonable grounds for believing to be subject to legal privilege.