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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/15/firefighters-police-officers-devon-somerset-separate
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| Making firefighters act as police officers too? Alarm bells should be ringing | Making firefighters act as police officers too? Alarm bells should be ringing |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Alison Hernandez, the police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, gushed on Twitter last week that she “welcomes with open arms” a new pilot scheme that will see seven firefighters trained up to be the UK’s first firefighter-police hybrids or “special constables”. I worry that these firefighters won’t get such an enthusiastic response when they turn up on the doorstep of a burning house with a back room full of dodgy gear or where drug use is evident. A door slammed firmly shut is a more likely reaction. | Alison Hernandez, the police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, gushed on Twitter last week that she “welcomes with open arms” a new pilot scheme that will see seven firefighters trained up to be the UK’s first firefighter-police hybrids or “special constables”. I worry that these firefighters won’t get such an enthusiastic response when they turn up on the doorstep of a burning house with a back room full of dodgy gear or where drug use is evident. A door slammed firmly shut is a more likely reaction. |
| The Devon and Cornwall police force has lost 600 officers over the past decade, with the national picture frequently described in recent months as being at tipping point. Guarantees of public safety can no longer be made. But how will sticking plaster solutions such as this ill-thought-out pilot help? They are not a long-term solution to the chronic funding crisis, the result of almost a decade of austerity. | The Devon and Cornwall police force has lost 600 officers over the past decade, with the national picture frequently described in recent months as being at tipping point. Guarantees of public safety can no longer be made. But how will sticking plaster solutions such as this ill-thought-out pilot help? They are not a long-term solution to the chronic funding crisis, the result of almost a decade of austerity. |
| The police and fire services must be kept separate. The former is a law enforcement operation whose priority is arresting criminals. Firefighters provide a humanitarian, life-saving service that doesn’t discriminate against anyone who may or may not have broken the law. | The police and fire services must be kept separate. The former is a law enforcement operation whose priority is arresting criminals. Firefighters provide a humanitarian, life-saving service that doesn’t discriminate against anyone who may or may not have broken the law. |
| Cuts to the fire service are putting lives at risk | Andrew Scattergood | Cuts to the fire service are putting lives at risk | Andrew Scattergood |
| Firefighters’ neutrality and independence are necessities they have fought vigorously to protect over decades, with good reason – firefighters are professionals who depend on the trust of the public they serve. Who is going to let them in to put out a fire if they fear arrest for something they may have done or may be suspected of having done? They may not even call the fire service at all if they fear law enforcers’ arrival on their doorstep. | Firefighters’ neutrality and independence are necessities they have fought vigorously to protect over decades, with good reason – firefighters are professionals who depend on the trust of the public they serve. Who is going to let them in to put out a fire if they fear arrest for something they may have done or may be suspected of having done? They may not even call the fire service at all if they fear law enforcers’ arrival on their doorstep. |
| The controversial Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service scheme is being launched to ease the pressure on the chronic shortage of police cover in rural areas. But who says the new merger of blue light services will remain the preserve of rural communities? Police cuts aren’t restricted to OuterWallop. Cut-induced pilots such as this tend to get rolled out nationally as long as they deliver the promised savings. | The controversial Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service scheme is being launched to ease the pressure on the chronic shortage of police cover in rural areas. But who says the new merger of blue light services will remain the preserve of rural communities? Police cuts aren’t restricted to OuterWallop. Cut-induced pilots such as this tend to get rolled out nationally as long as they deliver the promised savings. |
| For years governments have tried to extend the remit of firefighters to cover a plethora of other duties, with a focus on assisting the struggling ambulance service, work known as “emergency responding”. The moniker for the new police-firefighter hybrid model is “community responding”. What will happen when firefighters are called upon to cover for the chronic teacher shortage? They will only be called upon to cover the basics, you understand. Perhaps the odd fire safety session or two, or a lesson in life about where an attraction to pyromania can lead. Will our treasured firefighters become part-time “classroom responders” alongside all their other newly defined roles? Where will it end? | For years governments have tried to extend the remit of firefighters to cover a plethora of other duties, with a focus on assisting the struggling ambulance service, work known as “emergency responding”. The moniker for the new police-firefighter hybrid model is “community responding”. What will happen when firefighters are called upon to cover for the chronic teacher shortage? They will only be called upon to cover the basics, you understand. Perhaps the odd fire safety session or two, or a lesson in life about where an attraction to pyromania can lead. Will our treasured firefighters become part-time “classroom responders” alongside all their other newly defined roles? Where will it end? |
| Various pilot schemes around the country in recent times have deployed firefighters for a range of other tasks, from identifying vulnerable elderly people during fire safety visits – forgetful smokers, for example – to removing obese people who get stuck in lifts and cinema seats. These add-on remits haven’t always been well received, but eventually firefighters have accepted that with the incidence of fires in decline, undertaking additional work is a way of keeping their jobs. But this? Firefighters becoming para-coppers? | Various pilot schemes around the country in recent times have deployed firefighters for a range of other tasks, from identifying vulnerable elderly people during fire safety visits – forgetful smokers, for example – to removing obese people who get stuck in lifts and cinema seats. These add-on remits haven’t always been well received, but eventually firefighters have accepted that with the incidence of fires in decline, undertaking additional work is a way of keeping their jobs. But this? Firefighters becoming para-coppers? |
| The Fire Brigades Union last week stressed the need for keeping police and firefighting separate, not just in Devon and Somerset but everywhere. A spokesman for the Police Federation, which is the closest thing the police have to a trades union, said the pilot was papering over the cracks, that its introduction exposed scant resources. If current plans to cut the fire and rescue service to the bone remain unimpeded the service will have been cut in half during the decade ending in 2020. So where exactly are the surplus of firefighters who will take on all these additional roles? | The Fire Brigades Union last week stressed the need for keeping police and firefighting separate, not just in Devon and Somerset but everywhere. A spokesman for the Police Federation, which is the closest thing the police have to a trades union, said the pilot was papering over the cracks, that its introduction exposed scant resources. If current plans to cut the fire and rescue service to the bone remain unimpeded the service will have been cut in half during the decade ending in 2020. So where exactly are the surplus of firefighters who will take on all these additional roles? |
| Fires are down thanks in part to firefighters’ work in fire safety education, with smoke alarms now the norm. But they also now do flood rescue, chemical incident response, terrorist response, building collapse, more and more road traffic accidents and many other emergencies. Basically, they just turn up. | Fires are down thanks in part to firefighters’ work in fire safety education, with smoke alarms now the norm. But they also now do flood rescue, chemical incident response, terrorist response, building collapse, more and more road traffic accidents and many other emergencies. Basically, they just turn up. |
| Cuts have left officers retreating from streets, says outgoing police chief | Cuts have left officers retreating from streets, says outgoing police chief |
| The seven guinea pig firefighter cops will undergo two months’ training before these brave men and women some police rudely refer to as “water squirters” are given the power to arrest. They will be sent to locations where the need is based on risk, vulnerability and harm. Apparently the pilot will “boost relations with the public and help provide joined-up prevention measures”. Prevention of what? Crime or fire? | The seven guinea pig firefighter cops will undergo two months’ training before these brave men and women some police rudely refer to as “water squirters” are given the power to arrest. They will be sent to locations where the need is based on risk, vulnerability and harm. Apparently the pilot will “boost relations with the public and help provide joined-up prevention measures”. Prevention of what? Crime or fire? |
| Firefighters already say cuts to the service are so severe they sometimes have to choose between saving lives and protecting property. There aren’t sufficient resources for doing both. So how are they going to fit in arresting a suspected arsonist as well? | Firefighters already say cuts to the service are so severe they sometimes have to choose between saving lives and protecting property. There aren’t sufficient resources for doing both. So how are they going to fit in arresting a suspected arsonist as well? |
| • Lynne Wallis is a journalist and former head of communications for the Fire Brigades Union | • Lynne Wallis is a journalist and former head of communications for the Fire Brigades Union |
| Firefighters | Firefighters |
| Opinion | Opinion |
| Police | Police |
| Emergency services | Emergency services |
| Cornwall | Cornwall |
| Devon | |
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