Ch Supt Sarah Burton on improvements to the West Midlands Police firearms unit

Shropshire Star

Video courtesy: West Midlands Police  West Midlands Police will pay a former female firearms officer £820,00 for being unlawfully forced out of her job after whistle-blowing on racism and misogyny.  Chief Superintendent Sarah Burton released a video on improvements to the West Midlands Police firearms unit.

Transcript

00:00 Every day the Firearms Officers and Staff of West Midlands Police dedicate themselves

00:06 to keeping the public safe. It can be incredibly sensitive, dangerous work which demands the

00:11 highest level of professionalism. Like all Police Officers, our Firearms Officers know

00:17 they are held to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. They are appalled at

00:21 any conduct which falls below the high standards that we and the public expect of them. Over

00:26 the past year we have made major progress on an action plan to address the serious issues

00:31 within the Employment Tribunal, many of which date back a number of years. We cannot be

00:36 any clearer. There is no place in policing for misogynistic, discriminatory or disrespectful

00:41 behaviour. Our Professional Standards Department acts when necessary and colleagues know that

00:47 they have a duty to challenge and report any behaviour which falls below the high standards

00:52 expected. Our Female Firearms Officers are now directly involved in trialling and assessing

00:57 all new uniform and equipment to make sure it is right for them. They have all been issued

01:02 with kit that is right for their needs, including formed ballistic protection. We have looked

01:07 at how we recruit Firearms Officers to increase the diversity of people who apply and remove

01:12 barriers to joining. We have seen an increase in recruitment from underrepresented groups

01:17 and we are also working with colleagues in policing nationally to increase female representation

01:22 in firearms, not just in the West Midlands but also across the country. We have changed

01:27 and bolstered the leadership in our Firearms Unit and have worked hard over the past two

01:31 years to improve the culture, standards and the working environment. We are also changing

01:36 how our Firearms Officers work so they are better connected with our communities and

01:40 support local policing teams. I want the public to have confidence in the professionalism

01:45 and integrity of our Armed Officers. West Midlands Police's Firearms Unit is one of

01:50 the busiest in the country. The work is extremely challenging and I am proud of what they do

01:54 to keep people safe every day.

01:56 [Silence]

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