uk police cyclists training guide

ednwireland

93 pages in two volumes seems like a good idea to me

got to love the sun "the bonkers bike book for bobbies"

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2725862/Cops-draw-up-93-page-guide-on-how-to-ride-a-bike.html[/HTML]
The official Police Cycle Training Doctrine - the cost of which is estimated at thousands of pounds - gives full instructions on how to stop and get off a bike safely.

Officers will be taught how to brake and avoid obstacles such as kerbs and rocks. They are warned not to tackle suspects while they are still "engaged with the cycle".

And they will be reminded of the need to "rear scan" - or look over their shoulder to see what is behind them.

Officers are advised to wear padded shorts for "in-saddle comfort" and reminded to eat enough food and drink "adequate liquids" - because cyclists get hungry and thirsty.

Undercover cops are told they may need to go without a helmet to avoid being rumbled.

But the guide warns: "This lack of protection must be noted and a full risk assessment of the required role to be undertaken."



great stuff

blorg

Thousands of pounds. THOUSANDS. :eek:

Christ.

Beasty

Do I sense a business opportunity here? Perhaps we can pull together something similar to sell to the gardai (or anyone else who is prepared to take our expert advice).

lukester

The Sun talking out their arse? What a surprise.

But when BikeRadar contacted ACPO we were told that was not the case. A spokesperson told us: “This work was neither requested nor drawn up by ACPO and we do not endorse it. It was put forward by a group of well-meaning police officers with an interest in this area. ACPO will not be taking it forward.”

ednwireland

lukester wrote: »

The Sun talking out their arse? What a surprise.

just saw that, why let the truth get in the way of a good headline though

blorg

My comment on "thousands" was meant to signify that I thought that quite a small amount BTW, in case that was missed...

The thing is though that many many cyclists you see commuting don't seem to know how to ride a bike safely. There is a lot of stuff that you only pick up through many years experience and I see crazy stuff every day. Changing course without checking or indicating is a biggie.

Stuff like the checking over the shoulder they actually teach motorcyclists BTW, they even have a special term for it- "lifesaver."

This of course would not be understood by the Sun, instructions on how to ride a bike har har sure it's so easy a four year old could do it (I note their 4 year old mentions riding very fast with one hand on the bars incidentally.)

blorg

Pity that ACPO feels they have to say they won't take it forward now as it sounds like a good idea. The "thousands of pounds" seems to have been pulled out of the arse of yer man from the "TaxPayers' Alliance."

lukester

blorg wrote: »

The thing is though that many many cyclists you see commuting don't seem to know how to ride a bike safely. There is a lot of stuff that you only pick up through many years experience and I see crazy stuff every day. Changing course without checking or indicating is a biggie.

Stuff like the checking over the shoulder they actually teach motorcyclists BTW, they even have a special term for it- "lifesaver."

Ireland only recently brought in compulsory basic training for motorcyclists- sadly I'd say we're a long way off bringing in any form of organised cyclist education.

But agree it's something we need, even if it was to start at school level.

I'll certainly be taking it upon myself to teach my son the basics, probably starting with skid stopping and moving on to one-handed trackstanding.

Beasty

lukester wrote: »

Ireland only recently brought in compulsory basic training for motorcyclists- sadly I'd say we're a long way off bringing in any form of organised cyclist education.

But agree it's something we need, even if it was to start at school level.

I'll certainly be taking it upon myself to teach my son the basics, probably starting with skid stopping and moving on to one-handed trackstanding.

It's currently down to individual schools. I know my 11 year old recently had some basic training provided at school

cosmic

I have visions of a proud police chief wiping away a tear as his new recruit makes his first trip without stabilizers all the while yelling 'I'm doing it! I'm doing it!'

tomasrojo

The mass media is weird. One minute they say that cycling is foolhardy and incredibly dangerous; then they're laughing at the idea of safety training.

tomasrojo

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/news/8356367.stm

Police chiefs ditch cycle manual

Lumen

tomasrojo wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/news/8356367.stm

Police chiefs ditch cycle manual

I can see why they'd want to save on publishing costs, but I assume your average modern rozzer can use the internet - why not just stick in on a website FFS?

quietobserver

Beasty wrote: »

Do I sense a business opportunity here? Perhaps we can pull together something similar to sell to the gardai (or anyone else who is prepared to take our expert advice).

as far as i know it already exists.

petethedrummer

Lumen wrote: »

but I assume your average modern rozzer can use the internet - why not just stick in on a website FFS?

There was awful trouble a few years ago trying to get them to use a computer.

tomasrojo

Recent post on the Guardian's Bike Blog that is relevant to this old thread.


Why I was foolish to mock police bike training

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/apr/14/wrong-police-bike-training

Away from the excitement, Aveling stresses how difficult it can be when such training is mocked. Particularly damaging was a story in the Sun about a planned 93-page volume for training UK cycling police. The product of much effort, the mockery – including, I'm ashamed to say, also on this blog – led to it being dropped.

Police training sounds like quite good fun.

SerialComplaint

Great article - love the stories about them cycling up/down the Tube station stairs.

Chris Peak

Lumen wrote: »

I can see why they'd want to save on publishing costs, but I assume your average modern rozzer can use the internet - why not just stick in on a website FFS?

petethedrummer wrote: »

There was awful trouble a few years ago trying to get them to use a computer.

There's you answer right there!

Every candidate/student must be issued with a manual for the course they're doing. And then shown the 'proper' way of doing even the most basic crap to avoid any problems later with Health & Safety.
Personally, I think a lot of it is a waste of time but, boxes need to be ticked..

SerialComplaint

Chris Peak wrote: »

Every candidate/student must be issued with a manual for the course they're doing. And then shown the 'proper' way of doing even the most basic crap to avoid any problems later with Health & Safety.

Don't blame 'elf n safety. 'elf n safety does not create bureaucracy. People who don't understand risk assessment create bureaucracy.