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Cllr Chris Philp |
Cops lives ‘put at risk’ by coverage failure
‘Fiasco’ of police radios that don’t work everywhere
NEW digital radios supposed to solve police communications problems highlighted during the July 7 bombing emergency do not work in buildings or in every area of the borough, a top Camden cop has said.
Failures in the £1.5bn Airwaves radio project being trialled by Camden police has led to “a reduction in effectiveness”, Supt Roger Smalley told the Camden Community and Police Consultative Group.
“Officers are finding that there is not complete coverage,” he said. “This can cause some effectiveness reduction in reacting to incidents. There is also a Health and Safety consideration for officers.”
The revelation that the radios are potentially putting officers’ lives at risk has meant them patrolling with two radios – one being the old analogue radios criticised by the London Assembly’s report into the response to the July 7 bombings.
Tory councillor Chris Philp, who was at the Town Hall meeting on Jan 30, described the situation as a “fiasco”.
“The news that the police have been given radios that don’t work is unbelievable,” he said.
“That officers are being put at risk is totally unacceptable.”
In a letter to this week’s New Journal, he pledged to launch an investigation through the council’s scrutiny committee.
He wrote: “If an officer encounters trouble but can’t call in assistance, both the officer and residents in our neighbourhood could be at risk.
“Crooks could also make a getaway without crucial details being radioed across to other units.”
The Airwaves project, a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative with telecoms giant O2, has had several teething problems during its implementation.
As long ago as 2002, a report by the National Audit Office said “problems were encountered during the pilot in demonstrating that the required level of coverage had been achieved particularly on major roads. The problems… were not fully resolved before Airwave was accepted”.
The switchover to Airwave radios for all Met police is scheduled for the end of this year.
Yesterday (Wednesday), however, a press official at Camden police said that the coverage problems were being tackled.
He said officers had reported lack of coverage and problems communicating within buildings, but said experts had been tasked to resolve them ‘in the vast majority of cases’. While Airwave is being delivered, all officers must carry both an Airwave and MetRadio handset to ensure public and officer safety.
Therefore, officers have always been, and continue to remain in full communication with all other Metropolitan Police Service officers and staff using the MetRadio system.”
Glen Smyth, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: “We think – and the management is starting to recognise – that this system could put lives at risk.
“We have approached the Commissioner to say this is not working and we’ve got serious problems – and if we’ve got serious problems, so does the public. But they are starting to put them right.”
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