E086:03 27 May 2003
"In this case the jury has been unable to decide whether or
not the Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police failed to ensure
their officers' health and safety by establishing the right
working practices and proper training in relation to the risk of
serious injury when those officers went onto roofs in the course of
their duties."
"The charges upon which the jury has failed to agree were the
most important charges on the indictment."
"It does happen in criminal cases that juries are unable to
agree on their verdicts. In this case, as in others, the HSE as
prosecuting authority will now have to consider carefully whether a
re-trial should be held. Pending that decision, HSE cannot properly
comment publicly on the detail of the evidence in the case.
Nevertheless, we hope that the publicity already surrounding this
case will stimulate employers everywhere to ensure that they are
protecting their employees by assessing and managing risks to
health and safety. Our particular concern remains the number of
serious and fatal injuries at work that involve falls from height.
On average there are around 4,000 serious injuries per year,
including 68 deaths last year from such falls."
"Parliament decided six years ago that police officer should
have the same protection at work as everyone else. And Chief
Constables as employers are accountable for this. We have brought
this case exactly as we would have done against any other
employer."
"HSE's priority and legal responsibility is the welfare of
people at work. We brought this case because, following the death
of one officer and serious injury of another, we believed there was
evidence to show a persistent failure of the Metropolitan Police to
adequately protect their officers. By investigating and
highlighting cases like this HSE can be instrumental in achieving
improvements in the management of health and safety, so fewer
people suffer unnecessary injury."
"We would add that, since we undertook our investigation
and issued six Improvement Notices, the Metropolitan Police's
systems for health and safety management have greatly improved, and
its officers now enjoy better protection than when these incidents
occurred. We shall now consider our position with regard to any
further action and hope to reach a decision in the near
future."
"Our thoughts remain with the family of PC Sidhu."
All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office
Social media
Javascript is required to use HSE website social media functionality.
Follow HSE on Twitter:
Follow @H_S_E