Police Force Fined Along with Officer for Accidental Death of a Staff Member
In a new case under the Health and Safety Act, an officer and his entire department was prosecuted and fined after the death of an employee during a training session.
The accident happened when a police firearms instructor named PC David Steven Micklethwaite was training control room staff workers on firearms. The ammunition that had to be used for the purpose was to be non-live, but by mistake, the instructor had picked up live ammunition from an unmarked sweet tin. He was unaware of this fact, until he tried firing his gun with loaded bullets to show the functioning of the cylinder of the revolver. The gun fired at Keith Tilbury, an employee of the control room in the lower abdomen. Tilbury sustained grievous injuries and had to stay in hospital for a long time, inclusive of around one and half weeks in the intensive care.
The investigation following the accident discovered that the department had in fact conducted proper risk management and had assessed the probable risks. Its manual even had a separate chapter on cases like mixing of ammunition. It also provided for careful handling of the ammunition by competent persons. However, all the risk management procedures were in theory and were never followed strictly.
Health and Safety training can be provided by reputable companies, such as Workplace Law; their range of accredited courses by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health can assist companies in training staff to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures for all kinds of workplace situations. The managing safely IOSH Course is for managers and supervisors in any sector and any organisation. It’s designed to give managers all they need to know to help handle health and safety in their teams.
The HSE initiated the proceedings before Southwark Crown Court and charged Thames Valley Police for violation of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and PC David Micklethwaite for the breach of Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Both the defendants pleaded guilty for the breach on different occasions and they were fined to the extent of £65,000 and £13,000 respectively.
