Police to withdraw ‘stingers’ over safety concerns

A POLICE force has withdrawn dozens of ‘stinger’ devices used to stop dangerous drivers after an officer injured himself while taking one out of its case.
Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee.Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee.
Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee.

A Humberside Police constable was joining his colleagues in pursuit of a vehicle when he pulled the tyre deflation device out of the box and one of its sharp spikes left him with a “puncture” injury.

The spike, which had not been fitted with a safety tip, went straight through the officer’s nail and into his thumb.

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In response to the injury to the officer, who was not wearing standard issue gloves at the time, the force has now taken around half of its 150 stingers out of of use so rubber tips can be added.

An email sent to officers in Hull earlier this month and seen by the Yorkshire Post said: “Please don’t shoot the messenger. I have taken out all of the stingers from our vehicles as per the request. Unfortunately none of ours have the safety caps.”

It comes as a new report criticised police forces nationwide for wasting time and money by over-complicating the purchase of the most common of items, such as high visibility vests.

Stingers, made up of a strip of hollow spikes which are laid in front of cars to slow them down, have been used by Humberside Police since the late 1980s.

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The affected batch of around 70 was bought two years ago from South Yorkshire Police but did not have rubber grommets protecting the spikes like other versions.

A response by the police to a Freedom of Information Act request by Independent Police Support Group, a specialist firm which represents officers and staff in employment disputes, revealed the constable had joined the pursuit of a vehicle when he suffered the injury in December.

A Humberside Police spokeswoman said the affected stingers had now been taken back to have protective tips added.

She said: “We re-assessed the safety of a one particular brand of stinger that we were using following a minor injury caused to an officer’s finger and as such are now in the process of fitting rubber grommets to all the stingers in use across the force.

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“The largest proportion of stingers in use by the force were already fitted with rubber grommets and therefore there was little impact on our operational policing.”

Many police vehicles are equipped with stingers to cut down on lengthy car chases, though training is required to use them properly.

John Blanchard, chairman of the Humberside Police Federation, said stingers were a “proven way” of stopping criminals by slowing their vehicles down.

He said: “I know they are very sharp, they are like a hydraulic needle. If they have been withdrawn it is disappointing but if there is a safety lesson to learn then they should learn it and then get them back into use.

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“The more stingers there are available the better it is for the public. If there is a problem I would like to get it solved and get them back on the street.”

A report by the National Audit Office today said police forces had hampered their capacity to make savings by not agreeing common specifications for many items.

The watchdog found up to 20 different specifications among the 43 forces in England and Wales for high visibility vests, with some forces paying up to £100, while others only spent £20.

MP Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: “It is unbelievable that something as simple as a high-visibility jacket has 20 different specifications, with associated prices that differ by as much as £80. Instead of focusing money on tackling crime, police forces are wasting resources disagreeing over how many pockets they should have on their uniforms.”