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Decision-making in the Police service can be very complex. Police officers most often have to make decisions in very difficult circumstances and situations and may not have all the necessary or complete information to hand. It is also very important to note that the role that police officers play and the environment where they have to make decisions can be very complicated. Police officers and police staff are sometimes required to make decisions in circumstances where those involved deliberately mislead or try to mislead them. As a result it may not always lead to the best outcome.

Therefore to create a framework that could allow officers to base their decisions on, and allow for examination of each decision and allow for some form of standardisation in decision making the National Decision Model (NDM) was created.

At the heart of the NDM, the Code of Ethics highlighted is essential for all decision making. This gives confidence for police officers to use the NDM and reduces risk. Decision makers will be supported by their organisation where it can be shown that their decision was assessed by the NDM and the circumstances at the time, even when harm has resulted as part of the decision making process.

Civil emergencies require a professional and structured response to all emergencies, this includes Police, fire and ambulance services and must meet the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. These services must have interoperable arrangements to allow for well-coordinated responses to major or complex incidents, as this would affect life.

This document helps to cover contingency planning and responses to civil emergences from the Police service.

Some major incidents may result in loss of life. Disaster victim identification (DVI) is the process of being able to identify a deceased in multiple fatality incidents. This involves combining antemortem and post-mortem examinations to make a positive identification using scientific means. This takes place at the same time an investigation is being undertaken.  DVI is an internationally accepter terms is and its principles are subject to international agreement through INTERPOL.

The Command and Control (C&C) solution is the incident management and deployment solution for police officers responding to incidents reports by the public. Command and control is the authority and capability of an organisation to direct the actions of its personnel and the use of its equipment.

Incidents are usually graded based on severity of the incident and officers have Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) target in responding to incidents especially serious/critical incidents. SLA’s may differ from police force. C&C can also be used for a wide range of scenarios ranging from policing local community events, to responding to a major criminal investigation such as a terrorist attack, arson attack requiring several officers to respond to more sensitive investigations such as a rape incident requiring more specialised officers.

There are times where certain incidents or operations where the police response requires a different approach and it may be necessary to establish a dedicated command structure such as bronze, silver and gold.

The success of any major incident coordination requires an organised, professional and methodical approach. The Major Room Incident (MIR) is critical to this coordination as this is where all information is gathered and analysed for response coordination.

Major investigation and public protection has many strands and arms. It consists of:

Major Crime:

• Child abuse

• Child sexual exploitation

• Domestic abuse

• Female genital mutilation

• Firearms licensing

• Forced marriage and honour-based violence

• Gangs and youth violence

• Gun crime

• Hate crime

• Homicide

• Kidnap and extortion

• Knife crime

• Missing persons

• Modern slavery

• Prostitution

• Rape and sexual offences

• Stalking or harassment

• Vulnerable adults

• Operation Hydrant

Public protection:

• Mental health

• Managing sexual offenders

It also has major elements of mental health. The Mental health Authorised Professional Practice (APP) has provided guidance on Police response to members of the public who are experiencing mental ill health, have learning disabilities and mental and emotional vulnerable individuals. The guidance applies whether the police are acting in a criminal justice or health care capacity or in both of these roles. 

There are incidents that take place where the police respond to a serious injury/incident or where there is a deceased or where at a later time the victim dies. This APP – describes the post-incident procedures, management, welfare and legal issues stemming from serious incidents.

The guidance outlines provision of accounts by officers and staff, provides responsibilities for key roles, and sets out approaches to organisational learning and debriefing. The information provided is relevant to any investigation, whether carried out by the force’s professional standards department (PSD) or by the relevant independent investigative authority (IIA).

It is the responsibility of each force to determine how the post-incident procedures will be implemented and should therefore create an implementation plan showing how each area, roles and responsibilities will be fulfilled. This should include any training plans needed for individuals carrying out specific roles.

Where serious injury or death has resulted in the discharge of a firearm by a police officer or member of police staff, this guidance will not apply. Please refer to APP Armed Policing.

It is important to note that a serious injury is referred to as a fracture, deep cut, deep laceration or injury causing damage to an internal organ or the impairment of any bodily function.