Policy P16 - Public Order and Public Safety

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The Authorised Professional Practice (APP) has been approved by the College of Policing as the official and most up-to-date source of professional practice on policing. South Yorkshire Police have adopted APP as their Statement of Agreed Policy. This is the agreed policy on Public Order and you may wish to refer to the APP section now.

Exceptions

South Yorkshire Police do not deviate from APP in this subject.

Additions

In addition to APP, South Yorkshire Police’s statement of agreed policy on Public Order includes;

Scope

This policy affects all Officers and Staff involved in the policing of public events, crowd management and public disorder.

This policy does not cover the use of impact rounds as a less lethal option by Firearms Officers. The guidelines and criteria for use in such circumstances differ and therefore are contained in a separate Statement of Agreed Policy P30 - Operational Support Unit, OSU.

Aims and Objectives

To facilitate a professional and structured approach to policing both planned and spontaneous public events and any events that trigger incidents which result in, or may result in, public disorder.

It provides a framework for managing operations and deploying resources at a national, regional or local level.

As well as the referenced area of APP, this policy should be considered in conjunction with other APP areas, e.g. on operations and on decision-making. The APP is also linked to the National Police Public Order Public Safety Training Curriculum.

It is the Chief Constable’s intention that South Yorkshire Police will respond to instances of serious disorder using the most appropriate of a range of options available. In extreme circumstances and adhering to strict guidelines, the use of Attenuating Energy Projectiles in Public Disorder situations, when this is considered a necessary, lawful and proportionate response will be employed by Firearms Officers Only.

Public Order Public Safety Training

Officers involved in an incident that involves the use of Police Support Units (PSUs) will be trained in the mandated B1 and B2 tactics contained in the National Public Order Public Safety Curriculum, and other relevant tactics that are utilised during Public Order Policing.

This training is planned and delivered by Public Order Training within the Operational Support Unit, OSU. All training is delivered in accordance with the National Guidelines set by the College of Policing.

All Public Order Trainers are nationally accredited and are supervised and assessed by the Force Public Order Public Safety Training Sergeant.Associated Procedural Instructions

This policy is supported by the subsequent South Yorkshire procedural instructions

Pi16.1 - Public Order Public Safety Command and Tactical Training

Other relevant South Yorkshire Police documents you may wish to consider are:

P7 - Information Management

Equality Act 2010

The Act creates a statutory requirement for all Functions and Policies (Including Procedural Instructions) to be analysed for their effect on equality, diversity and human rights, with due regard to the General Equality Duty.

In principle, this document has been assessed for discrimination, which cannot be justified, among other diverse groups.

The Code of Ethics published in 2014 and revised in 2024 by the College of Policing requires us all to do the right thing in the right way.

The 2024 Code of Ethics is not a statutory Code of Practice, it has the same status as other guidance produced by the College. The Code of Ethics is supported by the Code of Practice for Ethical Policing. This is a statutory Code of Practice which provides chief officers with direction on promoting and supporting ethical and professional behaviour within their forces.

Human Rights/Discretion

The purpose of providing policy is to give an indication to staff of the expected course of action. However it is not possible to cater for every possible combination of factors that would justify a departure from stated policy. The Human Rights Act 1998 requires the proper use of discretion at all times and nothing within this policy and associated procedural instructions prohibits the proper use of discretion in appropriate circumstances.

Where action is taken that has the potential to interfere with an individual's Human Rights, the reasons behind the making of the decision to act in that way should be recorded on the appropriate forms, or where this is not practicable, in pocket books or policy logs.

Rights of redress for members of the public:

Anyone who feels that a member of staff has behaved incorrectly or unfairly, or who is dissatisfied with organisational matters, service delivery or other operational policing issues, has the right to make a complaint.

Initial action should be taken in one of the following ways:

Complain in writing or in person to the Senior Officer at the appropriate police station or to the Chief Constable of the force concerned.
Visit a local Citizens' Advice Bureau
Contact a Solicitor

Rights of redress for South Yorkshire Police personnel:

South Yorkshire Police personnel who feel they have grounds for concern in relation to the implementation of policies may, as appropriate:

Pursue concerns through their line manager.
Contact a First Contact Advisor.
Pursue a grievance formally through the South Yorkshire Police Grievance Resolution Procedure.
Seek advice from their staff association or trades union.

Use procedural instruction Pi23.11 - Management of Complaints, in the section entitled Handling Complaints relating to Direction and Control.

Start Date: 01/04/2016

Review:

This statement of agreed policy is managed by Superintendent, Operational Support Unit.

The date for the next review of this policy and Equality Analysis is: 09/03/2026

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Policy P16 - Public Order and Public Safety