PW_1_2022

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Policing COP26 Martin Turner , Section UK Vice President (Professional) October 2021 saw dozens of Section UK members descend on Glasgow, in readiness for the much-anticipated COP26 Climate Summit, hosted by the United Nations. O ur members undertook a variety of roles covering every specialism imaginable, including: Dogs, Search, Public Order, Mounted, Rifle Teams, Marine Units and NILOs (National Inter-Agency Liaison

Officers). Challenge Coins were exchanged and sold. Patch swapping was rife, and I made sure our Section UK Professional Supplements were left at as many staging posts as possible. I took a Police Support Unit (PSU) from British Transport Police up to work as part of Basic Mobilisation Unit (BMU), with Met and City of London officers. To demystify the jargon, for those not versed in the Public Order world. When deployed to operations like COP26, we work in teams of 1 Sergeant and 6 Constables (plus a driver). This smallest team is called a Serial. Three Serials work under the command of an Inspector, and we call this a Police Support Unit (PSU). When more officers are required, three PSUs are combined, to form a Basic Mobilisation Unit (BMU). Larger deployments are multiples of this structure. All three of the London based forces: BTP, Met and City of London were combined to form the BMU I travelled with. It was one of the most demanding deployments I have done, with long shifts and many cancelled rest days. I found an outstanding display of friendship on show amongst the officers deployed. Police Scotland hosted us very well, displaying the hospitality Scotland is famed for. Numerous forces worked well with each other when called upon, and the banter and camaraderie was exceptional. A term often used during the deployment was “Policing Family”, and it provided a great opportunity to explain what the IPA is, to those who had not heard of us and wanted to join. We returned to England, Wales, Northern Ireland and distant parts of Scotland, both tired and proud of a job well done. Let us hope the bonds of friendship across the UK can be strengthened by an active IPA over the next few months. I look forward to a similar atmosphere in Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games in 2022, and hope that even more of those deployed are members of our fine association by then.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 67 No.1, 2022