2021/24563 - Emergency lights and sirens training

REQUEST

I note your response to my complaint in that the vehicles and officers involved were undergoing ‘live’ training in respect of the COP26 Climate Change Conference.  I note that the training was being supervised by an experienced Gwent Police Driver Trainer.

It seems highly coincidental and concerning that ‘live’ training, although supervised by an experienced Gwent Police Driver Trainer, was being conducted at a time when there was significant vehicular traffic on both the M4 and A4042.  It is also concerning that you mention only one experienced Gwent Police Driver Trainer when there were three vehicles in convoy.  Do I take from your response that two of the three drivers were therefore unsupervised in their vehicles?  

I also find it strange that these vehicles were carrying other officers as passengers as indicated by the large number of officers disembarking Police vehicles at headquarters at the time.

I put it to you that the drivers and vehicles were not involved in ‘live’ training at the time and that this reason has been fabricated in order to fit the circumstances that a group of your officers have been caught in.  If, indeed, the training had been pre-planned, it stands to reason that several Gwent Police Driver Trainers would have been distributed throughout the vehicles to ensure that all three drivers receiving training were fully supervised at all times and no risk to the general public would or could have occurred.

If, indeed, this training had been pre-planned there will also be an audit trail of the planning of the training that would have been available to you in short order, not several weeks after the event, particularly in view of the fact that the COP26 Climate Change Conference is a high profile international event.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, I formally request copies of the emails and other communications between the various parties concerning this ‘live’ training in order to confirm the legitimate use of emergency lights and sirens by your officers during the journey.  Specifically, were the officers returning from ‘live’, non-driver training that occurred elsewhere (as is my suspicion due to the large numbers of officers coming out of vehicles at police headquarters) and without authorisation from a senior commanding officer involved in the planning of the training, chose to activate the emergency lights and sirens to return to police headquarters without having to wait in heavy vehicular traffic on the M4 and A4042?   

I, of course, will expect the names of the officer to be redacted but the dates and times of the emails preplanning the training should be present.  Details of the content of the training I am happy to accept will be operationally sensitive and so not available.  I am not requesting the details of the training, just the confirmation that the training had been pre-planned and was not carried out "ad hoc” in order to return to Police headquarters faster than may have otherwise been achieved due to the level of traffic present on the M4 and A4042 at the time through the use of emergency lighting and sirens as is my suspicion.

RESPONSE