Niklaus506th
MET Trainer
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2021
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 10
- Points
- 3
The following is a suggestion that compasses multiple policy changes to IPP and JRU within the server. We will start with the current state of JRU and then move onto IPP, finishing with the proposed suggestions.
The essence of emergency response is contingent on the ability to respond swiftly and effectively in critical and often life-threatening situations. The current policy governing the speed limits of emergency vehicles between MPS and NHS, particularly within the Joint Response Unit (JRU), presents operational challenges that necessitate immediate attention and rectification in order to both enhance gameplay and core functions of the unit.
Current Policy and Its Implications:
As it stands, the policy allows Met Officers to exceed the speed limit by 20mph, while Paramedics are permitted an 25mph overage. This discrepancy results in a Paramedics arriving on the scene prior to Police officers, despite the latter's crucial role in securing the environment for safe medical intervention as is outlined in all medical and Policing training in that preservation of life means not putting yourself in avoidable danger.
This policy lacks any legal backing nor real life precedent. In real life Ambulance Services typically limit their drivers to 20mph over which in my research seems to apply to LAS too; whereas most Police Forces and definitely the Met Police there is no upper limit so long as there is a Policing purpose. This is reflected in the driver training both services receive, where universally it is agreed Police are the better trained emergency drivers as they often are trained to drive at speed in highrisk situations such as while in a less visible unmarked vehicle and while in a pursuits. Where as Ambulance driver training makes the assumption you will be driving a quite large, unwieldy vehicle that cannot reach the same speeds as even your lower end Police cars.
This is without even calling into mention the fact that the assumption of deploying a JRU to a scene means that their is an urgent need for medical attention but their is presently a danger that needs neutralising and managing prior to this aid being rendered. This means that in the majority of incidents attended by JRU the onus is on the Police Officer to secure the scene, typically by dealing with a violent person, so that the Paramedic can get to work without risking becoming another casualty. Under current policy, which all but demands the JRU is driven by the Paramedic it creates a oxymoronic scenario where the Officer is expected to secure a scene but the Medic is choosing one of the most important factors in Officer Safety being that positioning. The Officer being the one who has to deal with the threat should be allowed to dictate where the vehicle is parked, how its positioned, how he deploys from it and so on as these factors will largely be decided based off the Officers training and experience dealing with violent inderviduals which the Medic does not have. The Officer may want to position his vehicle close to the casualty, blocking the suspects path to the casualty and the medic with the vehicle, or he may wish to park so that the vehicle is between him and the suspect, allowing him cover and a reactionary gap to deploy his PPE. None of this vital decision making and gameplay loop is encouraged within current policy and instead asks someone with no responsibility, knowledge or training in dealing with violent persons to guess and hope for the best.
The JRU is collaborative initiative between Police and Paramedics, and is designed to manage incidents requiring ongoing security while medical assistance is rendered. The current driving protocol within the JRU undermines the operational effectiveness by compromising the strategic positioning of the vehicle for scene security, which should be under the Police officer's purview. It diminishes the Police officer's active role in incident management, leading to a sense of underutilization and demoralisation in a division which already suffers from atrocious attrition and morale issues. It creates an imbalance in workload distribution, with Paramedics assuming driving responsibilities in addition to their extensive on-scene duties as most JRU scenes are LAS focused.
Their is absolutely no logical backing or precedent in this policy seriously calls into question the rationale behind the existing speed limitations and I would urge a review to be done into whether the 20mph speed limit for the majority of the Policing tree is actually justified. While I understand the necessity to moderate, if the majority of the Ambulance tree can go 25mph over in large LGVs, there is no reason Police, in high performance cars cannot do the same.
This brings me onto IIP. By current policy loyal players within ERT, DSU, and CID are punished to remain at the same maximum speeds from the start of their PMP career until the end of it with the only exception being for ARO. Their loyalty to the server and its divisions that are often overlooked and undervalued, but no less important than RTPC and AFO, is punished by not being given even the basic level of trust to go the same speeds as allowed by the NHS tree and remaining at what they were taught from day 1 of their career. This is in spite of the fact that IIP training (which most of the server has done) in its current form actually involves a fair amount of input about driving safely at speed and doing rapid risk assessments which would ordinarily equip Officers to travel at these higher speeds. It seems utterly ridiculous to myself and many others that divisions such as CID have very very well trained and effective subdivisions such as SCD who respond to some of the highest risk calls on the server...yet do so at the same speeds as a pre-IPP response driver who has just started out in ERT. Again, it is no wonder these divisions often struggle with retention when I would wager many feel patronised by the privileges afforded to AFO and RTPC, especially in regards to driving which is what so much of your time in game is spent doing. As far as I can recall this 20mph rule is one of the few that has never seen any revision of change since it was written in stone long ago.
To address these challenges, I propose the following policy amendments:
1. Speed Limit Adjustment: JRU-trained Police officers should be authorized to exceed the speed limit by 25mph to ensure timely arrival and scene management and to bring it inline with other NHS assets.
2. Driving Priority: JRU-trained Police officers should be given priority in driving the JRU vehicle, allowing them to make tactical decisions on vehicle positioning for optimal scene security and to better balance workload, responsibility and gameplay. This does not mean NHS cannot drive, it just means Police get first dibs and can relinquish it if they so wish.
3. Training Enhancements: Modifications to JRU training should emphasize the Police officer's leadership in scene control until it is deemed safe for medical priorities to take precedence where then the scene would be lead by NHS.
4. Initial Pursuit Phase: Consideration should be made to increasing the speed allowance given to IPP trained drivers to 5-10mph than is currently allowed to reflect their training and responsibility. Standard response as taught by the college can remain at 20mph.
Implementing these changes will yield significant benefits, including:
- Improved coordination and efficiency in emergency response.
- Enhanced safety for both emergency personnel and the public.
- Increased morale and engagement among Police officers within the JRU.
- A more equitable distribution of responsibilities, reducing the risk of fatigue and errors.
- Better morale, responsibility and trust to all Officers who choose to stay loyal to ERT, CID and DSU who are currently the slowest emergency units in the game.
- Absolutely zero requirement for developers to add to their worklist, this just requires a few powerpoints to be amended and could be implemented within 15 minutes.
Im conclusion the proposed policy amendments are not only operationally sound but also align with the broader objectives of the server. I urge you to consider these recommendations and support their implementation to advance our collective mission of having fun.
The essence of emergency response is contingent on the ability to respond swiftly and effectively in critical and often life-threatening situations. The current policy governing the speed limits of emergency vehicles between MPS and NHS, particularly within the Joint Response Unit (JRU), presents operational challenges that necessitate immediate attention and rectification in order to both enhance gameplay and core functions of the unit.
Current Policy and Its Implications:
As it stands, the policy allows Met Officers to exceed the speed limit by 20mph, while Paramedics are permitted an 25mph overage. This discrepancy results in a Paramedics arriving on the scene prior to Police officers, despite the latter's crucial role in securing the environment for safe medical intervention as is outlined in all medical and Policing training in that preservation of life means not putting yourself in avoidable danger.
This policy lacks any legal backing nor real life precedent. In real life Ambulance Services typically limit their drivers to 20mph over which in my research seems to apply to LAS too; whereas most Police Forces and definitely the Met Police there is no upper limit so long as there is a Policing purpose. This is reflected in the driver training both services receive, where universally it is agreed Police are the better trained emergency drivers as they often are trained to drive at speed in highrisk situations such as while in a less visible unmarked vehicle and while in a pursuits. Where as Ambulance driver training makes the assumption you will be driving a quite large, unwieldy vehicle that cannot reach the same speeds as even your lower end Police cars.
This is without even calling into mention the fact that the assumption of deploying a JRU to a scene means that their is an urgent need for medical attention but their is presently a danger that needs neutralising and managing prior to this aid being rendered. This means that in the majority of incidents attended by JRU the onus is on the Police Officer to secure the scene, typically by dealing with a violent person, so that the Paramedic can get to work without risking becoming another casualty. Under current policy, which all but demands the JRU is driven by the Paramedic it creates a oxymoronic scenario where the Officer is expected to secure a scene but the Medic is choosing one of the most important factors in Officer Safety being that positioning. The Officer being the one who has to deal with the threat should be allowed to dictate where the vehicle is parked, how its positioned, how he deploys from it and so on as these factors will largely be decided based off the Officers training and experience dealing with violent inderviduals which the Medic does not have. The Officer may want to position his vehicle close to the casualty, blocking the suspects path to the casualty and the medic with the vehicle, or he may wish to park so that the vehicle is between him and the suspect, allowing him cover and a reactionary gap to deploy his PPE. None of this vital decision making and gameplay loop is encouraged within current policy and instead asks someone with no responsibility, knowledge or training in dealing with violent persons to guess and hope for the best.
The JRU is collaborative initiative between Police and Paramedics, and is designed to manage incidents requiring ongoing security while medical assistance is rendered. The current driving protocol within the JRU undermines the operational effectiveness by compromising the strategic positioning of the vehicle for scene security, which should be under the Police officer's purview. It diminishes the Police officer's active role in incident management, leading to a sense of underutilization and demoralisation in a division which already suffers from atrocious attrition and morale issues. It creates an imbalance in workload distribution, with Paramedics assuming driving responsibilities in addition to their extensive on-scene duties as most JRU scenes are LAS focused.
Their is absolutely no logical backing or precedent in this policy seriously calls into question the rationale behind the existing speed limitations and I would urge a review to be done into whether the 20mph speed limit for the majority of the Policing tree is actually justified. While I understand the necessity to moderate, if the majority of the Ambulance tree can go 25mph over in large LGVs, there is no reason Police, in high performance cars cannot do the same.
This brings me onto IIP. By current policy loyal players within ERT, DSU, and CID are punished to remain at the same maximum speeds from the start of their PMP career until the end of it with the only exception being for ARO. Their loyalty to the server and its divisions that are often overlooked and undervalued, but no less important than RTPC and AFO, is punished by not being given even the basic level of trust to go the same speeds as allowed by the NHS tree and remaining at what they were taught from day 1 of their career. This is in spite of the fact that IIP training (which most of the server has done) in its current form actually involves a fair amount of input about driving safely at speed and doing rapid risk assessments which would ordinarily equip Officers to travel at these higher speeds. It seems utterly ridiculous to myself and many others that divisions such as CID have very very well trained and effective subdivisions such as SCD who respond to some of the highest risk calls on the server...yet do so at the same speeds as a pre-IPP response driver who has just started out in ERT. Again, it is no wonder these divisions often struggle with retention when I would wager many feel patronised by the privileges afforded to AFO and RTPC, especially in regards to driving which is what so much of your time in game is spent doing. As far as I can recall this 20mph rule is one of the few that has never seen any revision of change since it was written in stone long ago.
To address these challenges, I propose the following policy amendments:
1. Speed Limit Adjustment: JRU-trained Police officers should be authorized to exceed the speed limit by 25mph to ensure timely arrival and scene management and to bring it inline with other NHS assets.
2. Driving Priority: JRU-trained Police officers should be given priority in driving the JRU vehicle, allowing them to make tactical decisions on vehicle positioning for optimal scene security and to better balance workload, responsibility and gameplay. This does not mean NHS cannot drive, it just means Police get first dibs and can relinquish it if they so wish.
3. Training Enhancements: Modifications to JRU training should emphasize the Police officer's leadership in scene control until it is deemed safe for medical priorities to take precedence where then the scene would be lead by NHS.
4. Initial Pursuit Phase: Consideration should be made to increasing the speed allowance given to IPP trained drivers to 5-10mph than is currently allowed to reflect their training and responsibility. Standard response as taught by the college can remain at 20mph.
Implementing these changes will yield significant benefits, including:
- Improved coordination and efficiency in emergency response.
- Enhanced safety for both emergency personnel and the public.
- Increased morale and engagement among Police officers within the JRU.
- A more equitable distribution of responsibilities, reducing the risk of fatigue and errors.
- Better morale, responsibility and trust to all Officers who choose to stay loyal to ERT, CID and DSU who are currently the slowest emergency units in the game.
- Absolutely zero requirement for developers to add to their worklist, this just requires a few powerpoints to be amended and could be implemented within 15 minutes.
Im conclusion the proposed policy amendments are not only operationally sound but also align with the broader objectives of the server. I urge you to consider these recommendations and support their implementation to advance our collective mission of having fun.