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TOP cover aUtUmn 2012 5

As the media’s portrayal begins to develop

the information vacuum grows – frequently

assumption and myth remains unchallenged

and to the uninformed public – fact becomes
fiction and TV reality. Dave BlocksiDge

his impeccable critique of what should have happened with all the their own Organisation. When witness accounts conflict and
wisdom that hindsight brings. ballistic or forensic evidence becomes interpreted in a specific
For many police shooting Inquiries it takes an inordinately or narrow frame, conjecture leads to an undercurrent suggesting
long period of time before the very first Firearms Officer’s account something is fundamentally wrong with the officers’ version
becomes public knowledge. With the passage of time the media of events.
story has long since taken on a life form of its own. Frequently Decisions made by officers in fractions of a second become
a politically charged ‘urban myth’ sits as the public recollection subject to a logical and analytical review of what the ideal outcome
of what occurred. For many the media version of the fatal event should have been. When any outcome is now known, it is easy to
seems somehow more real than any ‘new’ account given at Inquest, explain what the preferred actions should have been. Frequently
despite the fact that this is the very first account from those who a large helping of hindsight bias helps shift the Firearms Officer
were actually there. towards a position where they are perceived to have been at fault:
Media organisations give little if any thought to the possible Stockwell, Harry Stanley, Derek Bennett, Simon Murden, the list
dynamics at play within a fatal shooting but if they stopped, goes on.
paused and pooled their collective knowledge, a more neutral and
less sensational portrayal of events would emerge. Consider for a
moment professional sports events: think of the Umpires, Assistant
Referees, Video Judges all now seemingly essential to assist the
decision making process and aid the correct application of laws
and rules for numerous sports.
Sports correspondents accept and frequently explain the decisions
made by games officials on a daily basis: analysing the errors that
occur in high-pressure competition. Pundits discuss the variability
of time and movement, action versus reaction, context and player
expectation and slow motion of events are analysed over and over.
However when police discharge firearms these same human factors
remain largely ignored or seem somehow to be irrelevant.
Most people do not question their own beliefs or forensically
analyse their own perspective when considering the actions of others.
Frequently moral sensitivities personalise and direct judgements. If
you are blissfully unaware of how difficult split second decision- Dave BlocksiDge at the scene oF the stanley shooting
making can be – situations often appear straightforward and simple
– framing the simple question ‘How could these people have got it A reoccurring assumption made within reviews of many police
so wrong?’ is easy. shootings is that the event itself and the environment around the
Police Forces themselves become unintentionally culpable in operation were so regular or so certain that the correct decisions
assisting public disquiet through a passive commentary of the event. appeared blindingly obvious. Hindsight creates the illusion that
As the media’s portrayal begins to develop the information vacuum these events were predictable both with the problem police faced
grows. Frequently assumption and myth remain unchallenged and, and the solution that should have been applied. In the eyes of the
to the uninformed public, fact becomes fiction and TV reality. public if an event was predictable and trained ‘experts’ used their
Whilst it is acknowledging that the IPCC has primacy for the skilled intuition why did these events turn out this way? How could
release of Investigation details, there is so much more information these ‘errors’ in judgement occur?
that could be delivered to reassure a concerned public. Police The public is not reassured by a reality that every dynamic
Forces must not ignore or retreat from negative public perception shooting judgment involves some small degree of chance. That
and should not miss the opportunity to inform and educate. First said, Police ‘experts’ need to be cautious – the illusion of validity for
and foremost the Police Service must address an endemic and often personal skilled performance can become supported by a powerful
timid disbelief for what dynamic human interaction actually means professional culture. Police Officers, just like others, can maintain
for those Police Officers involved. an unshakable faith in their own ability, however absurd, especially
An officer survives the fatal encounter and then comes the when a community of like-minded ‘believers’ sustains them. Such
hardest part – the judgments of others – frequently from within is the nature of elitism, specialism and the perception of expertise;