Number: 15983121
Country: United Kingdom
Source: TED
National Enforcement Training Framework
The Environment Agency uses its enforcement powers not only to regulate and secure compliance but also to prevent and detect offending, investigate and collect evidence and materials lawfully for use in subsequent prosecutions. Therefore, training within regulation and enforcement forms an important and high profile part of our strategy to enforce laws across England that protect the environment and prosecute offenders.
While a large proportion of our training is focused on our powers of entry and conventional methods of regulation and criminal investigation, we also train staff in covert tactics, dealing with hostile situations, conflict management and the use of body worn video, the latter being mainly deployed in investigation of waste crime and fisheries enforcement.
Lot 1: Enforcement Training (including Major Investigation/Legal Training)
The Environment Agency currently provides a development programme to support its officers in regard to their roles and responsibilities under relevant legislation, including the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA), the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), the Environment Act 1995, the Water Resources Act 1991, the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1976, The Keeping and Introduction of Fish Regulations 2015, and the Human Rights Act 1998. Warranted Environment Officers (Including Fisheries Officers) are required to carry out inspections and investigate offences. Where illegal activity is detected, the officer should identify a course of action, which can range from providing advice and guidance, to criminal prosecution. The roles include the inspection and investigation of waste offending, fisheries offences, flood risk management and waterways, the latter of which enforces vessel registration offences on England’s Waterways. Within some enforcement roles, officers conduct interviews when suspects have been arrested and held in police custody. This is mainly in respect of the more serious waste offences and arrests are made by the police, when working as part of a joint agency investigation or operation although Fisheries Officers who have powers of arrest, also use police custody and interview facilities.
The Environment Agency uses a Technical development framework (TDF). This is a tool to help teams and individual’s, identify and develop the technical skills and know how they need to do their jobs.
Lot 2: Mobile and Rural Surveillance Photography Training (including Log Keeping)
The Environment Agency carries out surveillance activities as part of our enforcement and regulatory work. This is one of the very few areas where we ourselves are the subject of external scrutiny from the Investigatory Powers Commissioners Office (IPCO).
Surveillance is a specialised and potentially high-risk undertaking which may impact on people"s human rights. To undertake it lawfully and safely, we need our officers to have a good understanding of relevant legislation including the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, 2002 (RIPA), the Human Rights Act, 1998 (HRA) and health and safety legislation and practice. It is important that staff have a solid practical grounding in techniques.
The main regulatory provision for this area of work is RIPA. The Environment Agency is only authorised for directed surveillance, not for intrusive surveillance. There is no dispensation under any other legislation (e.g. for mobile surveillance traffic laws must be obeyed at all times).
There is currently an online training package and internal face to face RIPA Awareness training including social media research, which will provide basic background knowledge and awareness of RIPA to the majority of investigatory staff.
Most surveillance is undertaken by the enforcement teams and the SAFFA warranted fisheries enforcement officers, which accounts for approximately 170 staff in total. In addition to their routine rod licence checks, they carry out criminal investigations into offences under SAFFA and use various tactics including surveillance as an investigative tool. These officers routinely take part in static manned observations, deployment of surveillance cameras to monitor sites and they also undertake manned surveillance in teams. Surveillance is predominantly aimed at illegal waste movement and disposal (e.g. burning and burying) and illegal fisheries activity (e.g. poaching).
The Environment Agency uses a Technical development framework. (TDF) This is a tool to help teams and individual’s, identify and develop the technical skills and know how they need to do their jobs. The TDF indicates key levels of capabilities ranging from initial awareness at level 1 through to expert at Level 5. These capabilities compliment the responsibilities and accountabilities within EA roles and also assist in identifying training needs, both internally and when working with external training companies.
Lot 3: Hostile Situations Training
Within both a regulatory and enforcement role, Environment Agency officers are required to carry out inspections at numerous sites and locations. By its very nature, this work can involve visiting sites where the situation may be deemed hostile, which can also be in remote locations. It is essential that officers are aware of the potential for conflict and how to assess the risk, take precautions and if it becomes necessary protect themselves in these hostile situations.
The roles include various customer facing roles which mainly focus on waste enforcement, various regulatory roles, flood and risk management (FCRM) and Waterways enforcement. Recent experience and reports however suggest that staff from other areas of the business where hostility has never previously been an issue, are now becoming subjected to threats from customers. This means, that as we continuously manage staff safety, we will have to either tailor current courses to suit a wider audience or create role specific courses to build personal confidence in this subject.
Environment Officers may visit land or premises to investigate a pollution incident, which includes farmland. Whilst the majority of farmers and workers are compliant and respectful, some farmers by the nature of their work, legally hold shotgun licences providing them access to firearms. Therefore officers will conduct risk assessments prior to any regulatory or enforcement visit to any premises or land to identify any potential issues. Despite these assessments, officers when visiting any premises or land, may still be subjected to verbal threats or physical violence.
We currently provide hostile situations training, which is mandatory for any staff requiring a warrant.
The aim of the course is to teach delegates to recognise potential hostile situations and take appropriate action to minimise risk of personal injury. The course includes theory and techniques critical to individual health, safety and well-being. This training is currently a pass or fail course.
The Environment Agency also employs people who, whilst not carrying out an enforcement role, perform field services or supporting roles that are ‘customer facing’ where they may encounter the public. E.g. samplers collecting water samplers for a pollution incident, who perform a supporting role. Therefore this course is available for all customer-facing and warranted staff or those staff who attend sites where they may get challenged. This includes public speaking events and exhibitions.
Lot 4: Conflict Resolution Training/Operational Security for Environmental Crime Officers (OSECO)
The Environment Agency currently provides 2 further courses that focus on health, safety and well-being of staff, which are additional to the hostile situations training. They are the conflict resolution training which is specific for SAFFA warranted fisheries officers and the operational security for environmental crime officers which is mainly for those in enforcement that deal with more serious and organised offending, particularly in respect of waste offences. It is anticipated that the name of the OSECO course will be changed prior to or following the award of any contract
Fisheries officers under the Salmon and Freshwater Fish Act (SAFFA) have the same powers of arrest as a constable and during deployment, wear body armour and carry batons and handcuffs as part of their personal protective equipment. Environment officers do not have powers of arrest or carry personal protective equipment, however many of the threats or intimidation they encounter, are similar to those of fisheries or other customer facing public authorities. For this reason and the similarity (apart from the carrying of PPE) in course content, the EA seek one provider for both training courses and are therefore part of the same lot.
Further details for each training course are as follows:
Fisheries conflict resolution for SAFFA
3 000 000 people go freshwater fishing in the United Kingdom every year. The Environment Agency carries out enforcement in relation to fishing rod licences and investigations into illegal fishing activities, such as poaching.
Officers are warranted, giving them powers under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 (SAFFA) and the Keeping and Introduction of Fish Regulations 2015 and under these powers carry out enforcement. Whilst they are not police officers or deal with a variety of criminal offences, when carrying out duties under SAFFA the warrant holder officers have the same powers as a police constable and carry personal protective equipment, such as body armour, batons and handcuffs. They also deploy body worn video cameras.
Fisheries officers regularly perform rod licence checks on the riverbanks throughout the UK. The officers engage with a very diverse fishing community, including juveniles and seek information to establish if they are fishing legally. Often, officers are verbally threatened and physically abused and on occasion can be subject of a video recording being made by the offender/s.
We currently provide the conflict resolution training for fisheries officers new to the Environment Agency or existing staff working towards a full SAFFA warrant. The course aims to educate officers in conflict management and provide some of the core skills and competencies to maximise staff safety, which include; active listening and observing body language, recognising threat escalation, conducting risk assessments, using breakaway techniques and understanding legislation in relation to use of force, limitations and related legislation. This course is currently refreshed every 13 months.
To be eligible for attendance on this course, we currently request a pre-course occupational health self-assessment questionnaire to be completed by all delegates.
Operational security for environment officers (OSECO)
This is presently additional to the hostile situations course and aimed at regulatory and enforcement officers who do not have a power of arrest, do not carry batons or handcuffs but who may be exposed to aggressive or violent behaviour due to the nature of their work. The purpose of the course is to educate officers who hold a warrant, in the management of conflict and provide the necessary core skills and competencies to keep them safe whilst in role.
Lot 2: Mobile and Rural Surveillance Photography Training (Including Log Keeping)
