A project seeking to reduce the incidence of injury during manual handling in operational policing (working title)

​The purpose of the project is to research the incidence of injury when performing manual handling tasks during operational policing, the types of injury that have resulted and to suggest specific training schedules (and/or educational awareness) to reduce the severity or likelihood of that injury.  The project will include a thorough review of the literature available, with particular emphasis upon the guidance set out by the Health and Safety Executive, as well as the legal obligations upon employers. Having established the rate and type of injury the project intends to conduct a comprehensive needs analysis of operational departments within the police service to identify the demands of specific tasks within those roles. The challenge is to:

1. improve awareness around these injuries (education)
2. produce training programmes that are specific, effective and easily available (prehabilitation)
3. improve upon the techniques already in use with a particular focus on strength & conditioning and finally
4. review the path back to full duty after sustaining an injury on duty.