A London Cop Cleared After Leaving 40 Injuries On A Mom While KICKING Her Out Of A Hospital

[Laurie]

I believe that BLS is the statistics-gathering branch of the government, and in this case they probably got their numbers from OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). I used to be in the industrial safety field myself, and I think that's how they come up with their numbers.

Non-fatal injuries - that would probably take a little longer to find.




It seems that fishing is one of the world's most dangerous professions. I never would have thought that ...

I used to be a Health & Safety Officer too, a real one not one of these jumped up local environmental health people who would ban stairs on the grounds that you can fall gown them!

I used to get these figures monthly, I also used to lunch with my local EMAS doctor to keep up with tends.

I used to work in a vocational college, 23,000 students, which taught most of the things mentioned, though not airline piloting, that's how I know about bizarre things like hairdressers, so it was important for me to keep up.

I liked to think, probably vainly, that by catching trends early I might make a real difference yo industrial safety when students graduated.

To go from teaching putative journalists about the H&S aspects of their job to plasma cutting in the welding workshop to rock climbing and food hygiene in one morning certainly kept the brain active!

I loved every minute of it!



Edit
Just realized I may have confused the issue a bit with other posts about the military. I did 40 years in weapons and explosives, but had to retire at 55. Decided on a total career change and did Healt & Safety for ten years after that.

 

[SifuPhil]

Excellent!

I lost faith in the system several times during my tenure as a H&S person. I saw bribes, I saw OSHA officials knowing less about safety than your typical line worker, and I personally experienced the joy of my boss - the owner of the company - command me to lie to OSHA and EPA.

I walked out of that job - and that profession - the same day.

 

[Laurie]

I think our H&S Regs are somewhat stricter than yours, at least according to some exchange officers I met.

Our laws were introduced in 1974 after a fairly strong report from a senior industrialist called Lord Robens.

Our Health & Safety Executive have powers the police can only dream of.

They can enter any premises at any time without a warrant, or having to show just cause, they can stop anyone entering or leaving the premises and search and detain anybody they see fit. It is a criminal offence to impede them. They can seize any and all computers, hard drives, files, and any form of storage media without a court order. That includes 10 Downing Street!

I have been the subject of such a visit (following an anonymous complaint from a disgruntled employee) and it does tend to concentrate the mind a bit! Luckily I was given a clean bill of health – they are very thorough and very fair.

They can bring prosecution without reference to the Crown Prosecution Service (the equivalent to your DA’s office) and in fact normally do, and any convictions ate criminal, not civil offences.

For instance, in the case which started this thread, even after the acquittal they can prosecute the officer, his Chief Constable and the authority they work for “failing in their duty of care to those not in their employ who may be affected by their undertaking”!

If a company is involved judges are expected to impose fines not just based on the severity of the offence, but on the company’s turnover, the guidance being that the fine should have a noticeable effect on the company’s annual accounts, and should affect the shareholders’ dividend.

For instance, only last week a hotel chef and the manageress were sent to prison for 12 and eighteen months respectively for food safety offences, and the company, Mitchell & Butler, a fairly well know British company fined £1.5 million for allowing it to happen!

 

[hollydolly]

That Chef and Manageress of the pub who were given the prison sentence should have got a much stiffer punishment. To be sent to prison for such a short time is completely at odds to the crime they committed...33 people with food poisoning so severe that one woman died...then they lied and forged books and documents to back up their lies...they should have been charged with manslaughter at the very least!!


Link for any one whose not read this story..
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/23/pub-chef-manager-jailed-christmas-dinner-diner-dead

 

[SifuPhil]

Laurie, your H&S folk make our OSHA seem like a paper tiger.

In fact, I haven't noticed any significant actions on their part in quite a while now. Granted I'm out of the field and they're a bit out of my peripheral vision, but they NEVER had the kind of power your folks do.

Good for you.

 

[Laurie]

That Chef and Manageress of the pub who were given the prison sentence should have got a much stiffer punishment. To be sent to prison for such a short time is completely at odds to the crime they committed...33 people with food poisoning so severe that one woman died...then they lied and forged books and documents to back up their lies...they should have been charged with manslaughter at the very least!!


Link for any one whose not read this story..
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/23/pub-chef-manager-jailed-christmas-dinner-diner-dead

Don't think that the CPS could have got manslaughter to stick.

For manslaughter you have to prove that a reasonable person should have seen that death might result.

If, as seems likely, they had done this before without harmful results (and that would have been their defence anyway) they probably would not have been convicted.

This was a good result, though perhaps not for the relatives, and will rightly send shivers through the catering trade.