LAW ENFORCEMENT
Officer Safety Training
Training Director and Senior National Trainer Colin Ellis-Vowles left Her Majesty’s Prison Service in 2013. As a Prison Officer Colin became highly experienced in the application of recognised Conflict Management models and the use of reasonable force to varying degrees within HM Prison Service. During the career of a Prison Officer it is reasonable to expect they may be required to manage violence, both toward themselves and others.
Officers must be trained and prepared to safely manage violent incidents regardless of size, strength, presence of weapons and numbers of supporting colleagues. As such, training in basic and advanced personal safety, control & restraint techniques, the use of extendable batons and the application of handcuffs was given to all new Officers during basic training, and this training was refreshed annually. Colin had many other roles in addition to his basic duties. Colin was trained as part of Operation Tornado, the countermeasure for concerted indiscipline and serious unrest within HM Prison Service. This required specialist training in squad movement, riot procedures, safe barricade removal techniques, PR24 sidearm baton training, weapon neutralisation, and the safe reinstatement of Crown property.
Personal Safety Training and First Aid
We were very proud to be asked to join a team of freelance trainers to work alongside the in-house Personal Safety Training (PST) delivery team at West Midlands Police to deliver the annual PST refresher training to operational Police Officers. Over 18 months Colin delivered all aspects of the training syllabus, assessed new recruits during their examinations in both PST and search procedures.
Colin continues to work with Custody Detention Officers (CDO) all over the UK on behalf of G4S, primarily working with Lancashire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and Lincolnshire Police Forces. In addition to delivering their annual Officer Safety Training (OST) package to CDOs, Colin has also delivered the OST package to Lincolnshire’s PCSOs, and Officer of the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU).
Public Order and Anti-Riot Training
Colin’s experience in several live riot and concerted indiscipline incidents, combined with his extensive training knowledge placed him in the perfect position to be asked to join a very select team in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to deliver Public Order and Anti-Riot training to the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF). Training was delivered in line with the 2004 Home Office Public Order manual, and overseen by the Police Commissioner for the RVIPF, who himself is an ex-public order trainer.
New Recruit Training and Assessment
We were asked to join a small team to deliver the entire West Midlands Police PST package to hundreds of graduate recruits on behalf of Police Now, a charity programme that works with a variety of forces nationwide. This required the training of new Officers with little or no prior knowledge of PST or policing.