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18 hours ago | 
emergencyservicestimes.com | Catherine Levin
Police Service of Northern Ireland is piloting a new video call service from tech company GoodSAM, offering it to victims of crime as an alternative to telephone resolution or in-person attendance. The four-week pilot of the Virtual Officer Attendance Hub has been set up in Castlereagh Police Station where a team of three sergeants and 16 constables from across the country has received in-depth training on how the new process will be implemented.
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1 week ago | 
emergencyservicestimes.com | Catherine Levin
Councillors in Oxfordshire County Council have agreed a plan to decarbonise six fire stations as part of a £10m package designed to achieve substantial carbon reductions across its estate. Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is part of the county council and its fire stations are included in the council’s Property Decarbonisation Programme.
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1 week ago | 
emergencyservicestimes.com | Catherine Levin
An influential group of MPs says that the police response to the summer riots showed ‘tremendous courage and fortitude’ but was hampered by a failure to anticipate the levels of violence, deal with the challenges of social media and take a national approach to quickly stamping out the spread of disinformation. The Home Affairs Committee, a group of MPs led by Dame Karen Bradley, has published the results of an inquiry into the riots that spread across the country in summer 2024.
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2 weeks ago | 
emergencyservicestimes.com | Catherine Levin
A new report from the London Assembly finds that the first of its kind Professional Standards Unit in the London Fire Brigade has seen such a volume of ‘contacts’ from concerned staff that it is struggling to deal with them in ‘a timely fashion.’ This is leading to concerns about the health and wellbeing of staff as well as the costs of staff remaining suspended on full pay for long periods of time.
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2 weeks ago | 
emergencyservicestimes.com | Catherine Levin |Pete Apps
Talking to Catherine Levin for a keynote session at The Fire Safety Event, I found myself answering the question I am often asked: how can we chart a path forward from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and know that the changes being made will make a difference? It is a very difficult question to answer in general terms. Anyone who understands the fire safety sector, will be well aware that things have changed: new legislation, new regulators, new competency requirements and endless conversations.
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2 weeks ago | 
emergencyservicestimes.com | Catherine Levin
The Defence Simulation Education and Training event is marking its ten-year anniversary and expanding its offer to include the emergency services and focus on Critical National Infrastructure. DSET 2025 takes place between 8 and 10 July in Bristol, bringing together over 2,000 international professionals from defence (foreign and domestic), government, academia, and industry in a hybrid event with hands on features as well as a conference programme.
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2 weeks ago | 
emergencyservicestimes.com | Catherine Levin
In the latest inspection report of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, HMI Lee Freeman said he was concerned about how the force was keeping people safe, preventing crime and providing victims with an effective service, leading the Deputy Chief Constable to say this must be “a wake up call to properly fund the PSNI.”His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) carried out its inspection of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in November last year.
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3 weeks ago | 
emergencyservicestimes.com | Catherine Levin
When budgets are tight and demand rises, the emergency services need to be smarter in how they deliver services to the public and that’s no different in the ambulance service where it puts the patient at the centre of its activities. At a conference of ambulance leaders last month, chief digital officers spoke about the challenges of digital transformation for a service that is, like the rest of the NHS, part of a conversation about how it should look in ten years time.
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3 weeks ago | 
emergencyservicestimes.com | Catherine Levin
Landmark anti-terror legislation, known as Martyn’s Law, has gained Royal Assent and become law. This new legislation will make sure venues across the UK must consider the security of the public and take steps to protect them from harm. This comes after years of tireless campaigning by Figen Murray, whose son Martyn was one of 22 concert goers killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack. In an emotional short video post on LinkedIn, Figen shared her relief and huge achievement.
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3 weeks ago | 
emergencyservicestimes.com | Catherine Levin
The London Resilience Unit has joined forces with resilience charity Groundwork to develop a toolkit packed with practical information and guidance to help Londoners better prepare for and respond to future emergencies. The London Community Resilience Toolkit is designed for anyone thinking about building greater community resilience in their local area. It helps identify local resources and partners, develop relationships with and support volunteers, and think about how to use community spaces.
