Blue Light Whistle Blowers is a new charity dedicated to providing an anonymous way to whistle blow on wrongdoing within the fire, police or ambulance services.
The charity which is currently progressing with registration met MPs and Peers including Harrogate MP Andrew Jones and Lord Harrogate – Timothy Kirkhope at the House of Commons last month, at an event sponsored by Bob Blackman MP. The charity is an independent organisation that will provide an exclusive bespoke service to support victims of crimes committed by blue light employees involved in policing, ambulance trusts and fire and rescue. The service provided by the charity will make it is easier for victim whistle blowing and, significantly, it will support the victims of these crimes until they are ready to substantiate any allegations.
Victims will be provided where required with counselling, guidance about collecting evidence, if safe to do so and mentoring to encourage them to formally report a crime, but only when they are ready to make a submission. Blue Light Whistle Blowers will work with other victim charities and organisations, potentially including the 40 Sexual Assault Referral Centres based in England. The charity will also work closely with blue light organisations but not for blue light organisations, to avoid a conflict of interest.
Blue light abuse victims may be prevented from making allegations for fear of reprisal, especially if they work or have a partner employed by one of the three major services, the Police, the Fire Service, and the Ambulance Service. The Blue Light Whistle Blowers charity will support genuine victims of these crimes and help them prepare to report anonymously.
It is not the intention of the charity to investigate these crimes, it is about providing an effective, trusted mechanism, that is truly anonymous. Although most organisations have processes in place these are clearly not delivering, as consistently reported by the national media. The charity aims to be the voice of victims and their families and won’t hesitate where necessary to challenge the status quo.
A telephone hotline will be set up later this year that will provide a completely confidential channel for the reporting of wrongdoers. From there, an online reporting portal will also follow.
Once a report is made to the Blue Light Whistle Blowers, it will only be submitted to the appropriate emergency service for investigation with the consent of the person that has raised it.
Many of the users of the service could be vulnerable and the whistle blowing line will provide ongoing support as part of its portfolio of services.
The charity aim is to hold Chief Constables, Chief Fire Officers, and Ambulance Trusts to account for these crimes and will produce league tables highlighting the best and worst affected services within the country.
The charity is in the process of being registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with the Charity Commission, with the application awaiting final approval. This will allow the charity to employ specially trained staff for the hotline and deliver charitable services under contractual agreements.
A website has been launched, with the other aspects of the service due to go live in the autumn, initially based on a number of areas including London before it is rolled out nationally.
The charity recognises that the vast majority of blue light workers are honest and law-abiding citizens and wishes to convey that it understands that these abuses are perpetrated by a very small minority of staff. However, some victims are disenfranchised by the very services that are supposed to protect them, so they need the utmost support, and that is where the new charity sees its remit.
Philip Allott, who is the Chair of the charity said: “Blue Light Whistle Blowers has been set up to be the voice of the voiceless and the silenced. Whistle Blowers will support the victims and give them a voice, as for too long they have received little if any support. Whilst we recognise that the vast majority of blue light employees are conscientious, committed and hardworking individuals, a very small minority of their colleagues are continuing to put the public at risk.”
Sponsor Bob Blackman MP added: “I was delighted to sponsor the launch event last month at the House of Commons. The introduction of a service that will exclusively support victims of blue light crimes means it will be easier to get support and be a whistle blower when things go wrong.”
The charity defines blue light services as serving police officers, current serving firefighters, whether wholetime or on call, paramedics, first responders and others employed by ambulance trusts who are involved in attending 999 incidents.
