West Midlands Police boots 'destroy' officers' feet

The federation is trying to identify the model of boots causing discomfort

Protective boots issued to police officers are "destroying" their feet, says a police federation.

About 40 public order trained personnel in the West Midlands have told a health and safety officer the footwear causes "pain, blistering and sores".

West Midlands Police should now conduct an urgent review, the federation said, adding the job could be dangerous and officers needed comfortable boots.

The federation is looking into who supplied the boots.

Officers who are public order trained are given the metal reinforced boots as part of a package of personal protective equipment, West Midlands Police Federation's Deano Walker said.

"If you're in the middle of a riot and it goes on for 12 hours... what you don't want is officers being injured through blisters or cuts to their feet.

"It's dangerous enough that they're being petrol bombed or they're having bricks thrown at them," Mr Walker said.

West Midlands Police Federation's Deano Walker is asking members to contact him if their boots are uncomfortable

The footwear, believed to be supplied by DHL, is flame-retardant, and has metal protection in the tongue, soles and toes.

But as DHL has had the contract for about seven years and officers may be using boots from previous suppliers, Mr Walker is not yet certain which model is causing the pain.

"We have around a couple of thousand trained public order riot trained officers and it's a small percentage of officers suffering from discomfort," he said.

"At the end of the day the police and the organisation can't supply a boot to suit everybody. But some of the feedback we've had so far is even when they're broken in they still hurt."

The health and safety rep is now on a "fact-finding" mission to establish how widespread the issue is, ahead of a force uniform and equipment meeting on 7 December.

He urged members to contact him with feedback, but to continue wearing the boots in the meantime to avoid insurance issues in the event of injury.

"The message has gone out that officers have to wear these boots because otherwise there could be problems further down the line," he said.

"But hopefully there will be a review into these boots in the not-too-distant future and we can convince the force to replace them."

DHL has been contacted for comment, and is expected to attend the meeting next month.