David Gilbertson
 David Gilbertson    (policeman) | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 1947 |
| Nationality | UK |
| Member of | Active Change Foundation, Institute for Statecraft |
David Edward Gilbertson is a retired UK policeman who joined the Institute for Statecraft.
Career
In 2013, an article of Gilbertson's was published on the IfS website, entitled Policing in the UK – Too important to leave in the hands of Police Chiefs or Politicians. He wrote that "Police officers, the majority quite young, have been trained to believe that they are continually under threat and must be continually on their guard. The public at large, and particularly crowds, are to be viewed with fear and suspicion... Officer Safety Training actively encourages officers to be aggressive. They are told to shout at people they are dealing with to ensure compliance, to threaten them with batons in order to force them to (Quote) ‘maintain a safe distance’. Young impressionable officers are told that it is perfectly acceptable to strike a suspect with what is called a ‘palm heel strike’ (a punch to you and me) as (Quote) "a normal distraction technique used to disorientate, cause pain or make the suspect unbalanced". Such tactics are almost guaranteed to lead to misunderstandings and confrontation in a multi-cultural context, where body language and raised voices can and does have different connotations.".[1]
Opinions
