UNISON offers a 24 hour Police Post Incident Procedures (PIP) legal helpline for UNISON members of police staff in England and Wales who are involved in an incident where someone dies, may die, or is seriously injured following contact with the police.
To access this service you must have been a member of UNISON for at least four weeks before the incident happened.
Advice for members
Your first call
If you are involved in a post incident procedure (PIP) you should immediately call the helpline on 0808 164 9332 to get access to advice and support. Your UNISON branch will supply you with a card with the helpline details. Make sure you keep it with you at all times. You never know when you might need it.
The helpline is open 24 hours and is free to call (although some service providers may charge).
When to call
You should call the PIP legal helpline if you are a UNISON member of police staff and you are involved in an incident which is subject to post incident procedures. Police forces operate these procedures when, following contact with the police, someone dies (or is expected to die) or suffers injuries that are life changing or potentially life changing.
What else should you do
Contact your local PIP accredited UNISON representative as you will also need immediate assistance from the union. If you prefer, your PIP accredited rep can call the helpline on your behalf.
You should not discuss the case with anyone, or make any statements to anyone else, or hand over any personal items, before speaking to a legal representative via the PIP helpline and your UNISON representative has arrived.
These matters are extremely serious and any investigation will not necessarily take into account your welfare needs or state of mind. UNISON is there to protect you.
The investigation
You will either be regarded as a suspect or witness (you can’t be both). UNISON will ensure that your rights under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) are followed and will work with your force’s Post Incident Manager (PIM) to ensure that you are treated fairly and that your welfare needs are met.
So, make sure you contact UNISON by calling our PIP legal helpline for access to legal support. Also make sure you contact your PIP accredited local UNISON representative as soon as possible.
You will need to have your UNISON membership number to hand when you call the helpline. There is space to write your membership number on our PIP legal helpline card, which will be supplied to you by your UNISON branch.
Advice for branches and PIP accredited reps
If a member is involved in a PIP you can call the helpline on their behalf, as long as you are PIP accredited.
UNISON PIP accredited reps should not act for non members.
Make sure you know what resources you can order to publicise this service for members. The PIP legal helpline is a very valuable service for police staff and has considerable recruitment and retention potential. Please publicise widely in your force.
UNISON PIP Helpline: 0808 164 9332