New LGA guidance sets out support for councillors
Protecting councillors and other locally elected representatives from intimidation, harassment and violence is essential to local democracy.
Operation Ford is a new policing provision aiming to strengthen protective security and policing support for councillors, elected mayors, police and crime commissioners (PCCs) and candidates for these roles.
Each police force now has at least one ‘force elected official adviser’ (FEOA) who will be responsible for delivering Operation Ford and coordinating responses to security concerns related to locally elected roles.
The FEOA also supports nationally elected politicians with their security, under Operation Bridger.
The FEOA: provides briefings on personal security to councillors, PCCs, mayors and candidates; helps coordinate relevant intelligence on threats or risks to elected officials in local areas; and, during elections, will liaise with council returning officers to offer candidates timely security advice.
The FEOA is not responsible for taking reports of, or investigating, crimes. Crimes must still be reported via 999, 101 or online, making clear that the incident is an ‘Operation Ford’ incident. This allows for appropriate triage and response to the incident through the usual mechanisms, as well as ensuring the FEOA is aware that an Operation Ford incident has been reported.
It can be challenging for councillors to know when they should report an incident or safety concern to the police, their local authority and their party. However, if a councillor or member of staff believes that a criminal offence has been committed, they should report it as soon as possible.
In particular, councillors should contact the police and make a report if the following behaviours are present:
- communications, online or offline, contain excessive abuse or threatening language
- repeated unwanted contact that may constitute harassment or stalking
- sexist, racist, homophobic or other discriminatory abuse and threats.
‘Red flag’ indicators that may signal an escalation should be brought to the immediate attention of the local police force – for example:
- threat of imminent violence
- fixation on you
- access to weapons and weapons skills
- the release of information about you that is not already in the public domain.
After an incident, councillors should first make sure they are safe (if not, call 999).
Try to keep a record of the incident (for example, retaining documents posted through your letterbox or screenshotting emails), flag concerns with council officers and, where relevant, speak to peers to gain support and to understand if the issue is also affecting other councillors – pointing to a wider issue.
Different councils will have different processes in place for dealing with abuse, intimidation and harassment of elected members.
Monitoring officers or democratic service managers are often the first port of call for councillors experiencing these issues; however, some councils have a specific reporting process. It’s vital to understand what the local reporting system is and how to access it when needed.
“Local authorities should develop mechanisms to flag issues proactively or reactively with policing colleagues as part of wider intelligence gathering, as well as with members”
After reporting an incident, officers may be able to provide advice about actions to take, which may or may not involve the police or the FEOA.
Councils have a role in supporting councillors at risk of or experiencing threats, intimidation, harassment or other forms of abuse, including where these incidents may be criminal and/or create concerns about risks to the physical or mental health of the elected member.
The LGA provides a range of resources for councils to assess and review the support they provide to councillors – including good-practice guidance, case studies and a self-assessment tool – as part of its Debate Not Hate campaign.
Effective Operation Ford support can include maintaining and sharing FEOA contacts, having a simple route for reporting incidents, and clear responsibilities, roles and expectations for dealing with incidents.
Local authorities will have a good grasp of issues or announcements that are likely to cause concerns, sometimes ahead of publication. They should develop mechanisms to flag issues proactively or reactively with policing colleagues as part of wider intelligence gathering, as well as with members, who should be supported to manage their public engagement around contentious issues.
Wellbeing support may be equally as important as policing action.
Political groups or parties may be able to provide mentoring or buddying support, and some councils make counselling support available to councillors through their employee assistance programme (see case studies).
Case study
Middlesbrough Council
Middlesbrough Council identified the risk of lone working and personal safety within its councillor community, and explored ways to provide more support, focusing on wellbeing and post-incident aftercare.
The council has a robust health and wellbeing package that it offers to council colleagues, which has been extended to councillors.
In addition, it provides councillors with: free-of-charge access to mental health professionals through a therapy network, to help them process and recover if an incident occurs; one-to-one space for private discussions, to decompress and
work out a preventative approach to emerging issues; and wellbeing and mental health training, to help ensure councillors are resilient and prepared for their activities in the community.
Leeds City Council
Councillors represent their local communities, and spend much time engaging with residents through ward surgeries and other community and council events. Sometimes these can lead to challenging conversations and, occasionally, aggressive encounters. It is important that councillors feel equipped to manage this, including taking preventative steps to limit the risk of serious consequences.
Leeds City Council’s Health and Safety Team supports councillors to assess the suitability of venues they use for ward surgeries, to ensure they are safe and to find appropriate alternatives if necessary.
This involves a premises risk assessment, using the skills and competencies of council officers, which provides valuable information on conducting public meetings safely in that specific environment – even including a suggested seating plan and guidance on what equipment to use.
Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council developed two lone-working solutions for councillors, supplemented by bespoke training to raise awareness of personal safety measures and suggest preventative actions to avoid confrontational situations, including tactics for de-escalation.
The first solution is a smartphone app that registers the councillor’s location and estimated meeting time, provides a notification either to the councillor’s selected contact or to the police in an emergency, and records the conversation – allowing emergency services to assess what level of response is needed.
The second solution is a discreet, physical, lone-working device, installed behind an ID card on a lanyard, which is easier to access in an emergency than the smartphone app, but works in a similar way.
The council has learned how critical recurrent training is and identified that, although technology can provide a great safety net, preventative training is essential to avoid or de-escalate difficult situations.
- This is a summary of the LGA’s ‘Must know: Operation Ford and policing crime against elected members’, which can be downloaded for free, in full, on our website.