A VIDEO of police officers learning self defence techniques has been released by Cambridgeshire Police.The force hopes the video will give the public an insight into how officers are trained to protect themselves and others in potentially violent situati

A VIDEO of police officers learning self defence techniques has been released by Cambridgeshire Police.

The force hopes the video will give the public an insight into how officers are trained to protect themselves and others in potentially violent situations.

Officers can sometimes find themselves in life-threatening situations in which split second decisions have to be made.

It can be one of the toughest parts of the job and it's vitally important that officers are equipped to deal with it.

To prepare officers for these situations Cambridgeshire Police take them through officer safety training. New recruits receive seven days of training which is then topped up every year.

Training co-ordinator, Sgt Nick Cook, said: "The purpose of officer safety training is to give people the confidence to use the tools they have in dealing with potentially violent situations."

Officers are trained in self defence and the use of their equipment such as batons and PAVA incapacitant spray.

Sgt Cook said: "Despite the fact that it's part of the job, no-one looks forward to the day that their skills will be put to the test, but over the course of a 30-year career they are bound to be tested at least once."

The skills officers learn are also about understanding and controlling their own fight or flight instincts.

Sgt Cook said: "In a situation such as a knife attack it may be that the safest thing to do is simply get out of the way.

"Learning to use the appropriate level of force is integral to the officer safety training course.

"This involves mere presence through to use of physical force but at all times is based around communication."

The course is currently run alongside many others at the Cambridgeshire Police base at Alconbury airfield.

Sgt Cook said: "The facilities here are excellent but we are planning to move to purpose-built facilities at Monks Wood later this year.

"This will be extremely useful as we currently train up to 2,000 people a year on various courses including first aid, public order training, and how to deal with a Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear incident.