Frontline police are losing the confidence to use their full powers after lengthy prosecutions such as the trial of the officer who shot Chris Kaba, the shadow home secretary has said.
Chris Philp told a police conference in Westminster that if the government does not make legal changes to give officers better protection, he will put his own proposals to Parliament.
He said: “Many officers I have spoken to… feel that their reasonable use of force or other police powers are treated disproportionately or unreasonably after the event, in a way that reduces the pressure of dealing with an incident or split-second decision-making, which is inevitably required.
“Some incidents involve lengthy and bureaucratic investigations from the Independent Police Agency, or even prosecution, when common sense says this is not appropriate.”
Martyn Blake was acquitted of murder by a jury at the Old Bailey within three hours last month.
Mr Philp also cited the case of Pc Paul Fisher, who was cleared of dangerous driving after crashing on his way to a terrorist incident in Streatham, south-east London.
“We need police officers on the front lines who are willing to take the lawful action necessary to protect themselves and the public,” delegates were told.
“We need them to quickly drive to the scene of a terrorist attack and save lives.
“We need to stop and frisk to take knives off our streets, we need force where necessary to detain suspects, and I fear officers are losing the confidence to exercise those powers needed to keep the public safe . .”
Plans have been drawn up that would provide anonymity to firearms officers charged with murder over an on-duty shooting and raise the bar for criminal prosecution by a police watchdog.
Mr. Philp said he wants the government to allow officers to use the fact that they acted in accordance with their training as a defense to a charge of criminal conduct or misconduct.
“I believe that it should be a defense to both misconduct proceedings and criminal proceedings if an officer can demonstrate that the manner in which he acted was essentially following his training or standard operating procedures in the manner in which he exercised his powers.
“I think this will really give officers the confidence to use those powers.”
He continued: “If the Government does not implement these changes, at the next opportunity, as Shadow Home Secretary, I will seek to introduce these measures as an amendment to the next piece of legislation passed by Parliament.”