THE CHAIR ASKS
A COVENANT OF TRUST
Steve Hartshorn, National Chair, interviews former Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary Andy Rhodes QPM, Director of National Police Wellbeing Service, about how the Police Covenant can make an impact.
In May 2022, the Police Covenant put a legal requirement on the Home Secretary to report annually on police officers’ welfare and support. Andy Rhodes QPM, the driving force behind the initiative, shares his views with Steve Hartshorn.
Steve Hartshorn (SH): The Police Covenant started taking shape more than three years ago when the public consultation was launched, before it became law last year. What are your thoughts on the journey so far?
to build on the Front Line Review, interviewing serving officers, staff, their families, and those who have left policing, to build a clear picture of what is needed.
Though the research is vital, your members will know there are some
“If we can’t get the support right when our people get assaulted, we’re fundamentally failing in our duty of care”
Andy Rhodes (AR): It’s still very early days, so our focus has been on the most important work and on what will add most value to the frontline, and set solid foundations. A big part of this has been commissioning independent research
22 | POLICE | APRIL 2023
basic actions we should all be doing consistently well, which need to be in good shape before we can tackle the bigger issues. So, the initial 12–18 month plan, alongside building the bigger picture, has been to get these practical problems fixed. This is a similar
approach to the Armed Forces Covenant where, even after 12 years of helping ex-servicemen and women, they are still focused on getting the basics right. Now that a great deal of the groundwork is done, we are moving into new areas for policing in this country, such as the support for families and for those who have left. Traditionally we don’t do very much for these important groups of people and, over time, I’m very excited about the shift we
can make here.
It’s obviously a contentious and emotive decision to keep pay and conditions out of the Covenant especially given the financial pressures everyone is facing, so I am cracking on with what we can control right now.
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