OFFICER WELFARE
POLICE WELLBEING AND THE COVENANT
As we move ahead into 2024, it is the ideal time to reflect on the progress made by the and summarise work yet to be done
In 2019 then Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced that he was to recognise policing by creating the Police Covenant to acknowledge the sacrifices made by officers and staff and ensure that they are not disadvantaged as a result of service in the Police. Five years later, here’s what has changed and what more needs to be achieved.
OPERATION HAMPSHIRE One of the main recognisable areas of work has been around assaults, recording of assaults on emergency workers. The recording of assaults on our officers is vital in measuring just some of the challenges faced and the results have been shocking. Over 40,000 recorded assaults in the last year indicates a serious problem in
30 | POLICE | FEBRUARY | 2024
society. The numbers are rising and the recent legislation showing an increase in sentencing up to 2 years has served as no deterrent. It would be interesting to know why and if sentencing is the answer however it is recognised that courts and the general criminal justice system have a part to play and it is clear recognition of
“Over 40,000 recorded assaults in the last
year indicates a serious problem in society. The numbers are rising and the recent legislation showing an increase in sentencing up to 2 years has served as no deterrent.”
the impact and application of legislation is far from appropriate. In my personal view legislation is one thing but infrastructure and motivation to use it is another. I have seen some very
positive use of this by some courts but that is a minority rather than majority. CPS is at capacity, courts have a backlog and prisons are at breaking point. Given recent civil unrest and future issues which are imminent these figures are doubtlessly going to increase. With each officer assaulted comes an element of trauma, with each element of trauma comes lasting harm if left unchecked and there is a danger and risk of an overworked broken workforce. Phase two of Operation Hampshire is underway and will look at recording off duty death, serious injury and suicides. The use of this
data is crucial in not just highlighting the level of risk our officers are facing but secures evidence in order to look at ways of mitigating the risk of some of these injuries and provision of care following.
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