Secretary of State for the Home Department (): I am today laying
before parliament the first annual report concerning the Police
Covenant. The report will also be available on GOV.UK.
There are few jobs that are as physically and mentally demanding
as those found within policing. Every day police officers and
staff put themselves in harm’s way, standing between the public
and those that would do them harm. These roles, and the
single-minded attitude it takes to excel at them, are rightly
appreciated by law-abiding members of the public. It is only
right that we recognise the demands that are placed on those who
work in policing and do all we can to support our police in
minimising the impact on those in the police force, their
families, and those that have left the service.
The Police Covenant is a pledge by Government, and by society as
a whole, to ensure that members of the police workforce suffer no
detriment as a result of their role. The Covenant acknowledges
the sacrifices made by those who work or have previously worked
in our police forces. It is intended to ensure that current and
retired officers, staff, volunteers and their families are all
included and seeks to mitigate any impacts on their day-to-day
life and their future health.
Since we launched the Covenant over a year ago, significant
progress has been made on all of the priority areas of work. The
Police Covenant has delivered several new pieces of work
including pre-deployment mental health training for new recruits
and improved occupational health standards for officers in
service. Bereavement counselling has also now been established
for the families and close colleagues of officers who have taken
their own life or been killed on duty. The Covenant has
established a Chief Medical Officer role whose initial priorities
will be NHS Engagement, reviewing the processes surrounding
ill-health retirement, and suicide prevention.
As a clear measure of our progress, three of the original
priorities for work have been completed, following significant
changes to improve the working experience for the police
workforce in those specific areas. Firstly, the Officer and Staff
Safety Review has successfully influenced changes to legislation
around assaults on emergency workers brought in by the Police,
Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Secondly, the focus on
successful implementation of Operation Hampshire was increased to
combat assaults made against officers. Data collection on these
assaults is now improving and we have now created an Annual Data
Requirement (ADR) for forces to collate data for assaults on
police staff. Finally, mental health training has now
successfully been included as part of the Policing Education
Qualifications Framework (PEQF) Pre-deployment training for new
officers and staff.
These early successes are a reflection of the constructive
collaboration and combined efforts of policing partners and
others involved in the covenant, such as the College of Policing,
National Police Chiefs’ Council, the staff associations and
unions, the interim Chief Medical Officer, His Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services
(HMICFRS), the Welsh Government and Non-Home Office Forces.
While it is right to recognise these achievements, this is just
the start and there remains much to do. As the nature and
challenges of working in the police are constantly evolving, so
too is our commitment to support the police workforce. As we
close the three completed priorities, we have created three new
ones to continue to make progress in further improving the
working environment and supporting the police. These new areas of
work including supporting police leavers, engaging with the NHS
and improving roadside safety for police officers and staff.
We will maintain our drive to improve policing for the public
and, through the Police Covenant, we will ensure that we continue
to deliver for the police.
