Police Care: offering help for the policing family

27 July 2020

Research published by the charity Police Care UK has revealed that more than 90 per cent of police officers will be exposed to repeated traumatic incidents during their career, and that one in five serving police officers and staff are currently living with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Police Care UK provides practical, emotional, and financial support, to serving and former police officers, police staff, police volunteers and their immediate families, who have suffered ‘harm’ as a result of policing.

A national organisation, the charity operates from a head office in Surrey. Police Care UK is the new name for the Police Dependants’ Trust following a rebrand in early 2019.

The charity is independent and confidential and receives no state funding, nor funding from any police force. It has about 18 staff members and 100 volunteers across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“Our volunteers assist us by representing us at local events or meetings or by providing a more local point of contact for those who may need our assistance,” says Dave Blundell, a former national Federation official who is now Police Care UK’s engagement officer.

“We would like to have volunteers in every corner of the UK but sadly we were forced to postpone our volunteer recruitment campaign this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is our intention to resume this soon, and this is open to anyone who has been part of a UK police force.”

Police Care UK has three simple aims:

• To raise awareness of the harm which can be suffered as a result of policing. We want everyone to understand the dangers that police officers and staff face every day.
• To enable police officers, staff and their families to recover and rebuild, and we believe that police families should have someone to turn to.
• To empower police forces to reduce harm in the first place. We believe that caring for their people is the duty of every police force, and we’ll do what we can to help.

Since 2016 Police Care UK has made £896,000 in grants to individuals, and more than £2.3 million in grants to police forces across the UK.

Most recently, Police Care UK and the Police Treatment Centres (PTC) have established a psychological wellbeing centre of excellence to better care for those who suffer psychological harm because of their policing role. This will be built at the PTC’s St Andrew’s site in Harrogate, and will be a national specialist facility to support all regions of the UK.

Officers, staff, and volunteers can access help and support from Police Care UK for themselves or a colleague (although they must have consent) by visiting the charity’s website, emailing hello@policecare.org.uk or ringing 0300 012 0030 during weekday office hours.