Mutual aid deployments growing officers' skills and experience
24 December 2025
Officers in the West Mercia Police Public Support Unit (PSU) are bringing back valuable skills and experience to the Force from their deployment on mutual aid.
The Level 2 trained officers have supported colleagues in other forces across the country in recent weeks and months in policing protests, marches, and potentially high-risk football fixtures.
Sergeant Richard Thomas, of Force operations, said the officers have gained a lot of experience from the deployments.
In particular, he said that while working with colleagues from the Met on high-profile Israel/Palestine protests in London, the officers had employed tactics they were trained in but rarely used in West Mercia.
Richard, a West Mercia Police Federation member, said: “Our officers were great. They were really professional.
“They used tactics and were exposed to styles of policing, protest, and levels of public scrutiny they probably won’t have seen, so they’ll bring a lot of learning back to the Force.
“Our training came to fruition, but there are things that we’ve taken away that will form some of our learning in Force.”
In recent weeks, West Mercia Police officers, working as part of a central region unit alongside colleagues from West Midlands and Warwickshire, were in London to police Israel/Palestine demonstrations.
Multiple protests
After travelling down the night before, the officers were warned they faced a long day ahead – and so it proved.
They were joined by the Met Commissioner for the day’s briefing and told to be flexible because there were football matches taking place as well as multiple protests.
Initially they were deployed to Waterloo Bridge to manage tensions between a static pro-Israel group and a much larger pro-Palestine march.
While the situation was largely peaceful, the officers were filmed, questioned, and placed under scrutiny by protesters and the press.
By mid-afternoon, the West Mercia Police officers were redeployed to Parliament Square where a demonstration was held against the ban on the group Palestine Action.
A total of 890 people were arrested at that demonstration, including one woman who has since contacted the Force to praise the conduct of her arresting officer
Richard said: “She contacted us to say she was part of the protest and was arrested, and that she wanted to thank the officer because he showed compassion.
Custody
“That doesn’t happen very often.
“It’s been forwarded on to the officer, and the Chief Constable is aware of it as well.”
The number of arrests meant that custody provision was being stretched and a temporary prisoner reception point was established on Millbank.
Some of the West Mercia Police officers worked a 24-hour shift, with one completing an exhausting 26 hours on duty.
Richard said: “This was an incredibly long and incredibly challenging shift.
“The team showed incredible professionalism throughout.
“They were compassionate when making arrests, calm under pressure, professional when under scrutiny, and it was a pleasure to work with them all.”
Donald Trump
West Mercia officers continue to play their part in supporting other forces. Since those high-profile protests, they have policed further protests in London, high-profile football fixtures including the South Coast Derby between Southampton and Portsmouth, and even the state visit of Donald Trump.
And Richard encouraged other officers to consider putting themselves forward for PSU training.
“My advice for everyone is to volunteer, have these experiences and bring this knowledge back to Force,” he said.
“I am sure the officers in London would have grown in confidence and will pass this learning on to others.
“While we came under significant pressure, surrounded by cameras and opposition, we remained professional and impartial and did our job, the officers represented West Mercia in a positive manner.”
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