Welfare van continues to benefit officers

8 September 2025

Officers are being reminded that the West Midlands Police welfare van is available to use at major incidents, events and scenes of crime.

The van has provided welfare facilities for hundreds of officers working away from police buildings since its launch three years ago.

Bought by the Force, the van was kitted out by West Midlands Police Federation and provides a toilet, sink, hot water and kitchen facilities, including a fridge, hot drinks and snacks as well as a place to take refreshments and a break.

It can be booked in advance or spontaneously deployed and can be driven by any colleague with a standard car licence who has achieved the Force basic driver qualification.

The van is managed by fleet services and stored at their Nexus base making it widely accessible to the whole Force. A private contractor cleans and re-stocks the van bi-weekly.

How to book the welfare van:

Complete the online hire vehicle request form on the fleet services intranet site
For spontaneous deployments, a log will need to be endorsed by inspector or above advising that the welfare van is required. This should be where a scene is expected to last more than 24 hours
During office hours (Monday – Friday, 8am until 4pm) contact fleet services hire
Out of hours contact transport operations.

West Midlands Police Federation deputy secretary Chris James first came up with plans for the vehicle around four years ago after conducting a 12-month survey which revealed that between 18 and 24 officers attending the average scene of a crime were going without basic facilities.

“It became very obvious – and quite alarming – that there were numerous occasions when officers had no access to toilet facilities, nowhere to get a hot drink or other refreshments and not even somewhere to sit down for a break,” Chris explains.

“Any officer who has spent hours standing at a cordon or at a static post will know that you are often left relying on the generosity of residents or businesses nearby or waiting for cover to arrive.

“As a Federation, we thought converting a van into a bespoke welfare vehicle would give the Force an invaluable resource that would be of great benefit to officers in these circumstances.

Resources

“We were pleased when the Force came on board and agreed to buy the van and we then stepped up to pay for the re-fit required so that it could meet officers’ needs when away from a police base.

“It has proved to be widely used and much welcomed by officers.”

The van was first deployed in 2022 and was on hand when Birmingham hosted the Commonwealth Games in August that year.

The van will continue to be used at locations where police resources are expected to be needed for more than 24 hours and will provide much-needed facilities when officers are deployed to major incidents or events.