‘Wellbeing must mean something to officers’

26 May 2026

Wellbeing support has to actually mean something to officers rather than simply being a box-ticking exercise, says West Midlands Police Federation’s health, safety and wellbeing lead.

Ali Rowe was speaking as he set out his primary aims for the coming quarter which, as well as advocating for meaningful wellbeing provision, include ensuring the professional standards department and witness support officers fulfil their obligations to provide officers with the best possible service.

He is also making it a priority to tackle the stress caused by performance pressures.

“Much of this performance monitoring feels arbitrary and often detracts from doing the right thing for the public and the welfare of our members,” Ali explains.

Support

Ali, who has already pledged to improve conditions, wellbeing and support for all Federation members across the Force, is working with other branch officials and the Force to bring about change.

Having joined the Force in April 2016, he became a Federation workplace rep in April 2024.

“I put myself forward simply to support officers who don’t feel they don’t have a strong enough voice to speak up themselves and to be an advocate for fairness in supporting members and the Force in achieving this. I also wanted to use my own experiences to help others not suffer at the hands of poor culture and poor decision-making,” Ali says.

“This role offers me the opportunity to dedicate all my working time to supporting the Federation and its members.

“I want to help build on the excellent work by my predecessor Patrick McBrearty and also expand the wellbeing aspects of this role as this is something I am very passionate about.”

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