Public owes police debt for keeping them safe

POLICE officers face dangers they cannot anticipate every day and the public only knows part of the debt they owe to the service, Sir Tom Winsor has said.

Speaking at the Police Federation of England and Wales Annual Conference in Bournemouth, HMIC Chief Inspector Sir Tom said he had “enormous respect and admiration for rank-and-file officers and the work they do every day”.

He added: “Their can-do culture impels police officers to get work done despite financial pressures and the chronic and persistent failures of other public services who know the police will never say no.”

Describing the funeral of Merseyside PC Dave Phillips as “one of the most emotional moments of my life”, he said: “Every police officer facing the public takes that risk – something everyone involved in policing needs to keep front and centre in their minds as policies are made.

“The public know only part of the debt which they owe to police officers like Dave Philips and their family and friends who live with the consequences. And that debt is immense.

“Every day police officer go out to face dangers they cannot anticipate.”

Sir Tom (pictured) added that while many people were talking about police reform, “I don’t think any reform to personal bravery of police officers”.

He also said that police officers’ mental health should be taken very seriously, adding that not enough was known about officers’ mental health and there should be no stigma about mental illnesses in the police service.

He said: “Police officers deal with people with severe mental health problems in the community but very little is known about police officers’ mental health and how it can deteriorate.

“Officers who are diagnosed with mental health problems need professional health. There should be no stigma attached to mental health issues.

“One of the things that exasperates me is that we treat physical impairments as needing immediate help, but with mental health issues you can wait a year for an appointment.

“It is an invisible illness and only comes to the attention of people when someone is standing on a motorway bridge or someone harming someone close to them because they’ve cracked.

“Mental health should have parity of esteem in our society. It is an illness – there is no shame in being ill. We will take this as seriously as it deserves.”