New Online Support For Families Of Police Officers

New resources to support the loved ones of police officers and staff are a positive step to recognising the impact policing has on families, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

But Federation Chair Steve Kent added that more needed to be done to reduce policing demand and improve workplaces so that such initiatives were less needed.

The National Police Wellbeing Service Oscar Kilo launched its ‘Family Life’ programme on 1 November after its research found that three quarters of family members felt concerned about the wellbeing of a loved one who worked in policing, and three in five struggled with balancing the demands of police work and family life.

The Family Life online hub has a range of guides and toolkits related to areas such as mental health, nutrition and financial wellbeing. It also gives support for forces on policies and processes, and there is a children’s book that helps explain why a parent or carer in the police might sometimes miss family meals or bedtime stories.

Steve Kent said it was positive that families and friends were looking out for police officers, adding: “Most of the referrals that come into our office about cops who then approach our counselling services come from third parties. Often it’s colleagues getting in touch.”

He continued: “The Family Life programme is a good thing to provide to officers and their families, though sadly it’s at the exhaust pipe. We need to start dealing with what’s at the start.

“But we do welcome this because it’s got to be a good thing to support the families of police officers. In the Federation we are still supporting families of officers who have lost their loved ones through suicide years ago, because it has a long-term impact on them.

“At the centre of all this, we’ve got to reduce the demand on policing and we’ve got to make policing a better workplace for people in terms of their mental health.”