Read our latest bulletin: December 2023

Published 12 Dec 2023
Written by
Oscar Kilo
National Police Wellbeing Service
Reading time
15 mins

Welcome to the Oscar Kilo, National Police Wellbeing Service latest bulletin, read on to find out what we have been up to over the last month and what to expect from us in the coming weeks.

What we've been up to...

Launch of our 'Thank you' campaign

On the 4th of December, Oscar Kilo we launched our brand new 'Thank you' campaign.

The campaign offers a unique opportunity for forces, police officers and staff across the UK, to say ‘Thank you’ to family members and loved ones and acknowledge the support they provide on a daily basis.

Working in policing is a challenging role – and not just for the person in the job. Families and loved ones deal with these challenges every day – from taking over childcare duties, accommodating irregular working hours or often spending time without their loved one.

By encouraging forces, police officers and staff, to say ’Thank you’ to their supporters at home, you can give families and loved ones the recognition they deserve.

 

The campaign is built around the film above, there's also supporting assets and suggested copy to use locally, you can access these resources using the button below.

Families 'Thank you' campaign


National wellbeing survey results and summary of research in policing

This year’s national police wellbeing survey saw the highest response yet with 42,058 officers, staff and volunteers taking part – a 14% increase on the number of respondents from last year.

In addition to the publication of the findings of the 4th annual national police wellbeing survey, this year we are also releasing the findings of a pivotal second report which has been developed by the National Police Wellbeing Service and Durham University.

This second report, which we refer to as a ‘summary of research in policing’ serves to triangulate and combine insights from various key sources, including the Police Federation of England and Wales, UNISON, The Police Superintendents Association, and previous National Police Wellbeing Service annual wellbeing surveys.

It also incorporates research on identified issues conducted by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), the National Police Chiefs Council, the Police Uplift Programme, Police Care UK, and the work of Professor Jennifer Brown and her colleagues.

Together, these two crucial pieces of work (the annual national police wellbeing survey and the summary of research in policing) offer a much broader view of the challenges and issues faced by the policing workforce.

This joined up approach not only reinforces the findings of the annual wellbeing survey, but also provides a deeper understanding of the underlying themes and concerns within the policing community.

It also ensures that strategies and interventions at a national level are informed by a comprehensive and specific understanding of the wellbeing needs of everyone who works in policing.

National wellbeing survey 2023 findings

The totally independent survey, carried out with the Policing Research Unit at Durham University, ran for seven weeks from May to July 2023 and is now the largest independent study in policing. With over 42,000 responses, this survey now stands as the most extensive independent analysis of workplace health in the policing sector.

There were responses from 23,616 police officers (of all ranks), 16,183 police staff (of all grades) 1,553 PCSOs, 205 special constables and 100 volunteers.

We’ve taken a selection of the findings from the report to provide a brief overview and summary below – please read the report using the button at the end of this article for the detail in full.

National Wellbeing Survey 2023 results infographic

What this year’s results tell us:

Positive findings

  • Reduction in symptoms of depression: Both police officers and staff have shown a decrease in symptoms of depression, with levels being the lowest since the first survey in 2019/20.1.
  • Decrease in symptoms of anxiety for police staff: There has been a significant decrease in symptoms of anxiety among police staff, reaching the lowest average level since the first survey in 2019/20.
  • Resilience: Moderately high average levels of resilience were reported for both police officers and police staff. Professional identity in police officers and confidence in job skills in police staff were positively associated with resilience.
  • Confidence in job skills: High average levels of confidence in job skills were reported for both police officers and police staff, contributing to a sense of competence and effectiveness.
  • Sense of control at work: A moderately high average level of sense of control at work was reported by police staff, indicating a degree of autonomy and empowerment in their roles.

 Findings requiring further work:

  • Decline in emotional energy: There has been a decline in emotional energy for both police officers and police staff, with police officers showing the lowest average level since the first survey in 2019/20, indicating a trend towards burnout.
  • High levels of fatigue: A significant proportion of police officers (69.6%) and police staff (56.0%) reported high levels of fatigue, with very high levels experienced by 28.9% of officers and 20.7% of staff.
  • Increased intention to quit: The intention to quit has increased to the highest average level since 2019/20 for police officers, with a slight increase also noted for police staff.
  • High frequency of hindrance stressors: Police officers reported significantly higher frequencies of hindrance stressors than police staff, with these stressors increasing since the previous survey. These stressors negatively impact perceptions of organisational support and wellbeing.
  • Feeling less valued: Both police officers and staff reported lower average levels of feeling valued by their force, with the lowest average levels recorded since the first survey in 2019/20.

You can read more and access the full reports on our website

Access the survey results and reports


New self-care and resilience resource

We've pulled together lots of great advice, on self-care and resilience and put it on one easy to follow page on our website.

If you would like to know how to better look after your own wellbeing and become more resilient this resource is for you. You can work through each of the sections which include video content, resources and advice. 

Go to self-care and resilience resource


Dog vehicles delivered to forces

OK9 Dog van being handed over to South Yorks Police

 

We have funded two brand-new vans in recognition of the huge impact that our OK9 wellbeing and trauma support dogs have made to police wellbeing. 

We are making the vans available to active members of our OK9 network, from forces in England and Wales, to enable them to deliver your OK9 wellbeing dog services more widely. 


College Learn courses

We now have three courses accessible via College Learn and are delighted at how many of you have access them.

Our Operation Hampshire training course have been taken by almost £17k individuals. 

Both our stress and trauma level 1 course, which was launched last month, and our fatigue risk management course are also becoming popular.

Access the training

To access these courses you must have a College Learn account, available to anyone with a .police.uk email, they can be created on the College of Policing website Once you are logged in just search the course name to get started.

If you have difficulties accessing College Learn please contact the College Customer Contact Centre at contactcentre@college.police.uk


Shift work in policing and road safety

Our healthy living lead Chief Inspector Yvonne Taylor, has been instrumental to the work we have been doing around sleep and fatigue. 

Check out her blog: 'Driving home from night shifts and the impact on road safety' on the College of policing website.

Read Yvonne's blog

Part of this blog looks at the results of our driver fatigue survey which closed at the beginning of December. We would like to say thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our survey on sleepiness and driving in policing.

There are still quite a few £100 Amazon vouchers to be claimed. 

Is one of these codes yours? If so, please contact Sleepiest@ntu.ac.uk with the unique fact that you created alongside this code in the survey. We will then be in touch to send you your £100 Amazon voucher! All prizes must be claimed by the 29th of February. 

Prize Winners

The following have won a £100 Amazon voucher by taking part:

Prize Round 1         

  1. ER414ST40
  2. gh583ap183
  3. am466fe40
  4. On202Oc233
  5. LD681MA59
  6. ea921ma92  
  7. IN563MA336 
  8. an772Ja71
  9. AM948MA85 
  10. rn279ap670


Prize Round 2

  1. on573se65 
  2. le718au118
  3. er408Au37
  4. ad230no109
  5. UN384AU176
  6. Re124Ma420
  7. ch709oc712
  8. RD270JU287
  9. IS402MA63
  10. LD021NO104


Prize Round 3

  1. RD0141310144
  2. WH397MA987 
  3. EN489JU103
  4. ck384no252
  5. er426no18
  6. ON296MA113 
  7. ry447Ma117
  8. up929juSY256DQ 
  9. rk093ju30
  10. en819er232


Reminder: Codes are created from the last 2 letters of the town you were born in, the last 3 digits of your mobile number, the first 2 letters of your birth month, and all numbers from your post code.


Breast health and bra support webinar

This webinar took place on 23 November, facilitated by Dr Jenny Burbage and Bethany Canty from Portsmouth University’s School of Sport, Health, and Exercise Science.

During the session Jenny and Beth talked through the breast health educational resources now available on the Oscar Kilo website. Including information on breast anatomy, problems with breasts (such as size, pain and damage), breast changes over the life cycle, what is appropriate breast support and how to assess bra fit. They also gave an update on our current research project looking into the effect of operational equipment and bra type interaction on breast motion and perceived comfort in female police officers.

If you miss the webinar you can watch below


 

What's coming soon

Bluelight and NHS live alcohol experiment 2024

For the second year we are proud to support the Live Alcohol experiment initiative developed by Chief Superintendent Maria Fox from Derbyshire Constabulary, Sgt Irene Laycock from GMP and DCI John Askew from West Midlands Police, based on Annie Grace’s 'free 30 day alcohol experiment'. If you are looking to reduce your alcohol intake or just want to do dry January read on and find out how to take part.

Bluelight and NHS live alcohol experiment 2024


Meal preparation solution for families

Starting on 22 January we will be sharing with you a brand new family meal planning program: Building healthy habits at home.

Policing families come in all forms and shapes, and this seven day solution has been developed by nutritionist Anna Earl to support them, help them manage daily challenges and make it as easy as possible for them to cook healthy food.

This seven-day plan prioritises building healthy habits, understanding nutrition, and integrating practical strategies into a busy lifestyle, allowing families to tailor their approach based on individual cooking abilities and budget constraints.

Go to seven days of healthy eating


Sleep challenge 2024: Supercharge your sleep, and wellbeing

Do you wish you could wake up with more energy? Does a racing mind keep you awake? 

If you could do just ONE thing to improve your wellbeing, what would it be? In the new year we will be running a two-part Sleeposium series, where sleep expert and TedX speaker, Dr Sophie Bostock, makes the case for sleep. Using examples from colleagues working in policing, she will explain how understanding the science of sleep could make your daily routine more productive, reduce stress, and make you happier.  

There will also be a sleep survey you can take to benchmark your own sleep habits.

The first webinar will be on Tuesday 30 January and the second on 20 February. You can register on our events and training page.


Oscar Kilo awards

We will be opening the Oscar Kilo awards for entries in January 2024.

If there is a piece of work or project that you are proud of and you feel has made a difference to the wellbeing of your officers and staff in 2023, please consider entering our awards.

You can find out more and see our previous winners on our awards page.

Go to awards page


The team at Oscar Kilo would like to wish you all the best for the festive season and we look forward to working with you and supporting you through 2024.