Surrey Police welcomes Front Line Review

Surrey Police welcomes the national front line review which reflects the direct experiences of many working at the sharp end of policing.

The Government has announced its commitment to prioritising the wellbeing and mental health of officers following the landmark national review.

The Home Office engaged directly with officers and staff from all 43 forces in England and Wales for more than a year on their experiences of working in policing, and explored key themes around personal development, wellbeing, leadership and innovation.

Alongside the findings of the review, the Home Office has published a package of new measures which aims to transform the support given to them.

Deputy Chief Constable Jeremy Burton said: “I welcome the findings of this review which provides valuable insight from our officers and staff on the front line.

“Our officers and staff work tirelessly to protect the public, give the best possible service to victims and pursue offenders. The nature of policing has changed dramatically over the last 10 years and our officers and staff are faced with increasingly complex demands.

“Policing is a uniquely challenging environment, which can often have a significant impact on the physical and mental health of our employees. Ensuring that our officers and staff have a healthy work/life balance is a priority for the Force and we have already put measures in place to address this, including an updated wellbeing strategy which has been developed in consultation with our employees.

“The increase to the precept will enable us to recruit more officers and staff, which will not only provide an even better service to the Surrey public, but also reduce the pressure and demands placed on our employees.

“The review has also highlighted the frustrations that our officers and staff face with the internal bureaucracy and inadequate IT systems, and we are trying to embrace more innovative and efficient ways of working. We have already equipped our frontline officers with mobile data terminals, enabling them to work remotely out of the office, and this service is being developed to provide increased capabilities. A number of other initiatives are also underway, which will support improvements and efficiencies in administration functions and support the frontline.

“The review has also recognised that officers are frustrated at having to pick up the work of other agencies, and I welcome the commitment by the Home Office to look at issuing new guidance to allow police to push back against inappropriate requests for attendance.

“We will continue to consider the issues highlighted in the review and I look forward to working with our staff and officers, as well as the Home Office and College of Policing, to take the recommendations forward.”

The updated wellbeing strategy is a joint initiative between Surrey and Sussex Police, which was developed in consultation with employees, and in tandem with the National Police Wellbeing Service. The strategy aims to embed best practice to optimise the wellbeing of officers and staff.

In its commitment to transform the service, the Force recognised some time ago that it needed to embrace more innovative and efficient ways or working. It has already equipped frontline officers with mobile data terminals, enabling them to work remotely out of the office and this service is being developed to provide increased capabilities. A number of other initiatives are also currently underway which will support improvements and efficiencies in administration functions and support the frontline.

Click here to read more: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-prioritises-wellbeing-and-mental-health-of-officers-in-new-package-to-support-police