Bedfordshire Police’s chief constable says officers face ‘extreme trauma similar to military personnel in combat situations’

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Police officers and staff face extreme trauma similar to that experienced by military personnel in combat situations, Bedfordshire's chief constable has said.

Recognising the toll this takes, the force has dedicated resources to wellbeing and mental health support, despite financial pressures, he added.

The chief constable, Trevor Rodenhurst KPM, said: “We’re one of the few forces that has a dedicated wellbeing offer.

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“Other than a few buildings and some cars, all of our money is spent on our people.”

Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst  KPM Image: Bedfordshire PoliceChief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst  KPM Image: Bedfordshire Police
Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst KPM Image: Bedfordshire Police

The chief said officers and staff can be exposed to trauma that is only matched by the military in theatre.

“The exposure of serious incidents that our staff face is regular, far more than it should be,” he said.

“So it’s about being intelligent about recognising what you’re sending your people to, what they’ve experienced, and if they may need support.

“We can’t do enough of that,” he said.

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The force has a dedicated wellbeing team based in different locations, alongside occupational health specialists.

It’s not just the officer that rushed to the scene that could be affected.

“It’s the member of staff that listened to it in the control room and listened to the person needing us before we got there,” the chief explained.

“It’s a scene of crime officer that had to go afterwards, it’s a digital media officer that had to go in the scene after that.

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The chief added: “We’re trying to take away the stigma of saying some of the things you experience aren’t normal – it’s all right for us to admit that.”

He added that there have been incidences where specialist support was needed.

“We have a recent example of officers who tendered a particular scene.

“And [we arranged] to send everyone that was exposed to that off site because we just felt we didn’t have the [in-house] expertise to make sure that anyone wasn’t suffering in a way that we’re not aware of,” he said.

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The force is working to ensure an officer or staff member is not sent repeatedly to similar incidents.

“This may be the scene when someone’s lost their life, however that might be,” the chief said.

“We want the emotional awareness and the organisational awareness for leaders to say, actually we’re not to send that person to one of those again for a while.

“That’s what we’re really encouraging, and the knowledge and the systems we’re putting in place will help us be better at that,” he said.

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With positive feedback from officers and the Federation, the chief said the force is determined to continue prioritising wellbeing as a fundamental part of leadership and operational decision-making.

The force believes that prioritising wellbeing reduces the need for constant recruitment and training, allowing it to better support existing officers and staff.

“Looking after our people is that spinning plate that can’t fall over,” he said.

“If they’re not here, they can’t look after the public.”

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