Police Care UK makes sure both serving and former police colleagues who suffer harm, and their families, have someone to turn to when things get tough.
The welfare needs of the police family are upheld and members are supported to achieve their full potential.
To reduce the impact of harm on police and their families.
Our approach is one built around understanding the difficult environment in which the police operate in. We demonstrate empathy, respect, and understanding in everything we do.
We effectively support the service whilst being outside it. This means we can wholeheartedly champion the needs of our beneficiaries free from conflicts of interest.
We share our expertise, experience, and resources with others because we understand that collaboration is the only way we can help improve the lives of our beneficiaries.
We use our resources wisely to best support our beneficiaries both now and in the future while upholding the highest ethical and professional standards possible.
We constantly seek new ways to improve our working practices, support programmes, and welfare options to better support our beneficiaries.
We believe everyone should understand the dangers police face every day, and how the harm they suffer can affect both them and their families. Through improving awareness, we help develop appropriate services to support them, and reduce the stigma of physical and psychological injuries so that people can get the care they need with dignity.
To achieve, this we will:
Better advocate for those we care for by highlighting different types of needs or wellbeing issues.
Engage with police forces, and other organisations, to demonstrate our research, highlight best practice, and share learning.
We believe that police and families should always have someone to turn to that understands their situation and can respond effectively to their needs. By providing a specialist and confidential programme of practical, emotional, and financial support, we help more people effectively recover and rebuild their lives.
To achieve this, we will:
Offer specific solutions that help people recover and rebuild, such as grants to adapt their home or get much-needed mobility equipment.
Provide information, advice, and guidance to ensure those who have suffered harm have access to the tools they need to help them recover and rebuild.
Provide grants for police and their families in hardship, reducing the risk of poverty due to harm resulting from their policing role.
Support police colleagues who have suffered harm to change career or start a new business.
Introduce a peer support programme to provide emotional support for people leaving the service.
Provide a confidential careline offering telephone advice on everyday issues such as debt, family matters, bereavement, and counselling or psychotherapy when clinically appropriate.
Work with police forces to ensure serving colleagues going through a mental health crisis get access to the best support and care in a safe environment.
Offer tools and techniques to help people cope with their job and reduce the risk of suffering from post-traumatic stress, including a programme to support team recovery after a serious incident.
Identify and investigate new and innovative projects that demonstrably reduce the impact of harm on police and families.
Improve life opportunities of children by providing educational bursaries.
Improve the quality of life for families dealing with the effects of harm, through access to respite care.
Provide access to our confidential careline to families, including counselling when clinically appropriate.
Reach out to those who have been injured on duty, and their families, encouraging them to apply for and use our services.
Use print and digital channels to highlight the work we do, who is eligible, and how to access our services.
Recruit volunteers who can visit the people we care for and ensure a consistent level of quality and access to services across the UK.
We believe that caring for their people is the duty of every police organisation. Our role is to complement this care, and help identify gaps through targeted services, projects, and programmes.
To achieve this, we will:
Recruit volunteers throughout the UK, who will be our local voice.
Attend national and local events, conferences, and forums.
Secure commitments to the Police Care Pledge – a campaign to reduce the impact of harm on police and families.
Empower police forces, groups, and associations to reduce the impact of harm through a combination of funded initiatives and information resources.
Enable police forces, agencies, and charities to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for through a combination of funded initiatives and information resources.
The difference we made 2019/2020