Page 29 - WMPF Federation Aug-Sept 2020_Neat

Survey

reveals

sleep

deprivation

lmost half the officers who responded to the first national areas such as custody, contact management and incident
police wellbeing survey revealed they were getting less management.
Athan six hours’ sleep a night. There were, however, many positive findings from the survey:
Around 35,000 people responded to the survey which was l 65 per cent of respondents reporting feeling satisfaction in
carried out by Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service, their work.
and the College of Policing. l The majority of officers and staff reported they felt trusted in
The two bodies will now carry out research with experts from their roles and were able to act and make choices which
around the world to consider ways to reduce the growing issue of reflected their own personal beliefs and values.
officer and staff fatigue and will involve practitioners and staff l Both police officers and staff reported feeling high levels of
associations in the UK. competence in their work, meaning they felt they could be
“This survey makes interesting reading and backs up what we, effective, make important contributions and felt valued by
as a Federation, have been saying for some time. We are all aware their co-workers and supervisors.
those who work shifts are more likely to experience poor quality Chief Constable Andy Rhodes, the National Police Chiefs’
sleep and this survey gives us the evidence to support that,” says Council (NPCC) wellbeing lead and service director for Oscar Kilo,
Jon Nott, chair of West Midlands Police Federation. said: “Looking at the results, we see some areas of progress, and
“Policing is a demanding and challenging role. The decisions other issues which strengthen our resolve to keep doing more.
and actions taken by police officers can be critical so when they “It’s clear that many people feel valued by their peers and
are having to make split-second decisions while feeling fatigued it supervisors - but less so by the organisation and the public – a
is going to be even tougher for them. gap we see in every survey that is directly linked to trust. Fatigue
“We also have to consider the long-term effects of officers also leaps off the page, and this has a lot to do with our cultural
experiencing fatigue. It will have an impact on their mental acceptance in relation to things like disrupted sleep and all the
health and even their physical wellbeing so it is crucial the police risks it can bring to our health and operational decision-making.”
service addresses this issue. I look forward to reading about the Chief Constable Mike Cunningham, CEO of the College of
outcomes of this new research.” Policing, said the survey would provide a baseline which Oscar Kilo
The wellbeing survey also found that police officers working would use to measure progress and help prioritise work nationally
in safeguarding and investigations reported lower levels of and within individual forces.
wellbeing, while police staff reported lower levels of wellbeing in Read the full survey on the Oscar Kilo website.

Family Matters moves into the virtual world

The Federation’s equality and personnel lead The Family Matters events are usually They are very successful and numbers
took part in the first virtual Family Matters held at the Tally Ho Sports Club each quarter. have grown over the years, with many
event at the start of July. Attendees include officers who are officers returning on a regular basis, while on
Cliff Tomkinson made the most of the expecting, officers on maternity, paternity or maternity leave, unpaid leave and career
opportunity to provide officers with adoption leave, together with their new breaks.
guidance on maternity, paternity and born and other children and sometimes The events include various guest
adoption leave, flexible working and KIT partners will accompany the officers. speakers from the Force and the Federation
days. The events allow officers to network and including Caroline Harris from George
“I was impressed with how it went and I find out about issues that may affect them Burrows), staff unions and sometimes the
am looking forward to the next one in regarding pay, flexible working and all other pensions department.
August,” says Cliff. issues regarding family leave.

www.polfed.org/westmids federation August/September 2020 29