Response to reports on officers wellbeing

In response to recent reports, we would like to clarify that it is not the case that almost 70 per cent of our workforce is overweight or obese.

This information was taken from internal communications in relation to our responsibility as an employer to conduct vulnerability assessments of our staff and officers in relation to Covid-19.

The figures were taken from our physical assessment and screening of a small sample of 525 of our officers and staff who specifically came to us for help with their well-being and their fitness over the last two years.

So where the figures suggest almost 70 per cent are overweight, this is actually 70 per cent of the 525 sample, and this 525 sample represents just eight per cent of our force.

Therefore it is not representative of our workforce as a whole.

To clarify, 70 per cent of 525 is 367 people, which is six per cent of our entire workforce.

Hampshire Constabulary takes wellbeing very seriously as we know the job can be incredibly challenging for our officers and staff.

The physical and mental health of our staff is incredibly important to us, and we are committed to proactive and reactive strategies to increase good health and wellbeing in our policing teams.

The health screening project that provided us with this data is just one aspect of our response to ensuring everyone who works for Hampshire Constabulary is in good health and has access to support services if they are not.

Deputy Chief Constable Sara Glen has launched a series of health and wellbeing initiatives.

The force has a Health and Resilience Guide which is designed to bring together advice and expertise in maintaining resilience in all areas from our occupational health and wellbeing teams. She has also recently launched Dep’s Dinners, an initiative to deliver highly nutritious meals, wraps, and soups to officers on the late shifts as well as healthy recipe cards to encourage good nutrition for people on the go and working different shifts.

We recently launched Frontline Fitness which is a programme spearheaded by one of our frontline officers. This is a facility for all Hampshire Constabulary staff who want to make any form of positive change to their health through understanding their fitness and nutrition better, it includes virtual training and exercise programmes.

As well as supporting our officers and staff’s physical wellbeing, we offer psychological screening to identify those are in need of extra support.

We absolutely acknowledge that policing is a tough vocation and we in Hampshire Constabulary are acutely aware of our need to be proactive about the health and wellbeing.

We are proud that we have had very low sickness rates in our workforce as a result of Covid-19 and we will remain proactive in this area, as we are a force that is committed to looking after our people to ensure our communities get the best service from our workforce.