26/05/2026
Colleagues in Gloucestershire join the growing : Stop Racism Against The Police Campaign
“It is disgusting that people come to work and feel like they need to put up with this level of abuse,” the Chair of Gloucestershire Police Federation has said, as he backed the ‘Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police’ campaign.
At least 11,000 hate crimes were committed against UK police officers over the past three years. A recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request to UK police forces found that there were 10,922 reported hate crimes against officers from 27 forces from 2022 to 2025. However, the true figure is likely to be much higher – even close to double – as another 21 forces, including Gloucestershire Constabulary, were unable to provide data.
In addition, many officers may experience hate crime but feel unwilling or unable to report it to their force. In response to the findings, Humberside Police Federation Chair Lee Sims launched the campaign: ‘Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police’, in order to collect data on the scale of the issue, raise awareness of what the police were facing, and do more to protect officers and staff.
Adam Williams, Chair of Gloucestershire Police Federation, said: “We fully support this campaign, which stands at the heart of what we should be doing as a representative body. I am extremely concerned about the level of racist abuse that our officers and police staff are subjected to on a weekly basis. Racism against police officers or police staff is just not acceptable.
“Racist abuse can have a profound impact on anyone who’s the victim of it. It's striking at that person’s identity, their background and culture, and it should never be accepted in any way, shape or form, it is abhorrent. All officers are just doing their job and serving the public, and don’t forget they are part of our communities as well.”
Adam said he was disappointed that Gloucestershire Constabulary was unable to provide data, and supported the campaign’s aim to make it mandatory to record racist abuse.
He said: I think it's vital for us as a force, and as a Federation, to know the level of abuse that our members are suffering. If Gloucestershire Constabulary hasn’t provided data, it doesn't allow us, as a representative body, to know how deeply rooted this problem is.
“We need to get a clear understanding of the scale of the issue and then it will allow us to put the support mechanisms in place for all those affected. If it is mandated, I can get that information from the force, then I can follow it up and ensure that the welfare of those officers is looked after.
“It's disgusting that people are coming to work and feeling like they need to put up with this level of abuse. It's not right. Society needs to improve.”
Adam said that officers who had suffered racist abuse should inform their supervisors, who will investigate the incident in line with the Operation Hampshire seven-point plan. The Better Together diversity team, as well as the Federation and Unison, will also support officers and staff that are affected.
He also encouraged officers to speak up if they saw their colleagues receiving abuse, saying: “My expectation would be that any police officer would step up, deal with it in a robust and professional manner, and then look to get that individual into custody and then put it through the criminal justice process, and hopefully get those people found guilty at court and sentenced to a reasonable outcome, not just a slap on the wrist.
“It's necessary for us to ensure we don't let this continue. We need to be proactive in this and the more we do to stamp this out, the better it will be for our officers, and the entire society.”
