Thames Valley Police Federation

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.”

25/05/2026

Image of man jailed for knocking out police officer

An image has been released of a career criminal jailed at Oxford Crown Court for knocking a police officer unconscious while riding a bike.

24/05/2026

Remembering PC Martyn Gerrard, of Thames Valley Police, who died on duty on this day in 1995

23/05/2026

Police officers who have given decades of service to this country have had their retirement plans changed overnight.

This week, the Government introduced new commutation factors for officers in the 1987 Police Pension Scheme following a Treasury decision to increase the SCAPE discount rate.

While the terminology may sound technical, the impact on retiring officers is very real.

From today, officers retiring under the 1987 scheme will receive almost 5% less in lump sum payments for giving up the same amount of annual pension than an officer retiring just last week. For many, that represents a loss of thousands of pounds with immediate effect.

What makes this particularly concerning is the speed of the change.
Many officers have only recently received retirement quotations and benefit illustrations based on the previous figures.

Those figures inform major life decisions, mortgages, debt repayments, supporting family members and long-term retirement planning.

Now, with no warning, no transition period and no protections, the goalposts have moved.

The Police Federation is now seeking independent actuarial and legal advice on:
• the scale and justification for the changes
• whether officers who relied on recent quotations may have suffered financial detriment
• What legal remedies may be available

Police Federation National Secretary John Partington said:
“After decades of service, the ‘thanks’ retiring officers get is this: government quietly shaving cash off a hard-earned retirement overnight. It’s a blatant case of picking the pockets of police pensioners, and we will not let it stand.”

Police officers cannot strike. They cannot freely negotiate pay. Throughout their careers, they miss birthdays, rest days, weekends, and family milestones in service to the public.

The least they should expect is certainty and fairness when they retire.

Members, please check your emails for further information and guidance on the changes announced this week.

Add your voice to thousands who have 👇
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22/05/2026

These awful incidents illustrate why Thames Valley Police Federation has joined the Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police campaign.

21/05/2026

“Hate crimes against officers must not be tolerated”, the Chair of Thames Valley Police Federation has said, as she backed the ‘Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police’ campaign.

At least 11,000 hate crimes have been committed against UK police officers in 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 Thames Valley Police, 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 a campaign: ‘Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police’ late last year, 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.

Thames Valley Police Federation Chair Aileen O’Connor said her Federation branch was proud to be backing the campaign, as “any hate crimes against our officers, physical or verbal, are not part of the job”.

She continued: “The fact that our officers are facing racial slurs or slurs of any nature is absolutely not acceptable – it's abhorrent. It must not be tolerated.

“And I think racist verbal abuse is a part of policing that is probably not reported in the same way as an assault, a kick or a punch. Words can sometimes be more hurtful than actual physical assault, and people might be embarrassed to report it. So we want to highlight this campaign, and make sure that these types of offences against our officers are dealt with in the same vein as physical assaults against our officers.”

Aileen added that hate crimes were an attack on people’s “whole being”: “Whether you're an Asian female, whether you're a Sikh male, whether you're a gay woman or a gay man, that is an attack on your personal makeup, that doesn't go away when you take that uniform off.

“And that's why we need to look at how these incidents are being recorded, to make sure they are being recorded correctly, and to make sure that our officers are supported through a really horrible time.”

Aileen said she was disappointed that Thames Valley Police was unable to provide data on hate crimes, but that she was working with the force to find a mechanism to properly measure assaults and abuse.

She said: “I'm going to be doing a bit of work with the service improvement team, to see if we can collect the data for the past six months. And I'm working on the data that I'm supplied with every day. I'm also going to send every single member of our Federation a snapshot survey, so that I can gather first-hand whether they have suffered racial abuse in the past year, and whether that's been recorded.” Aileen also argued that there should be national mandatory recording of racial abuse against police officers and staff.

She added that officers who witnessed a colleague being racially abused “should be an upstander, not a bystander”, saying: “If you’ve witnessed racially aggravated slurs against your colleagues, then you need to come forward and help us address the problem.”

Aileen continued: “There is support out there, including support from SAME (the Support Association for Minority Ethnic Staff) and us as a Federation. I'll be pushing the force to make sure that, when those incidents come to the forefront, they're being investigated properly with as much vigour behind them when they investigate assaults on officers.

“And I assure people that, if they come to the Federation, we will support them in whatever way that we can and drive it forward for them.”

She added: “I also want to say thank you to Lee Sims, the Chair of Humberside Police Federation, for starting this campaign and really bringing this issue to the forefront, and Martis Media for highlighting it. I would encourage every Federation branch to get behind this, because if you think it's not happening to your officers, you're naive – you need to make sure that you've got support mechanisms in place.”

19/05/2026

New trauma-monitoring systems will help identify officers who are exposed to repeated and extreme psychological stress, Thames Valley Police Federation has said.

The Home Office’s recent policing white paper announced that trauma-monitoring systems will become mandatory across all forces, to ensure the mental toll caused by exposure to death, abuse and neglect is recorded.

The new tracker seeks to intervene before a psychological breakdown occurs. It functions by scanning the force’s crime recording systems and highlighting “red flag” incidents such as fatal road traffic collisions, child sexual abuse and sudden deaths.

Aileen O’Connor, Chair of Thames Valley Police Federation, said: “The introduction of trauma trackers is extremely important for police officers, because the nature of their work exposes them to repeated and often extreme psychological stress, which can build up over time without being immediately visible.

“Officers routinely deal with distressing incidents such as fatal accidents, abuse cases and sudden deaths, and without intervention this cumulative trauma can lead to burnout, anxiety, depression and PTSD.

“This new tracker system is needed because it provides a proactive way to identify when an officer has been exposed to multiple high‑risk incidents, allowing support to be offered before a crisis point or psychological breakdown occurs. This could make a significant difference by improving officer wellbeing, reducing sickness absence, and helping forces retain experienced staff, while also ensuring officers remain mentally fit to make critical decisions under pressure.”

Aileen added: “I am encouraged that this is being mandated across forces, and I have a meeting with our force lead next week to discuss how it will be implemented in Thames Valley Police.”

16/05/2026

Very proud of Andy, Rhys and Astle - our nominees for the National Police Bravery Awards in July

When masked intruders targeted his family home in the early hours of the morning, off-duty Thames Valley Police officer PC Andy Kemp didn’t hesitate.

Outnumbered, attacked with weapons and seriously injured, he continued fighting to protect his family and detain a suspect until backup arrived.

His actions, alongside the bravery shown by his son Rhys and police dog Astle, have been recognised with a nomination for the Police Federation Bravery Award 2026.

Read the full nomination here 👇
https://polfed.org/news/police-federation-bravery-awards-2026/tvp/

Thank you to our sponsors Police Mutual.

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14/05/2026

“Rest days are not a luxury for police officers; they are a necessity and a lifeline”, Thames Valley Police Federation has said, as it emerged that over 820,000 rest days are owed to police officers in the UK.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request found that Constables, Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspectors were owed 826,679 rest days – the equivalent of 2,264 years – as of 1 March 2026. The true figure is likely to be even higher, as three forces were unable to provide data.

The Metropolitan Police owed the highest number of rest days to its officers: 215,075 days (the equivalent of 589 years). With around 33,000 officers in the Met, this averages out at 6.5 days owed to each officer.

Thames Valley Police did not have such a high ratio, with 8,795 rest days owed to officers, but Federation Chair Aileen O’Connor said that many officers were not getting enough time off to recuperate.

Aileen said: “These are stark figures and should be sounding alarm bells to Chief Constables up and down the country. This is having a hugely detrimental effect on officers and their families, and it cannot continue.

“Rest days are not a luxury for police officers; they are a necessity and a lifeline. They are the moments where exhausted minds can begin to recover, where officers can reconnect with their families, and where the emotional toll of what they’ve seen and dealt with has a chance to settle. Without them, the uniform doesn’t come off; the stress, the trauma and the pressure simply carry on.

“This enormous backlog of rest days has built up due to ongoing staff shortages, rising demand, and the need to cover emergencies and major incidents, meaning officers are frequently required to work when they should be off duty.

“As a result of this, many officers are not getting adequate time to rest and recuperate, leading to increased fatigue, stress and burnout, often without enough time to process the traumatic situations they face daily.”

Aileen added that it also put the public at risk: “The danger is real: tired officers can’t perform at their best, their judgement can suffer, and their resilience begins to crack. Ultimately, when officers don’t get the rest they need, it doesn’t just impact them, it impacts the safety of the public they are committed to protecting.”

11/05/2026