In response to the commitments expressed in the Police Covenant, the key aims of this research were to:
- Explore with family members the perceived influence of police occupational experiences on the wellbeing of their families, including resilience, coping and sources of support.
- Explore the influence of occupational stressors on family functioning and dynamics among policing families.
- Identify key areas of need in terms of family support.
The wellbeing and support needs of police families in the UK is a largely under researched area and this project represents one of only two pieces of research conducted in the UK (at time of research – 2023).
The research comprised of a large-scale survey that engaged ’non-serving’ family members, this obtained 1406 responses. Four focus groups were conducted, three with ’non-serving’ family members, one with serving officers. Four biographical interviews were also carried out with serving officers. Within this data the study captured the perspectives of partners, parents, grandparents, adult children, and serving officers.
Dr Sarah Jane Lennie who led the research project said,
Police families are an often-overlooked member of the wider ‘police family’, despite being integral in supporting police officers and staff in their chosen vocation and maintaining their presence at work.
Typically, the impact on families, partners, children, parents and grandparents is not recognised, neither is the work that they do to keep their loved ones healthy and well and the family functioning. However, our research highlights the impact that having an officer or staff member in your family can have; the stress and upset caused by the very nature of policing, the disruption to everyday life, often leaving family members to juggle careers with family needs as police family members are absent and unpredictable, the isolation – from partners, and from wider communities and the difficulties in explaining all this to children. It all takes a toll, and we identify and capture this in our research. What we find is that there is a debt of gratitude owed to police families for their role in keeping the wheels of policing turning.
Thank you to all those police family members who took time out to speak with the research team. Without your support our work wouldn’t be possible."
Service Director of Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service, Andy Rhodes said;
It's crucial that we understand the real needs of police families, and this research has been a key part of our evidence base.
The Police Covenant clearly sets out support for police families as a priority area of focus, and we're grateful to the OU for working with us to carry out this project so we can continue to develop and design resources that will provide real value."