The National Police Wellbeing Awards are now open. These awards are your opportunity to recognise work that’s made a real difference to the wellbeing of officers, staff and volunteers across policing.
If your team, force or service has delivered something that’s had a clear impact, however big or small, we want to hear about it.
This year, we've taken a fresh approach to our awards categories. We have done this based on feedback from forces and with the aim of making it easier to shout about the work you're doing and connecting it to national approaches.
Below are the new categories and the application criteria for each category.
The categories
- Peer support
- OK9 wellbeing dogs
- Operation Hampshire
- Healthy living (sleep and fatigue, physical fitness, nutrition)
- Occupational health
- Trauma support and suicide prevention
- Support for police families or police leavers
Staff engagement
Category criteria
Below you will find the entry criteria for each of the categories. If you need any further information please get in touch.
Peer support
We invite applications that showcase the effectiveness of local peer support initiatives within police forces. Submissions should:
- Demonstrate impact: Provide clear evidence of how your peer support program has positively influenced officer and staff wellbeing. Include metrics or testimonials that highlight improvements in mental health, resilience, or job satisfaction.
- Program structure: Detail the framework of your peer support network, including the selection and training processes for peer supporters, coordinators, and champions. Explain how these roles contribute to the program's success and describe how your initiative aligns with the National Police Wellbeing Service's peer support model.
- Sustainability and growth: Outline strategies implemented to maintain and expand the peer support network, ensuring its longevity and adaptability to evolving needs.
- Innovation and best practices: Highlight any innovative approaches or best practices adopted to enhance peer support, such as unique training methods, use of technology, or collaborative partnerships.
- Evaluation and feedback: Explain the mechanisms in place for assessing the program's effectiveness, including feedback collection from participants and any adjustments made in response to this input.
- Support structures: Describe the support provided to peer supporters themselves, ensuring they have access to necessary resources and supervision to perform their roles effectively.
Submissions should be concise, evidence-based, and reflective of the commitment to fostering a supportive and resilient policing environment through effective peer support.
OK9 wellbeing dogs
We seek applications that highlight innovative and impactful uses of OK9 wellbeing dogs within police forces. Submissions should:
- Demonstrate impact: Provide clear evidence of how your wellbeing dog initiative has positively affected officer and staff wellbeing. Include metrics or testimonials showing improvements in areas such as stress reduction, morale, or mental health support.
- Innovative practices: Describe unique approaches in deploying wellbeing dogs beyond traditional settings. This could involve their integration into trauma resilience training, support during critical incidents, or use in community engagement.
- Program structure: Detail the framework of your wellbeing dog program, including selection and training processes for handlers and dogs, and how these contribute to the program's effectiveness.
- Integration with national standards: Explain how your initiative aligns with the National Police Wellbeing Service's OK9 model, ensuring consistency with national guidelines and practices.
- Sustainability and growth: Outline strategies implemented to maintain and expand the wellbeing dog program, ensuring its longevity and adaptability to evolving needs.
- Evaluation and feedback: Describe mechanisms for assessing the program's effectiveness, including feedback collection from participants and any adjustments made in response.
Submissions should be concise, evidence-based, and reflect a commitment to enhancing police wellbeing through innovative use of OK9 wellbeing dogs.
Operation Hampshire
We’re looking for submissions that show a comprehensive and effective approach to supporting officers and staff who have been assaulted or subjected to abuse in the course of their duties. Applications should cover the full Operation Hampshire model.
Submissions must:
- Demonstrate action and impact:
Show how Operation Hampshire has been embedded in your force. Provide evidence of positive changes in policy, culture, or outcomes for officers and staff.
- Describe your approach:
Explain how your force responds to incidents. Include how you:
- record and follow up on assaults or abuse
- support affected individuals
- involve supervisors and leaders
- work with the criminal justice process when appropriate
- Show commitment to accurate data:
Explain how you are capturing and using data on assaults and abuse. Describe how you feed this into the national dataset and what you've learned from it.
- Impact on policy and practice: Demonstrate how the collected data has influenced local policies or practices aimed at reducing assaults and enhancing officer safety. Provide examples of changes or initiatives that resulted from data analysis.
- Training and awareness: Describe any training programs or awareness campaigns developed to ensure officers and staff understand the importance of reporting assaults and how to do so effectively.
- Support systems: Outline the support mechanisms in place for officers and staff who have been assaulted. Include details of any welfare services, counselling, or follow-up procedures.
- Highlight leadership and accountability:
Show how senior leaders are involved in driving Operation Hampshire. Outline governance and accountability arrangements.
- Include evaluation and feedback:
Describe how you review the effectiveness of your approach, and how staff feedback informs improvements.
Submissions should be clear and evidence-based. Focus on what you've done, what changed as a result, and how it aligns with the Operation Hampshire principles.
Healthy living
We are seeking applications that demonstrate effective and innovative approaches to promoting healthy living within police forces, in any of the following three key areas: sleep, fatigue and recovery; physical fitness; and nutrition. Submissions should:
1. Sleep, fatigue, and recovery:
Provide evidence of initiatives aimed at improving sleep quality and managing fatigue among officers and staff. This may include:
- Implementation of educational programs on sleep hygiene and fatigue management.
- Use of tools or interventions to monitor and enhance sleep and recovery.
- Strategies to mitigate workplace risks associated with fatigue.
2. Physical fitness:
Demonstrate efforts to enhance physical wellbeing, such as:
- Development of fitness programs tailored to the needs of police personnel.
- Provision of resources or facilities that encourage regular physical activity.
- Initiatives that address musculoskeletal health and reduce sedentary behaviour.
3. Nutrition:
Highlight programs that promote nutritional awareness and healthy eating habits, including:
- Educational campaigns on the impact of nutrition on physical and mental wellbeing.
- Provision of resources or workshops that offer practical guidance on healthy eating.
- Initiatives that support officers and staff in making informed dietary choices, particularly in the context of shift work.
Submissions should provide clear evidence of the impact these initiatives have had on officer and staff wellbeing. This may include metrics, testimonials, or case studies demonstrating improvements in health outcomes, engagement levels, or overall wellbeing. Additionally, applicants are encouraged to showcase any innovative approaches or best practices that could serve as models for other forces.
Occupational health
We invite applications that demonstrate excellence in occupational health services within police forces.
Purpose: The OK award for occupational health should be a marker of excellence in creating or delivering the relevant parameter(s).
Aim: The OK award in occupational health will be used to support a change process in service delivery. In particular, it will align to the national health and wellbeing strategy and associated Workforce Prioritisation Guidance, and the OH Prospectus for Change to be launched in May.
Award themes:
- Recruitment and retention of a multidisciplinary OH team
- An OH deliverable relevant to the 5 delivery areas of the national health and wellbeing strategy
- The use of data and/or data systems to support an evidence-based quality assured service.
Supporting evidence:
Supporting verifiable evidence should make reference to one or more of the following categories, as appropriate.
- Implementation of occupational health standards
Show how your force has adopted the Foundation, Enhanced or Advanced Occupational Health Standards to support officer and staff wellbeing. - Service delivery model
Describe your current occupational health provision—whether in-house, outsourced, or a blended model—and explain how it meets the needs of your workforce. - Integration with wellbeing initiatives
Explain how your occupational health service works alongside other wellbeing activity such as psychological support, peer support, or healthy living programmes. - Use of data and feedback
Show how you use data and staff feedback to improve services. Provide examples of any changes or outcomes resulting from this. - Leadership and governance
Describe how senior leaders are involved in oversight, and what structures are in place to make sure the service is accountable and properly governed. - Evaluation and continuous improvement
Outline how you assess the effectiveness of your occupational health provision and how you’re working to improve it. - Linking to the National Occupational Health Network and associated sub-groups
Show how your service engages with the national Occupational Health network. This could include participation in shared learning, adopting good practice, or contributing to national workstreams.
Submissions should be clear and evidence-based. Focus on what you’ve done, the difference it made, and how it reflects a strong occupational health offer within policing.
Trauma support and suicide prevention
We invite applications that demonstrate effective strategies and initiatives in two critical areas: trauma support and suicide prevention within police forces. Submissions should address one or both areas as outlined below.
1. Trauma support
Submissions should:
- Implementation of trauma support programmes: Describe the development and execution of trauma support programmes such as TRIM or other interventions. Detail how these programs provide timely and appropriate support to officers and staff exposed to traumatic incidents.
- Psychological risk management: Explain the use of psychological risk assessments to identify and mitigate trauma-related risks among personnel. Include information on the processes for conducting assessments and subsequent interventions.
- Training and capacity building: Highlight training programs aimed at equipping supervisors and peers with skills to support colleagues dealing with trauma. This may include demobilising and defusing techniques such as in the national Peer Debriefing Model or other trauma-informed care practices.
- Evaluation and continuous improvement: Provide evidence of how trauma support initiatives are assessed for effectiveness and detail any improvements made based on feedback or new research.
2. Suicide prevention
Submissions should:
- Adoption of suicide prevention strategies: Detail the implementation of suicide prevention and postvention strategies, referencing frameworks such as the National Suicide Action Plan for Policing.
- Postvention support mechanisms: Describe the support systems in place for colleagues following a suicide within the force. Include the use of toolkits or guidelines designed to assist leadership and staff during such incidents.
- Data collection and analysis: Explain how data on suicide incidents or attempts is collected, analysed, and used to inform prevention strategies and policies within the force.
- Awareness and training programs: Highlight initiatives aimed at raising awareness about suicide prevention, reducing stigma, and training staff to recognise and respond to signs of mental health crisis in colleagues.
Submissions should be concise, evidence-based, and reflect a commitment to enhancing officer and staff wellbeing through effective trauma support and suicide prevention measures.
Families and leavers
We invite applications that demonstrate effective and thoughtful support for police families and for those transitioning out of policing. Submissions can focus on one or both areas.
1. Support for police families
Submissions should:
- Demonstrate clear impact
Show how your initiatives have supported the families of officers and staff. Include examples of what’s been delivered and how it has made a difference.
- Describe your local approach
Outline what support you’ve provided to police families. This may include:
- improving communication between officers and their families
- helping families understand the pressures of policing
- offering support at key life or career stages (e.g. recruitment, major incidents, retirement)
- Use of national resources
Explain how you’ve used national guidance, materials, or tools from the National Police Wellbeing Service to shape or strengthen your local offer.
- Support around mental health and wellbeing
Highlight any resources, workshops or signposting provided to help families understand and manage the mental health challenges that can arise from police work.
- Financial wellbeing
If relevant, include examples of how you’ve supported families in managing financial pressures linked to the role.
Family engagement and feedback
Describe how you’ve engaged families in the development or review of your support, and how their feedback has shaped what you do.
2. Support for police leavers
Submissions should:
- Describe what support you offer
Explain how you prepare and support officers and staff who are leaving the service—whether through retirement, resignation, or ill-health.
- Include wellbeing-focused support
Outline what’s in place to support the mental and physical wellbeing of leavers during and after the transition.
- Involve families where appropriate
Explain how families are supported or involved in the transition process.
- Use of national resources
Describe how you’ve used national toolkits, guidance or examples to inform or improve your local approach to supporting leavers.
- Support with transition and identity
Include examples of how you help individuals adjust to life after policing, including career advice, skills workshops, or peer support.
- Capture learning and feedback
Show how you gather feedback from leavers and how you use that feedback to improve services.
Submissions should be evidence-based, practical, and clearly focused on what impact the work has had, why it matters, and how it aligns with national work in these areas.
Staff engagement
This category recognises effective, creative approaches to engaging officers and staff in wellbeing-related activity. Submissions may focus on local campaigns, use of national resources, or outreach initiatives that have helped raise awareness, change attitudes, or increase access to support.
Submissions should:
- Demonstrate clear engagement and impact
Show how your work has actively engaged officers and staff. Provide evidence of participation, reach, and any outcomes—such as increased awareness, improved access to support, or behavioural change.
- Describe your approach
Outline the purpose of the engagement work and how it was delivered. This could include:
- use of the wellbeing outreach service (e.g. vans or pop-ups)
- local communications campaigns tied to wellbeing priorities
- events, workshops, or on-the-ground engagement activity
- peer-led activity or visible leadership involvement
- Use of national resources
Explain how national materials or tools—such as the mental health awareness films or national campaigns—were used, adapted, or promoted in your local context.
- Focus on accessibility and inclusion
Describe how you reached different staff groups, including those in remote roles, on shifts, or in non-operational teams.
- Evidence of planning and delivery
Include how the engagement was designed and implemented, including collaboration across teams or with wellbeing leads.
- Feedback and evaluation
Outline how you gathered feedback from staff and what you learned. Show how this has informed future engagement work.
Submissions should be concise and clearly show what was done, who it reached, and what difference it made. Use of national resources to strengthen or amplify local activity is encouraged.
How to enter
Entry criteria applying to all categories:
Please read the following criteria carefully, whatever category you are entering you must ensure it fits the criteria below.
- The awards are open to police forces from across the UK.
- Entries may be submitted for multiple categories, but each submission must be tailored to fit the category for which you are applying.
- If you are nominated, you will be invited to join us for our awards ceremony, which will be held in the afternoon / early evening of the first day of the Oscar Kilo Annual Conference on 17 November 2025 at Crewe Hall Hotel, Weston Rd, Haslington, Crewe CW1 6UZ
- The nomination is for the organisation, not for an individual. However, if there has been one individual that has made a significant contribution to the projects’ success, they may be referenced within the nomination.
- Awards presented are in recognition of the concept and delivery but not of providers / venues / products.
- You can nominate a project, intervention, new working practice (i.e. meeting/working group/policy), or scheme.
- Forms must be completed in their entirety and show clear evidence of success.
For judging, all information will be supplied only to the judging panel; however, for editorial write-ups and to portray why you have won on the night, some information may be garnered from your entry.
Submitting your application
If you are ready to submit your application you can do so by downloading the application form using the link below. Once completed please send back via the email address on the form. Please also ensure you've attached any evidence relevant to your application.
The closing date for entries in 31 July 2025 and we'll be notifying forces if they have been shortlisted early September.