NEW CAMPAIGN LAUNCH - POLICE SUICIDE. “Following the death of Jon Ezard, I couldn’t even bring myself to attend his funeral. I knew it would have broken me. “On the day of Jon’s funeral, I sat at home, alone, trying to work out how we could bring together a diverse group of people, united by one purpose: to shine a light on police suicide and the circumstances that can contribute to it. “Months later, I’m proud to announce the launch of It Stops Now which is supported by Pocket Sergeant. “ It’s been months in the making, bringing together bereaved families, serving and former officers, coroners officers, academics, medical professionals and others who believe things need to change. They’re all unbelievable people who love our cops. “I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But I hope we can help start difficult conversations, challenge the status quo and influence positive change.” ~ Paul Please check out the website: 🔗 itstopsnow.co.uk

A Suffolk Police officer has received a five-year final written warning after being found guilty of gross misconduct over his use of force during a violent arrest. The suspect had reportedly threatened people with a metal pole, punched an officer and resisted arrest. Taser and PAVA were deployed during the struggle. PC Samuel Robinson was subsequently charged with actual bodily harm but acquitted by a jury in December 2024. Despite that acquittal, a misconduct panel found his use of force was unnecessary and disproportionate. Does anyone else question why this case still resulted in a gross misconduct finding after a criminal acquittal? Officers must be accountable for excessive force, but surely this raises questions about the relationship between criminal proceedings and police misconduct processes. 🔗 policeconduct.gov.uk/news/gr…

What a lovely touch from @Boro 💙❤️

There is one thing we keep hearing from families who have lost someone to police suicide: “We don’t want them to be forgotten.” That is exactly why the new online Wall of Remembrance is so important. The feedback from families has been incredibly positive. Each profile is led by the family. Their photographs, memories and their words, remembering the person behind the police uniform. If you have lost a loved one to police suicide, please get in touch privately. We’d be happy to show you what we’ve created and talk you through it, with absolutely no obligation. We will be launching the new platform on Monday 19th October.

We need to start asking some uncomfortable questions. Yesterday, we were informed that another police officer had taken their own life. We were also told that the officer had recently been served with papers by Professional Standards. We have now also been told that serving officers at that force have been warned that speaking publicly about what has happened could result in disciplinary action. If accurate, that raises further serious questions. In recent months, police officers and bereaved families have approached us drawing comparisons between what is happening within policing and the Post Office scandal. There is a growing feeling that policing is destroying some of its own people. When the public hears “misconduct investigation”, they may understandably assume serious wrongdoing. Yet we have heard accounts of lengthy, disproportionate investigations and careers being placed at risk over matters including private WhatsApp messages, memes and GIFs. For many officers, policing becomes part of their identity. Threaten their career, reputation and sense of belonging after years of exposure to trauma, violence and death, and the consequences can be devastating. Officers must be held accountable for wrongdoing. But accountability does not require a process that is disproportionate, unnecessarily prolonged or inhumane. And officers should not be frightened into silence when legitimate questions need to be asked. There is a much bigger story here. It demands proper, independent investigation.

We need to stop pretending that wellbeing support alone can solve the mental health crisis surrounding police misconduct investigations. This is about far more than holding an officer’s hand through the process. We need to look at the process itself: proportionality, potential overreach, lengthy investigations, mistrust of Professional Standards, moral injury, the fear of losing a career and identity, and what happens to an officer’s reputation after a public gross misconduct hearing. Once an officer believes the organisation they gave everything to is now trying to take everything away, how likely are they to view “organisational support” as genuine care? Counselling, welfare calls and occupational health have their place, but they cannot remove the underlying fear of losing your career, income, reputation and identity.

This morning, we launched TWO petitions calling on the Government to pause police disciplinary proceedings and introduce emergency safeguards to better protect officers going through these processes. Our Change.org petition has already reached more than 300 signatures. Thank you to everyone who has supported it so far: c.org/5WVmZTS7Cn Our official Government petition has also been submitted. We’ve been advised that checks now need to be completed to ensure it meets Parliament’s petition standards before it can proceed. We’ll let you know as soon as it is approved and open for signatures: petition.parliament.uk/petit… Please support us by signing BOTH petitions and sharing them as widely as possible. 💙

🚨 IMPORTANT – PLEASE SIGN AGAIN If you’ve already signed our Change.org petition, please also sign the official UK Parliament petition below. We’ve been advised that this is the platform we need to use for the formal Government and parliamentary petition process. It only takes a minute. Please sign and share. 💙 petition.parliament.uk/petit…

We are so sad to report the death of another police officer. PC Alex Ayre died on Friday morning after being hit by a train near Branksome. He was just 24 years old. His family have paid a heartbreaking tribute, describing Alex as a much-loved son, grandson, brother, nephew, cousin and best friend who was “the life and soul of the party” and could make absolutely anyone laugh. They said: “Alex, forever 24. None of us ever imagined we would be having to say goodbye to you so soon. Losing you has left a space in our lives that can never be filled. You were a much-loved son, grandson, brother, nephew, cousin and best friend. You were deeply loved and respected by your family, friends, colleagues and so many people whose lives you crossed along the way. You were the life and soul of the party, the cheeky one who could make absolutely anyone laugh. You brought so much laughter, warmth and personality wherever you went. 24 years will never feel like enough, but you filled those years with so much love, laughter and friendship. Forever our son. Forever our grandson. Forever our brother. Forever our nephew. Forever our cousin. Forever our Alex.” Our thoughts are with Alex’s family, friends and colleagues. 💙

A huge thank you to the families who have trusted us with their loved ones’ stories, photographs and memories for a new Wall of Remembrance. Launching in around three weeks, the Wall will provide a permanent place to remember those we have lost to police suicide. We will remember how they lived and the people they were. We would love to hear from more bereaved families. If you have lost a loved one to police suicide, please get in touch privately. We can have a chat, show you what we’ve created and demonstrate how your loved one could be remembered. There is absolutely no obligation to take part. They deserve to be remembered. 💙

In a few weeks, there will be a new movement launching which includes an online Wall of Remembrance for police officers and staff we have lost to suicide. With their family’s permission, each person can have their own profile, where friends, family and colleagues can leave moderated tributes and light a virtual candle. But we wanted to create something families could keep too. Those tributes will be brought together into a professionally produced, hard copy Book of Condolence, which we can present to the officer’s family. A lasting collection of memories, from the people who knew them. More details coming soon.

For those who haven’t already shared their experiences with us, we want to hear from you. Over the coming weeks, we will be collating accounts from serving and former police officers who believe they have experienced disproportionate, overzealous or potentially unlawful behaviour during Professional Standards or misconduct processes. We will also be reaching back out to those who have already trusted us with their stories. We have funded the development of a new independent platform where these experiences can be brought together and placed clearly in public view. We want the public, policing and government to be able to see these accounts collectively and understand what people say is happening within parts of the police misconduct and disciplinary system. Those responsible for investigating them must be accountable too. If you’ve experienced something you believe was wrong, disproportionate or potentially unlawful, we’d like to hear what happened and understand the impact it had on you and your family. Importantly, we will not publish anyone’s story without speaking to them and obtaining their permission first. If you’ve already contacted us, we’ll be in touch. If you haven’t, now is the time to tell us your story.

We want to hear from the families of police officers who have struggled with their mental health and from families who have tragically lost someone to suicide. We have funded a new platform that will give families a place to tell their story, share what they witnessed and talk openly about how policing, trauma and mental health affected the person they love and their family. We know many serving officers feel unable to speak publicly about their experiences for fear of repercussions. Their families can have a voice and we are about to give them a platform. If you have a story you believe needs to be heard, please message us privately. You can remain anonymous if you wish.

We already have a number of academics supporting a new movement launching in the next few weeks but we want to hear from more. We’re particularly looking for independent academics and researchers who are not embedded within policing organisations and who want to play an active role in the movement. But we also want to hear from researchers who do work closely with policing. If you’ve carried out research into trauma, PTSD, mental health, suicide, organisational culture, disciplinary processes or officer wellbeing, we’d like to give that research a platform. Whether that means writing an article, discussing your findings or just helping us understand the evidence. We want to hear from you. Interested? Drop us a message.