Hampshire Officers Stepped Up During Summer Unrest

Hampshire Police Federation has praised its members who worked long shifts in challenging conditions during this summer’s unrest.

The Chair of Hampshire Police Federation, Zoë Wakefield, said: “Fortunately in Hampshire we didn’t have any severe outbreaks of violence, but we did have protests and officers did need to step in, we did make arrests and we have been prosecuting people.

“It wasn’t on the same scale as some of the other places, but many officers did have their rest days cancelled, were put on 12-hour shifts, and were taken away from their normal place of work to go and do public order duties. That became really tiring for the officers. I was speaking to officers who were absolutely shattered because they’d worked six 12-hour shifts, which is more than two weeks’ worth of normal work.

“And that week they weren’t able to help out with childcare, or do things with their families. It was just work, sleep, work, sleep. They were also concerned about the impact on their normal day job.

“They really did step up. Nobody complained, people just got on with it. They understood that it was a national issue. That’s partly why we joined the job.”

Zoë continued: “Our officers were brilliant and we had some really good reports from members of the public about how polite and professional they were. We took the Federation van out and went around the force, chatting to officers, giving them some treats and drinks. It was really appreciated, but it was really nice to just get out there and hear about the situation from their side.”