Immense Effort From Hampshire Officers In D-Day Events

Over 1,300 Hampshire Police officers were deployed over three days in the D-Day 80 events, with 900 officers joining them on mutual aid.

The mutual aid officers came from 32 forces across England and Wales to help police the large-scale event in Portsmouth. Hampshire Police Federation Reps joined the officers and were on hand to offer support.

Federation Chair Zoë Wakefield said it was a huge operation: “The Federation was involved in all the planning and meetings throughout. We’ve been feeding in some of the learnings that came from COP26. One of the issues from there was the lack of halal food for some officers, and also sub-par accommodation for officers.

“So we asked the team to go round and physically check each hotel or B&B where the officers were being housed, which they did. Then we asked to have a dedicated Federation space at the strategic holding area.

“So when officers first arrived at the strategic holding area for a briefing and to be fed, we were there to check in with them, make sure everything was alright with their food and their accommodation, or any personal issues they might have. We were able to be on-hand there throughout the whole period.

“The King, the Prince of Wales, the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition were all in Portsmouth, as well as ambassadors from around 200 different countries. So we had a big police presence at the airport.

“There was a leave ban all week and there was a big strain on other officers to get the day-to-day work done. But this is a big event that doesn’t happen very often, and our officers know that it’s really important to remember our fallen officers and all the military who lost their lives during that time.”