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Respondents were given an opportunity to give reasons for their answer. Positively,
chaplains were seen as a valuable option as an additional resource for the pastoral
care of staff, who could be accessed as and when required. This support is provided
regardless of a person’s faith or lack of it. It was recognised that there are people
within the police service who are in need of support, and the benefit of the chaplain is
that they are outside or independent from the service. The role of a police chaplain in
conducting a funeral of a Police Community Support Officer killed serving in
Afghanistan was offered as a positive example of chaplaincy.

Alternatively, it was suggested chaplaincy is not useful in its current form. It was
suggested the chaplains needed to be more proactive, and that there were many
potential opportunities that needed to be explored and developed. One suggestion
was that chaplains should be more actively involved in the Street Pastors scheme.

Question 9 - How should the services of the chaplains be used by the police?

Figure 7

Incident Management

Staff/Employee Support

Organisational Planning

Community Engagement

Other/Not stated

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Other suggestions for where chaplains could be used included: To develop multi-
agency problem solving solutions and diversions for young people. Provide general
support to the CPA, and more specific support for staff members after incidents. One
respondent suggested that the role of chaplains should not be restricted to any
particular category.

Questions 10 – Has the police service ever sought your views regarding
chaplaincy provision? - See Figure 8

Question 11 - Has the police service ever sought to identify your faith needs in
general terms? - See Figure 8