Six Chaplains from Sussex and Surrey Police provided wellbeing support to officers involved in policing the Labour party conference in Brighton in September. 

We were available over breakfast and briefings to share coffee and find out how everything was going, then we went out along the seafront and around the town centre to engage with officers where they were working – to give them chocolate, smiles, and encouragement! 

We linked up with the Police Federation who were also providing wellbeing support via a refreshments van parked alongside our police vehicles – as you might expect, this was a popular area for officers to gather during breaks so we enjoyed meeting them there and chatting about the experience of policing an event like this.  Some shared their memories of previous conferences and operations in other areas this year where they’ve provided mutual aid. 

Our Chaplaincy Lead also provided chaplaincy support in the Command Suite back at HQ; it was fascinating to see the operation from different perspectives – on the ground on-site, and behind the scenes.