We have 3 Lead Chaplain Posts Vacant and number of Volunteer Posts.

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By summer 2024, Andy Paget will have completed 28 years as a force chaplain with Avon & Somerset Police and more than 22 years as Lead Chaplain.  His service began in 1996 when he was appointed as chaplain to the Central Bristol District.  Within a few years, with the merger of three districts, it became the third largest BCU in the country.

Andy served for over ten years on the National Exec of what was then The National Association of Chaplains to the Police (now PCUK) as South West Regional Coordinator.  Together with David Wilbraham, and after several visits to Wales, he assisted at the birth of the Dyfed Powys Police Chaplaincy.

Andy leads a team of fourteen volunteer chaplains, serving the six and a half thousand members of Avon & Somerset’s police family. He also coordinates the A&S victim-focused multi-faith response to major emergencies.  Last year, his team serving the Command & Control Department won the Volunteer Team of the Year Award, and were nominated for a further regional award.  In May, Andy was given the Constabulary’s Outstanding Lifetime Service Award during a dinner at the Pump Rooms in Bath.  He comments, “The mystery for me is how the organisation gets to know more than a small fragment of what we do. So much takes place off-the-radar, in the confidential space of one to one contact with individuals. Sometimes we feel that we are the Force’s best kept secret!”

The more visible face of chaplaincy appears during major incidents.  This year, in a little over three weeks, A&SC has responded to six brutal murders—three fatal stabbings of juveniles and the murder of three young children, including a nine month old baby.

At a time when public confidence the Police seems to be hanging by a thread, Andy echoes what we all affirm: “Perhaps the greatest but often ‘unsung’ good news story is that, throughout the country, every day, the vast majority of police officers and staff are demonstrating their professionalism, their dedication to duty, their courage, their kindness and their compassion.”

The National Chaplain for Police Chaplaincy UK & the National Police Chiefs Council was commissioned during a service attended by over 200 people on Saturday 24^th Feb. 

Dignitaries including The Deputy Lieutenant, Sir David Thompson and the High Sherriff, Chaplains from across UK policing and senior police officers gathered at ‘Trinity @ Birmingham’ Church to formally welcome The Reverend Matthew Hopley into his new role.

Police chaplaincy UK’s vision is ‘Bringing Chaplaincy to the heart of policing’. Our multifaith chaplains do this through building relationships with officers, staff and volunteers in various ways, Chaplains have the privilege to walk alongside people during the most difficult times of life and service and walk with them in times of celebration. The commissioning of the new National Chaplains marked a new chapter in the story of police chaplaincy.

The commissioning began with the Chair of Police Chaplaincy UK, Rev’d Dom Jones giving the Charge to Matt.

Chaplains are called to be servants and shepherds among the people to whom they are sent this Charge sets out the formal expectations of what you Matt, the National Police Chaplain is expected to do, and how you will conduct yourself

After which Chaplains from different faiths and all those gathered came forward in an act of Unity to light a candle forming a heart, representing the love and care chaplains show to those they serve.

The service featured hymns and songs played by the West Midlands Police Brass Band and the church worship team.

As the service progressed the Chief Constable of Matt’s sending Force spoke enthusiastically about the support Matt had given her and her officers whist he was Lead Chaplain in Warwickshire police and finally before Matt formally accepted the role the National Police Chiefs Council Lead for Chaplaincy, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth received Matt into the role.

The National Police Chiefs' Council, and Police Chaplaincy UK are pleased to confirm that after the thorough recruitment process, subsequent eligibility checks, that Reverend Matthew Hopley has accepted and commenced the post.

On behalf of the NPCC and College of Policing I am delighted to received Rev Hopley (Matt) as our new National Police Chaplain. I know that he will support our policing code of ethics and help us serve our communities with courage.

The service concluded with the police prayer and cake was served for all to enjoy afterwards.

On the 3rd April, the Board of Police Chaplaincy UK surprised Canon David Wilbraham with a small leaving 'do' ahead of his retirement later this month. 

David had been meeting with the Chair of Police Chaplaincy UK for a handover meeting all day and thinking the final thing on the agenda for the day was a simple photograph with the two of them to mark the day, members of the Board surprised David. Colleagues had driven from Durham, Warwickshire, South Yorkshire and Oxford to say their goodbyes to the National Chaplain.

David was presented with a certificate from Police Chaplaincy UK; the citation read "With deep appreciation for your visionary guidance, exemplary leadership skills and dedication to Police Chaplaincy." Certificates were also presented from Thames Valley Police where David served as Lead Chaplain and from the National Police Chief's Council to mark his contribution to policing as whole.

For many David is Police Chaplaincy. He has been the National Chaplain full time since 2018 but before that carried out the role alongside the post of Thames Valley Police Lead Chaplain. On the 23rd April he will retire after a lifetime of dedicated service to policing both as an officer, staff member and chaplain. A virtual card and generous collection were also presented to David with over 150 contributions from all members of the policing family. 

David was a former Police motorcyclist, and was ordained in 1988 and held parish ministries in the North West of England, was a Prison Chaplain at a Young Offenders Institute and was involved in a large scale Eastern European Aid project in Romania. In 1994 he moved to Surrey Police as their Welfare Manager specialising in the impact of Trauma on Police personnel.

Essex Police held a multi-faith event to Mark World Religion Day on Monday 16^th January.  Attendees were police staff, public and members of different faith communities who enjoyed input from speakers of different faiths – Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Church of England, Judaism.  We also enjoyed a talk from the minister of the Baptist Church that hosted our event, who explained about Believer’s Baptism and showed us the Baptistry pool, which we could also walk down in to.  Next year, we hope to run the event from a different place of worship.

Those in attendance fed back that they found the event enjoyable and informative and a great opportunity to meet and network with people of different faiths.  Essex Police staff found it really useful for informing their work with local faith communities.

This guide has been developed to provide information for leaders and others in the police service on how they can support Jewish officers and staff.

These recommendations will support policing to continue to be an open and inclusive organisation. They will help to positively shape recruitment, retention and progression, and will assist the service to improve the quality of working experience for Jewish colleagues.

Chaplains can login to the forum to see the full guidance.

Inter Faith Week 2022 will run from 13-20 November

"It was a day when people stood still - on the streets and in their homes - to witness Queen Elizabeth II's final journey.

Royals and world leaders were inside Westminster Abbey. But outside there were many more, ordinary mourners lining the streets of central London. And further beyond - in living rooms and parks, in pubs, cinemas and town squares - the British public marked the first state funeral for nearly six decades in millions of individual ways."*

The Funeral of Her Late Majesty the Queen was also one of the largest policing operations we have seen in recent history and so of course wherever there are large numbers of police you will also find chaplains.

Since the day of the announcement of the death of Her Majesty chaplains have led services, 2-minute silences, wreath laying, and supported their officers and staff whilst policing the funeral itself. 

Chaplains were in Windsor from the Thursday before Her Majesty's funeral supporting the officers and staff from police forces all across the UK and their presence was extremely welcome and chaplains from the Metropolitan Police Service supported their officers all through this time. 

Following the tragic news of the unexpected death of Simon Coles RIP, recently retired Chief Constable of Leicestershire the thoughts and prayers of Police Chaplains in forces across the country are especially with his family, friends and colleagues as they deal with the emotions and feelings such tragic news brings.

We are also mindful of our chaplaincy colleagues in Leicestershire as they support the Leicestershire Police family at a very difficult time.

The ripples of an event such as this extend far, and if you are affected by this and wish to speak to someone then your own force Chaplaincy is available.

You can also This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we can put you in contact with someone.

Any messages of condolence can be left on the online Book of Condolences set up Leicestershire Police

West Yorkshire Police Chaplains were awarded the Team of the Year in the West Yorkshire Policing Awards 2020.

The team contributed 3496 hours of volunteering in the first 12 months of the Covid 19 Pandemic.

The citation reads

‘In recognition of your contribution in support of West Yorkshire Police during the first 12 months of the Covid-19 crisis. 

During that time you worked together to selflessly provide essential support for those in need across the force.’

Since the summer, Chaplains in Surrey and Sussex have been involved in a number of memorial services across both Forces. 

We marked RoadPeace on 31^st August with a service at the newly dedicated memorial wall at Sussex HQ, laying down flowers and candles and sharing prayers from different faith traditions.  Likewise in Surrey on the same day Chaplains representing different faith communities shared prayers, and the service had special poignancy as we remembered in the presence of his bereaved relatives a young officer who recently died in an RTC, and laid a wreath for him. 

In September, like many Forces, we acknowledged National Police Memorial Day.  In Surrey, bereaved families and retired colleagues were invited, and our Chief Constable brought not only an NPMD candle to our local service, but some of the petals which fell during the national service in Lincoln Cathedral in memory of fallen officers.  And during October, we marked National Baby Loss Awareness Week with a service for bereaved parents from across our workforce whose child had died at any age or stage of life, during which we dedicated a tree in the memorial garden (funded by the Police Federation and Unison), and participants tied ribbons around it in memory of their little ones. 

The first two online Chaplains’ Induction Courses have been successfully completed and have been well received by participants.

In total, twenty-five chaplains from thirteen police forces attended the courses which were facilitated by Canon David Wilbraham, National Police Chaplain, and Canon Adrian Gatrill, Training Co-Ordinator for Police Chaplaincy UK.  This was a new departure for Police Chaplaincy UK, who had not run an online course before.  As Adrian explained, “the period of lockdown gave us the opportunity to revise and refresh the course, and really forced us to offer it online.  This meant that we could accommodate chaplains from across the country on a course, rather than relying on people travelling to one geographical location.  It also meant that we could involve others from the policing family.”

Apart from David and Adrian, contributions to the course were made by Olivia Pinkney (Chief Constable of Hampshire and NPCC Lead for Chaplaincy), John Apter (Chair, Police Federation of England and Wales) and Paul Griffiths (President, Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales).  In addition, the Revd Dr Andrew Todd led a session on Critical Reflection and Chief Inspector Jim Upton (Thames Valley Police) introduced a session on trauma, drawing from his own experience.

Over the next few weeks the course content and structure will be reviewed in the light of responses from participants.  Dates for courses covering the autumn and winter will be published as soon as possible, along with details on how to apply.  Whilst it will still be possible for individual forces to arrange ‘in person’ courses for their chaplains, it is envisaged that – for the foreseeable future at least – the Induction Course will primarily be delivered online.

We have received interest from one or two colleagues who would like to assist in the delivery of the course.  If you would like to be involved, and have not yet done so, please get in touch with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Following our recent elections we are delighted to introduce you to our new National Board.

Congratulations to Adrian, Dom, Helen, John & Viv who have been re-elected and Congratulations and welcome to Sue, Tanya & Nigel who are new to the Board.

A massive thank you to Charles and Rachel who retired from the National Board this year.

The new board will elect a Chair next month.

To read more about your new board or to contact them visit our Board page.

Inter Faith Week is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the role of faith and belief in local, regional and national life and highlight the overwhelmingly good relations between people of different faiths and beliefs.

Each year, many Police Forces take part in the Week, creating opportunities for learning about different faiths and beliefs, building understanding, and strengthening links with the wider community. The Week is also an excellent opportunity to showcase the work of police chaplains and they work they do with people of all faiths and beliefs.

COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease for most at this time and the hope is that this will continue. What last year taught us, however, was the amazing potential of online communication, with nearly 73% of activities being held online or having a strong virtual component.

The Week has been getting bigger every year and it is a great opportunity for police chaplains to:

• highlight chaplaincies’ important work to support  officers and staff of all faiths and beliefs in their working lives
• showcase the good inter faith engagement and the relations that the police help foster through their community engagement
• tackle misunderstanding and prejudice and to encourage a united response to hate crime
• create opportunities for officers and staff to learn more about some of the faith communities and belief groups within the community they serve, such as through visits to places of worship

You can find out how to join in, download resources and register events at the interfaith website