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. 

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.