Dorset Police Federation

08/06/2026

Celebrating our Incredible Colleagues... coming in 2027… the return of the Dorset Police Federation Recognition Awards!

The Federation’s Wonderful Winter Awards Ceremony is coming back in February - once again recognising and celebrating Police Officers who have gone above and beyond in their difficult roles.

The lead sponsor for the Awards is Bluline Health Ltd.

Acts of bravery, incredible operational and investigative work and amazing officers who go over and above from all the Federated ranks will be highlighted.

Colleagues should receive a form on email in the coming days with details of how to nominate fellow Dorset Police Officers for the Awards.

Categories to consider include Frontline Officer of the Year, Investigator of the Year, Operational Support Officer of the Year, Sergeant of the Year, Inspector or Chief Inspector of the Year and Colleague of the Year.

Dorset Police Federation Chair Chris Wood said: “What an amazing night it was in February celebrating the success of our colleagues… and we can’t wait to do it all over again in 2027.

“There was emotion, humour and pride in abundance. It truly was a magical evening. We are delighted to say we are returning with the event being even bigger and better next year!”

The closing date for nominations is the end of September 2026.

Winners will then be informed of their success and be invited to the prestigious evening in February.

Chris added: “Our colleagues are out there every day carrying out an incredibly difficult job and deserve this recognition and celebration for going above and beyond in their difficult roles.

“We now need you to nominate your deserving colleagues!”

More information about the Dorset Police Federation Recognition Awards - and a growing list of sponsors - will be revealed in coming weeks and months in the run up to the evening.

04/06/2026

01/06/2026

The 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line is an independent and confidential service for anyone working in policing experiencing a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts.

If you’re in crisis, and need help now, call 03001312789

https://www.oscarkilo.org.uk/crisis-line

27/05/2026

“Officers were injured after being attacked with glass bottles and other missiles...”

Statement from Dorset Police Federation Chair Chris Wood after officers come under attack at Bournemouth beach.

Chris said: “I am appalled by the incident on Bournemouth beach last night where our officers were assaulted by a small minority of those who had come to Bournemouth to enjoy the beach.

“Officers were attacked with glass bottles and other missiles whilst dealing with members of the public and a number suffered injuries.

“Fortunately, the injuries are minor and all officers remained at work to support their colleagues. I am grateful to the response the Force took and for our colleagues in Hampshire who came to Dorset to assist.

“Having gone out last night and spoken with officers who were involved and seen some of their BWV their professionalism in the face of this incident was unquestioned.

“It was also clear there were some members of public who stepped in to help our officers which I am very thankful for.

“We are working closely with the Force to ensure those responsible for assaults on our members are dealt with and I am reassured that plans are being put in place to prevent further incidents this week that expose our members to this sort of risk.”

26/05/2026

Colleagues in Gloucestershire join the growing : Stop Racism Against The Police Campaign

“It is disgusting that people come to work and feel like they need to put up with this level of abuse,” the Chair of Gloucestershire Police Federation has said, as he backed the ‘Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police’ campaign.

At least 11,000 hate crimes were committed against UK police officers over the past three years. A recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request to UK police forces found that there were 10,922 reported hate crimes against officers from 27 forces from 2022 to 2025. However, the true figure is likely to be much higher – even close to double – as another 21 forces, including Gloucestershire Constabulary, were unable to provide data.

In addition, many officers may experience hate crime but feel unwilling or unable to report it to their force. In response to the findings, Humberside Police Federation Chair Lee Sims launched the campaign: ‘Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police’, in order to collect data on the scale of the issue, raise awareness of what the police were facing, and do more to protect officers and staff.

Adam Williams, Chair of Gloucestershire Police Federation, said: “We fully support this campaign, which stands at the heart of what we should be doing as a representative body. I am extremely concerned about the level of racist abuse that our officers and police staff are subjected to on a weekly basis. Racism against police officers or police staff is just not acceptable.

“Racist abuse can have a profound impact on anyone who’s the victim of it. It's striking at that person’s identity, their background and culture, and it should never be accepted in any way, shape or form, it is abhorrent. All officers are just doing their job and serving the public, and don’t forget they are part of our communities as well.”

Adam said he was disappointed that Gloucestershire Constabulary was unable to provide data, and supported the campaign’s aim to make it mandatory to record racist abuse.

He said: I think it's vital for us as a force, and as a Federation, to know the level of abuse that our members are suffering. If Gloucestershire Constabulary hasn’t provided data, it doesn't allow us, as a representative body, to know how deeply rooted this problem is.

“We need to get a clear understanding of the scale of the issue and then it will allow us to put the support mechanisms in place for all those affected. If it is mandated, I can get that information from the force, then I can follow it up and ensure that the welfare of those officers is looked after.

“It's disgusting that people are coming to work and feeling like they need to put up with this level of abuse. It's not right. Society needs to improve.”

Adam said that officers who had suffered racist abuse should inform their supervisors, who will investigate the incident in line with the Operation Hampshire seven-point plan. The Better Together diversity team, as well as the Federation and Unison, will also support officers and staff that are affected.

He also encouraged officers to speak up if they saw their colleagues receiving abuse, saying: “My expectation would be that any police officer would step up, deal with it in a robust and professional manner, and then look to get that individual into custody and then put it through the criminal justice process, and hopefully get those people found guilty at court and sentenced to a reasonable outcome, not just a slap on the wrist.

“It's necessary for us to ensure we don't let this continue. We need to be proactive in this and the more we do to stamp this out, the better it will be for our officers, and the entire society.”

25/05/2026

Police officers who have given decades of service to this country have had their retirement plans changed overnight.

This week, the Government introduced new commutation factors for officers in the 1987 Police Pension Scheme following a Treasury decision to increase the SCAPE discount rate.

While the terminology may sound technical, the impact on retiring officers is very real.

From today, officers retiring under the 1987 scheme will receive almost 5% less in lump sum payments for giving up the same amount of annual pension than an officer retiring just last week. For many, that represents a loss of thousands of pounds with immediate effect.

What makes this particularly concerning is the speed of the change.
Many officers have only recently received retirement quotations and benefit illustrations based on the previous figures.

Those figures inform major life decisions, mortgages, debt repayments, supporting family members and long-term retirement planning.

Now, with no warning, no transition period and no protections, the goalposts have moved.

The Police Federation is now seeking independent actuarial and legal advice on:
• the scale and justification for the changes
• whether officers who relied on recent quotations may have suffered financial detriment
• What legal remedies may be available

Police Federation National Secretary John Partington said:
“After decades of service, the ‘thanks’ retiring officers get is this: government quietly shaving cash off a hard-earned retirement overnight. It’s a blatant case of picking the pockets of police pensioners, and we will not let it stand.”

Police officers cannot strike. They cannot freely negotiate pay. Throughout their careers, they miss birthdays, rest days, weekends, and family milestones in service to the public.

The least they should expect is certainty and fairness when they retire.

Members, please check your emails for further information and guidance on the changes announced this week.

Add your voice to thousands who have 👇
https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=IJTX9mriHUe68V29n-n68x6or_dn_91EhYtIqAFCmSRUM0NKUlVLMTdYQjFUTTNWQzdMNFpXSVVSMSQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl

22/05/2026

DCC named as the preferred candidate to be the next Chief Constable 

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/26128189.dorset-police-preferred-candidate-chief-constable-named/

Current Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell has been chosen as the preferred candidate for Chief Constable of Dorset Police.

22/05/2026

These harrowing incidents illustrate why Dorset Police Federation is backing the Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police campaign.

21/05/2026

More momentum for our Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police campaign, as Thames Valley becomes the latest Federation to call for an end to the racist abuse of police officers.

“Hate crimes against officers must not be tolerated”, the Chair of Thames Valley Police Federation has said, as she backed the ‘Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police’ campaign.

At least 11,000 hate crimes have been committed against UK police officers in the past three years. A recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request to UK police forces found that there were 10,922 reported hate crimes against officers from 27 forces from 2022 to 2025. However, the true figure is likely to be much higher – even close to double – as another 21 forces, including Thames Valley Police, were unable to provide data.

In addition, many officers may experience hate crime but feel unwilling or unable to report it to their force. In response to the findings, Humberside Police Federation Chair Lee Sims launched a campaign: ‘Protect The Protectors: Stop Racism Against Police’ late last year, in order to collect data on the scale of the issue, raise awareness of what the police were facing, and do more to protect officers and staff.

Thames Valley Police Federation Chair Aileen O’Connor said her Federation branch was proud to be backing the campaign, as “any hate crimes against our officers, physical or verbal, are not part of the job”.

She continued: “The fact that our officers are facing racial slurs or slurs of any nature is absolutely not acceptable – it's abhorrent. It must not be tolerated.

“And I think racist verbal abuse is a part of policing that is probably not reported in the same way as an assault, a kick or a punch. Words can sometimes be more hurtful than actual physical assault, and people might be embarrassed to report it. So we want to highlight this campaign, and make sure that these types of offences against our officers are dealt with in the same vein as physical assaults against our officers.”

Aileen added that hate crimes were an attack on people’s “whole being”: “Whether you're an Asian female, whether you're a Sikh male, whether you're a gay woman or a gay man, that is an attack on your personal makeup, that doesn't go away when you take that uniform off.

“And that's why we need to look at how these incidents are being recorded, to make sure they are being recorded correctly, and to make sure that our officers are supported through a really horrible time.”

Aileen said she was disappointed that Thames Valley Police was unable to provide data on hate crimes, but that she was working with the force to find a mechanism to properly measure assaults and abuse.

She said: “I'm going to be doing a bit of work with the service improvement team, to see if we can collect the data for the past six months. And I'm working on the data that I'm supplied with every day. I'm also going to send every single member of our Federation a snapshot survey, so that I can gather first-hand whether they have suffered racial abuse in the past year, and whether that's been recorded.” Aileen also argued that there should be national mandatory recording of racial abuse against police officers and staff.

She added that officers who witnessed a colleague being racially abused “should be an upstander, not a bystander”, saying: “If you’ve witnessed racially aggravated slurs against your colleagues, then you need to come forward and help us address the problem.”

Aileen continued: “There is support out there, including support from SAME (the Support Association for Minority Ethnic Staff) and us as a Federation. I'll be pushing the force to make sure that, when those incidents come to the forefront, they're being investigated properly with as much vigour behind them when they investigate assaults on officers.

“And I assure people that, if they come to the Federation, we will support them in whatever way that we can and drive it forward for them.”

She added: “I also want to say thank you to Lee Sims, the Chair of Humberside Police Federation, for starting this campaign and really bringing this issue to the forefront, and Martis Media for highlighting it. I would encourage every Federation branch to get behind this, because if you think it's not happening to your officers, you're naive – you need to make sure that you've got support mechanisms in place.”

18/05/2026

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