'We’re not immune - we do experience domestic abuse': Police force to bring in domestic abuse support for its own officers
Thames Valley Police is one of the first forces in the country to offer tailored domestic abuse support to its staff
"Empower" is a new support group created by police officers and staff with their own lived experience of domestic abuse.
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The group will offer peer support, practical advice, wellbeing support and access to specialist services, working alongside the charity Hope After Harm.
Skye Feasey, a police officer in Thames Valley Police Witness Care Unit, told LBC Empower was designed specifically around the needs of people working in the police.
“A lot of police officers work and live in the same or similar community, so it can be quite a challenge to then look for and accept that help from outside agencies.”
PC Feasey said seeking help can be particularly challenging for officers who live and work in the communities they serve: “I found it quite difficult as a police officer reaching out to agencies that I would send people to within the community.
“It’s also a very different experience being a victim as a police officer, knowing the system and going through that system whilst also trying to work that system."
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Jacquie Collins, who works in Domestic Abuse Offender Management, also helped to set up the programme.
She said there is still a stigma around the problem and a myth that police officers can't also be victims.
“Everybody thinks we’re superhuman and don’t have the same experiences as everybody else.
“It has been quite a taboo, and I think we need to be educating and asking and telling victims that it’s okay to come forward and speak out.
“We’re not immune. We are the same as everyone else, and we do experience domestic abuse.”
Ms Collins said the group had developed from an internal 12-week Own My Life course, supported by Hope After Harm, and was now supporting its second cohort.
She said having colleagues who understand the pressures of policing is invaluable.
“We’ve got a real sense of community anyway as staff and police officers, and to have that group within our service is really important.
“We understand the roles and the jobs that we all do… and we’ve had so many come forward and say it’s so important that they feel understood and that they’ve got that community to reach out to.”
Deputy Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, Ben Snuggs said “domestic abuse can affect anyone, regardless of their role or rank.”
He added that Empower would help challenge stigma and ensure colleagues know where to turn for support.
PC Feasey said the group hoped to make a lasting difference.
“We really hope to be able to change that stigma that currently still sits with domestic abuse as a whole, but also with domestic abuse around police officers and police staff.
“It will be a long journey, but we’re really positive about it.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, then support and reporting information is available through Thames Valley Police’s domestic abuse webpage. In an emergency, call 999.