Supporting the Health and Wellbeing of the Police Service

It's important for me to take time to visit police officers and staff based in stations and departments across the Service, to have the opportunity to speak with and perhaps more importantly, listen to them personally.

Yesterday, I had the chance to visit our Occupational Heath and Well-being department, which is responsible for the delivery of health protection, promotion and monitoring. The department also provides psychological well-being, musculoskeletal, medical and nursing and physical and health education services.

The department's main aim is to improve the health and well-being of police officers and police staff by delivering a range of proactive and responsive services. The unit began delivering occupational health services in the early 1980's with just a few members and was sadly in response to the very difficult policing environment being faced by the Royal Ulster Constabulary at that time.

Today a fantastic range of services is provided by a team of around 40 healthcare professionals and support staff. The unit is very much seen as a model of good practice nationally and internationally and I was absolutely delighted to see them recently receive first place in the Health and Wellbeing category of the CIPD People Management Awards 2011.

Policing by its very nature is a physically and mentally challenging occupation. Whilst we have some very experienced and resilient people, the officers and staff of your police service see and do things that most other people will never ever have to encounter or experience.

Some of the incidents members of the Police Service deal with or attend can have very significant and long term consequences for them personally. It is therefore absolutely critical that we have the right people with the right skills in place to identify health concerns at the earliest opportunity, to provide support and assistance to our people when they need it most.

More often than not these people are in the background and less visible to the public than many parts of this organisation. But that does not mean they are any less important.

Not only is it important that we look after our people when they need assistance, but it is equally important to ensure that, as a public service, we do everything possible to ensure that our people are fit, healthy and happy at work in order to better deliver that personal, professional and protective policing service that the public expects.

Our officers and staff deserve the very best support we can provide and I know that the Occupational Heath and Well-being department are a critical and essential part of your police service.

For an organisation in a uniquely challenging environment, they provide a world class service of which we are all very proud.

Planning for the World Police and Fire games

I was delighted to attend my first meeting as Chair of the World Police and Fire Games Board this afternoon.

I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland who until recently chaired the Board, for his immense contribution to the planning for this major event in our history.

Although the games do not come to Northern Ireland until summer 2013, significant planning and preparation has already been undertaken. The Games will undoubtedly be the biggest sporting event we have ever seen.

The events of Wednesday night again demonstrated the narrow view of a small number of individuals who for whatever reason seem intent on driving away the benefits and investment of events like the MTV Awards, Titanic Celebrations, City of Culture and the World Police and Fire Games.

I echo the words of Chief Superintendent Stephen Martin, the local District Commander in Derry, who described those who carried out the attack on the City of Culture Offices in Derry as: "not an attack on police but an attack on the people of the City by the people of the City."

I encourage you to embrace the opportunities to promote everything that is good about Northern Ireland over the next few months and years.

Your Police Service will be doing everything it possibly can to make sure that people feel as welcome and safe as possible and have a memorable visit for all the right reasons to this beautiful part of the world.

New Public Services Training College - a reality

I was delighted to attend Cookstown Council Office on Wednesday night to formally acknowledge the business case approval of the new Joint Public Services Training College.

It has been a long journey since the provision of a purpose built training college was first suggested in recommendation 131 of the Patten Report in 1999. Since then the scope has been widened to include a multi agency training facility with our colleagues in the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and the Prison Service. All of the services welcome this development and the provision of world class training facilities for your emergency and prison services now seem a reality.

The opportunities of the new facilities are endless, and whilst the capital is coming from Police, Fire and Rescue and Prisons, we have already received expressions of interest from other Northern Ireland Public Service providers and international colleagues to use the college. We also hope that there will be significant opportunities and benefits for the local community.

A lot of time and energy has already been invested to get the project to this stage and I would like to pay tribute to current and former colleagues, in all three services, who had the vision and determination to develop the concept of the provision of new training services.

This is a huge training investment and the £139m project will in the longer term save public money as we share facilities, replace outdated and dilapidated buildings, and reduce the duplication of overheads for all three services.

I very much look forward to the next stages which will include planning permission and tendering for the construction of the facility. It is hoped the first of our colleagues will be using the new college in the summer of 2015.