17 Apr 2018
NPCC: We need to make sure frontline officers are able to take their rest days
Recent Freedom of Information statistics show that frontline officers in some forces are owed time off in unclaimed rest days.
The statistics show that a quarter-of-a-million rest days were owed to 70,000 police officers in England and Wales as of September 17 last year.
National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) lead for Wellbeing, Chief Constable Andy Rhodes said:
"The last year has seen policing under real strain as our officers and staff dealt with a surge in the terror threat and rising violent crime, on top of a longer term increase in the complexity of police work.
"We noted an increase in the numbers of officers not being able to take their rest days because of operational need last summer, and highlighted it as an example of the increasing demand on policing and pressure on the frontline that needed to be considered in the policing settlement.
"Chiefs will continue to monitor this issue and put in measures to address problems because rest days are an essential part of how emergency service workers recover and when they aren’t taken we risk storing up problems for the future.”
Contact information
Communications office
By phone: 0800 538 5058
By email: press.office@npcc.police.uk
