Statement from Essex Police Federation on Grays investigation

“I’d like to think the public do appreciate that police officers do need help dealing with trauma. Although officers sometimes do superhuman things, they’re not superhuman”

Statement from Essex Police Federation Chairman Steve Taylor on the incident in Grays and support provided to officers dealing with the aftermath.

Steve said: “It’s horrendous to think 39 people have lost their lives in this manner. Whilst Essex Police officers are dealing with that incident and dealing with the trauma that comes with it, let’s not forget by the biggest trauma will be reserved for those family members, the friends and closest ones of those 39 that lost their lives, and of course they’re very much in our thoughts.

“Whilst this is an extraordinary case, and thank goodness, the tools that officers need to deal with it properly and the support and welfare provision that’s put in place, those are well established and understood.

“Officers are dealing with this extraordinary incident by relying on their ordinary skills and the welfare and support that’s put in place around them by the police force, by the federation, by others that are there to help.

“I’d like to think the public do appreciate that officers do need help dealing with trauma. Although officers sometimes do superhuman things, they’re not superhuman. I think that’s reflected by the majority of members of the public appreciating you can’t just grow a bobby overnight, you can’t just take one out of the cupboard. They do need time to learn their trade and as part of that learning it’s understanding how to deal with trauma.

“There might be some out there that hold the view officers should just have a stiff upper lip and just get on with it. I think that’s a prehistoric attitude now and I’d like to think we’re moving away from those days.”

Steve concluded: “Essex Police has come on leaps and bounds in the provision it provides for officers dealing with traumatic incidents. There’s no magic formula for dealing with trauma. We don’t know what incident will affect he individual or not, and we all deal with trauma in different ways.

“The first thing is recognising that we might need help and that dealing with traumatic incidents isn’t an individual pursuit, it isn’t something that officers need to do on their own. There is help available and the first stage for that help in our police force is peer based.

“There’s an assessment done amongst the team by the team that can sometimes indicate those early signs that someone might need a bit of help dealing with a traumatic incident. So that will be going on across the force for those involved, for those on the periphery. And of course you needn’t be the officer at the scene to still be involved and effected by traumatic incidents, and so that work will continue across the force.”