Lancashire Police Federation

19/03/2026

The new Taser 10 will give officers more protection and tactical options to deal with aggression, the Chair of Lancashire Police Federation has said, as assaults on officers continue to rise.

Today the BBC published figures showing that an average of 134 officers a day are assaulted in England and Wales. In the year ending March 2025, there were 47,522 assaults recorded against police officers, about a quarter of which resulted in the officer being injured.

In Lancashire alone, well over 1,000 assaults were recorded in the year 2024-25, up from 600 assaults in 2019.

The BBC also revealed there were 14,768 convictions for Assault Against an Emergency Services Worker in the year to June 2025, a 12% increase in two years.

Lancashire Police Federation Chair Martin Midgley welcomed the issue of the new Taser 10, which can fire up to 10 single-shot cartridges without reloading and operates at a range of up to 45ft, saying that it “offers officers more protection and tactical options to deal with the aggression they are faced with daily”.

Martin said that, like many other officers, he had been assaulted over the course of his career. He said: “I have been faced by a man wielding a knife, I have been spat on, headbutted, kicked, punched and verbally abused. I have attended groups fighting with weapons as a single-crewed officer, knowing that backup isn’t anywhere nearby.

“Unfortunately, I am not unique: every officer will be able to tell you of similar situations they have faced. Many officers, like myself, will look back on incidents they have attended, where it’s only by pure luck that they haven’t been seriously assaulted. The impact this can have on officers’ mental wellbeing is significant. To go home to your children with visible injuries, or to battle with the emotions and trauma – that is if you are lucky enough to be coming home at all.”

Martin called on the Government to examine these figures and take positive action: “Not pay lip service to it, but increase funding to forces and make meaningful changes to police pay and conditions. Simply put, we need more officers on the frontline, and they need to have better pay and conditions so that forces can retain them.”

He continued: “The public deserves a properly funded, high-quality police service. But while policing continues to be underfunded by the Government, we have a stretched frontline that is buckling under the pressure, workload and stresses put on them.

“Police officers come to work to help those in need, fight crime and make communities safer. No one should expect or accept being assaulted as part of their job. Irrespective of the level of assault, the courts should be applying the harshest possible sentences to act as a deterrent.”

17/03/2026

Ear pieces could be damaging the hearing of officers, research suggests.

The devices worn as radio and BWV accessories are capable of high sound levels so they can be heard over background noise.

More than 45% of ear piece wearing officers reported experiencing signs of temporary hearing loss immediately after using an ear piece, according to the research by the University of Manchester.

Furthermore, it found ear piece use accompanied by immediate after-effects more than doubled an officer’s risk of having tinnitus, and raised the risk of having diagnosed hearing loss by 93%.

Researchers said the symptoms were much more common in the ear with the ear piece than the opposite ear, increasing the likelihood that hearing problems were directly linked to use of the devices.

The Police Federation said officers have repeatedly raised the issue of hearing loss after using ear pieces.

Professor Chris Plack, of the University of Manchester, said it is not unusual for people to experience temporary hearing loss after being in nightclubs or concerts, but it is “concerning” for officers to be experiencing such effects in the workplace.

Lead researcher Dr Hannah Guest, of the University of Manchester, told the Press Association: “We were surprised that ear piece use with after-effects was so strongly linked to long-term hearing symptoms.

“The fact that symptoms tended to appear in the exposed ear, rather than the opposite ear, is a particularly telling finding.”

Dr Guest said laboratory hearing tests are now needed to confirm whether ear piece users have measurable differences between their ears.

Published in Trends In Hearing, the respondents were members of a long-term project on police health at Imperial College London.

Police Federation health and safety lead Richie Murray told PA: “We have significant concerns regarding the potential for hearing loss linked to the prolonged use of ear pieces, high audio volume levels particularly within shared estate environments and the inconsistent application of hearing assessments across forces.

“The issues highlighted in this report echo what frontline officers have repeatedly raised with us.

“The health, safety, and wellbeing of our members remain our highest priority.

“We will continue to monitor this situation closely and work collaboratively with forces to ensure appropriate safeguards are implemented to better protect officers’ hearing.”

Inspector Andrea Shoetan, president of the Disabled Police Association, said ear pieces are being worn more than ever.

She said: “As a serving officer of 20 years, the use of ear pieces has changed dramatically within that time due to the introduction of body-worn video cameras.

“Forces encourage officers and staff to use their ear pieces when they are in public to prevent redaction being required from body-worn video footage prior to court.”

Insp Shoetan said officers work in noisy environments and have to turn up their ear pieces as a result.

“The volume of the radio will be turned up to maximum with sound going straight into the ear canal from the ear piece to try and hear radio communications, so the potential risk of exceeded daily noise levels increases,” she added.

13/03/2026

Eight out of 10 front-line police officers surveyed said they oppose the Government's Licence to Practise proposals.

The licence-to-practise scheme is based on the system for nurses and doctors, in which professional licences are revalidated every three to five years after medics demonstrate they have refreshed their skills and completed necessary training.

It is a central proposal in Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s white paper to “raise standards and promote professional development”.

Two thirds (65 per cent) of 3,261 Police Federation members asked said they strongly opposed the licences; 15 per cent said they “somewhat” opposed them; 10 per cent supported the plan, and the remainder were neutral or did not express a view.

Police officers are barred from taking industrial action, but more than half (56 per cent) said the reforms would make them “less likely to continue working” in the service. Just 4 per cent said it would make them more likely to stay.

Under the plans, officers would need to pass interviews on their professional development, qualifications, activities and achievements. Those who failed would be given support, such as mentoring, but successive failures would result in the loss of their licence.

The Home Office has not clarified how often officers would need to renew their licences, but it said the plan would “ensure officers are best equipped with problem-solving and technological skills they need to catch more criminals”.

09/03/2026

Policing is in crisis, and the Government must pay officers properly to stop them leaving in their droves, the Chair of Lancashire Police Federation has said.

Martin Midgley said that he was backing the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW)’s call for a minimum 7% annual pay rise for each of the next three years.

In its report to the Police Remuneration Review Body for 2026, PFEW said the multi-year pay settlement was essential to improve retention, morale and operational capability. It also called for a raft of improvements to officer conditions, including increased allowances and annual leave.

By contrast, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) is supporting a 3.5% pay rise if it is fully funded by the Government, or a below-inflation 2.5% if it is not.

Martin said: “The Federation is asking the Police Remuneration Review Body for a fair pay rise that recognises the unique nature of policing. The Government needs to recognise the challenges that officers face daily and what is being asked of them.

“According to the Police Covenant, approximately 115 police officers and staff in England and Wales are assaulted every day just for doing their jobs. Officers witness significant amounts of traumatic incidents, while carrying workloads that have increased by 32% per constable since 2015.

“Yet, even knowing these stark figures and the challenges faced by policing, the NPCC is recommending a below-inflation pay rise of 2.5% unless the Government fully funds it. This is a real-terms pay cut to every officer.”

Martin added that, while he acknowledged that Chief Constables were trying to make savings, the police service was wasting millions of pounds on training and equipment for new recruits who leave within a short period of time.

He said: “There is also an increase in officers with years of service leaving policing for better-paid jobs with less pressure and risk. Policing is in crisis. The Government must act to retain new officers and stop experienced officers from leaving in their droves. Pay and conditions are key in this.”

The PFEW is also calling for:

- Full recognition of the ‘P Factor’ in police pay, to properly reflect the risks, restrictions and obligations unique to policing.

- Fewer pay points for PCs to simplify progression and improve competitiveness, including removing the lowest pay points to reflect frontline expectations from day one.

- Increase the unsocial hours allowance from 10% to 20%, for work between 8pm and 6am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

- Acting up and temporary promotion payments should be paid from day one and made pensionable.

- The maximum London and South East allowance should be paid as standard.

- Increased annual leave, with any unused leave to be paid.

- A new long-service leave and recuperation leave.

- Workload payments to Inspectors and Chief Inspectors should be extended, with additional pay for hours worked beyond 48 per week, pending a full review of the 1994 PNB Agreement.

02/03/2026

Police officers should have a minimum 7% annual pay rise for each of the next three years, the Police Federation of England and Wales has said.

In its report to the Police Remuneration Review Body for 2026, the PFEW said the multi-year pay settlement was essential to improve retention, morale and operational capability.

By contrast, the National Police Chiefs’ Council is supporting a 3.5% pay rise if it is fully funded by the Government, or a below-inflation 2.5% if it is not.

The PFEW is also calling for:

- Full recognition of the ‘P Factor’ in police pay, to properly reflect the risks, restrictions and obligations unique to policing.

- Fewer pay points for constables to simplify progression and improve competitiveness, including removing the lowest pay points to reflect frontline expectations from day one.

- Increase the unsocial hours allowance from 10% to 20%, for work between 8pm and 6am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

- Acting up and temporary promotion payments should be paid from day one and made pensionable.

- The maximum London and South East allowance should be paid as standard.

- Increased annual leave, with any unused leave to be paid.

- A new long-service leave and recuperation leave.

- Workload payments to Inspectors and Chief Inspectors should be extended, with additional pay for hours worked beyond 48 per week, pending a full review of the 1994 PNB Agreement.

27/02/2026

Sad news as West Midlands Police announce the off duty death of Detective Constable Tayyab Malik. The thoughts of Lancashire Police Federation are with his family, friends and close colleagues at this time.

DC TAYYAB MALIK: FEDERATION RESPONSE

West Midlands Police Federation has extended its sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of a Force detective who died on Tuesday afternoon.

DC Tayyab Malik was 35.

Jess Davies, chair of West Midlands Police Federation, said: “Our thoughts are with Tayyab’s loved ones at this heartbreaking time.

READ MORE HERE:
https://polfed.org/westmids/news-and-events/news/2026/dc-tayyab-malik-federation-response/

25/02/2026

Remembering PC Ian Woodward of Lancashire Constabulary who was killed on duty this day in 1987. Ian was shot dead challenging a suspect armed with a shotgun.

23/02/2026

The Police Unity Tour is coming up in August

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1PksQGzPHJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

19/02/2026

Police Mutual are running six free wellbeing webinars to mark the upcoming International Women's Day.



The 45 minute Webinars will cover:

- Self Care
- Healthy Eating
- Anxiety & Imposter Syndrome
- Sleep
- Menopause
- And Mental Health and Stress Management

More here, including how to register https://www.policemutual.co.uk/iwd-webinar-registration/

17/02/2026

Upcoming mortgage clinic for colleagues

09/02/2026

Incredibly sad news. The thoughts of all at Lancashire Police Federation are with Alice's family, friends and close colleagues at this time.



https://www.facebook.com/CheshirePolFed/posts/pfbid02mA2z4TnrEkciqjtCk1SPNK49gkZKoHqgMhqkGLXha64suKS6JNiqpLpX72Hr65cWl

All at Cheshire Police Federation are devastated to confirm the off duty death on Saturday of our colleague PC Alice Mayo.

She was 29.

Alice was an officer from Macclesfield who served with Cheshire Police for more than six years.

Alice’s family said: "Alice meant so much to so many. She was a daughter, a sister, an auntie, a niece, a dog-mum to Ned the Cocker Spaniel, and a friend to so many.

"She was beautiful inside and out. She will leave a huge hole in our lives, but also a legacy of laughter, fun, and sunshine. She achieved so much in her short life, and leaves behind a heartbroken, but incredibly proud, family.”

Jamie Thompson, Chair of Cheshire Police Federation, said: “Our thoughts are with Alice's family, friends and close colleagues at this time.

“She will be remembered as a popular colleague who will be much missed by all who knew her.

“The Federation are doing all we can to support her colleagues and if any officers need assistance then please do not hesitate to contact us or a local Representative.”

Alice died following a road traffic collision in the Cheshire village of Arclid on Saturday, which remains under investigation.

A 77-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of causing a death by dangerous driving has since been released on conditional bail pending further enquiries.

Mark Roberts, Chief Constable of Cheshire Police said: “I want to pay tribute to our professional and courageous colleague. She was a dedicated professional who will be missed by all those who knew her.

“I would ask that people do not speculate about the collision and the circumstances around it. Please let our experienced and professional investigators carry out their work.”

05/02/2026

At least 11,000 hate crimes were committed against UK police officers in the past three years, Police Oracle can reveal.

A 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 as another 21 forces - including Lancashire Police were not able to provide the information.

In the most recent figures, collected in the financial year 2024-2025, there were 3,648 reported hate crimes with police officer victims – 1,407 of those were against Metropolitan Police officers.

Yet the next two biggest forces, Police Scotland and Greater Manchester Police, were unable to provide figures, suggesting an even larger crisis.

Other forces with notable hate crime figures in the last financial year included Derbyshire 176, Leicestershire 242, North Yorkshire 384, Sussex 278 and West Yorkshire with 440.

A hate crime is any criminal offence motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s actual or perceived race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or transgender identity.

Many officers may experience hate crime but feel unwilling or unable to report it to their force.

Humberside Police Federation recently surveyed its minority ethnic officers and police staff; 50% of respondents said they had experienced racial abuse while on duty, yet some said they hadn’t reported it. Reasons for not reporting it varied from not wanting to be seen as difficult, to not believing the issue would be dealt with seriously.

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 how big a problem this is, to raise awareness, and do more to protect police officers and staff"

More here https://www.policeoracle.com/article-library/at-least-11000-hate-crimes-were-committed-against-officers-in-the-past-three-years/