Oscar Kilo launches a support resource for police families: partners, children, parents and friends
The National Police Wellbeing Service has put advice for the families and friends of officers and staff in one place, covering shift work, trauma, burnout, bereavement and talking to children. Here is what is in it and what it means for you.
What it means for you
- If someone close to you works in policing, there is now one national place to find advice written for you: the Oscar Kilo Police Family Support pages.
- It covers shift work, secondary trauma, burnout, bereavement, recognising when someone is struggling and talking to children about policing.
- It is free, open now and does not need a login. You can share the link with your partner, parents or older children.
- It is information and signposting, not a new service. For treatment or time off, your force occupational health and wellbeing team is still the route.
- In a crisis, family members can call Samaritans on 116 123 at any time. The Oscar Kilo crisis line on 0300 131 2789 is for people who work or have worked in policing.
The National Police Wellbeing Service, known as Oscar Kilo, launched a new Police Family Support resource on 2 November 2026. It is written for partners, children, parents, family members and close friends of people who work in policing. It brings information, advice and signposting together in one place. Oscar Kilo launched it to mark International Stress Awareness Week, whose theme this year is "Shaping the future of stress and wellbeing: Rehumanising the workplace".
Oscar Kilo says research featured in its family support work shows that three-quarters of family members (3 in 4) feel concerned about the wellbeing of a loved one who works in policing, while three in five (3 in 5) say balancing police work and family life can be challenging.
Police families at a glance
- 3 in 4 Family members concerned about the wellbeing of a loved one in policing Oscar Kilo, 2 November 2026
- 3 in 5 Say balancing police work and family life can be challenging Oscar Kilo, 2 November 2026
- 116 123 Samaritans, free for anyone at any time, including family members Samaritans
Oscar Kilo says three-quarters of family members (3 in 4) feel concerned about the wellbeing of a loved one who works in policing and three in five (3 in 5) say balancing police work and family life can be challenging. Samaritans answer anyone, including family members, at any time on 116 123.
What the resource covers
The new pages sit on the Oscar Kilo website and are open to anyone. Oscar Kilo says they give guidance on mental health, trauma, burnout, bereavement, resilience, self-care and supporting children through difficult conversations. The pages are organised around:
- recognising signs of mental health difficulties;
- how to access information, advice and support;
- looking after yourself or a loved one;
- supporting someone through grief and loss;
- talking to children about policing, mental health and bereavement;
- living with someone in the police service.
The living with policing section names problems many families will recognise: a "just keep going" coping culture that makes it harder to ask for help, secondary trauma from hearing about distressing jobs, the anxiety of not knowing what a loved one is facing, long and unsocial shifts that affect sleep and family routines, missed birthdays, public criticism of policing and safety and privacy concerns in person and online. It also explains why someone may need quiet time to decompress after a hard shift and suggests open, non-judgemental conversations if it feels like more than that.
There are short fact files on conditions including PTSD, depression, anxiety, burnout and suicidal thoughts. Others cover bereavement, including supporting a child after the loss of a parent and benefits after a bereavement.
Part of a wider family programme
This is the latest step in Oscar Kilo's work with police families. It published the findings of a research project on police families' wellbeing and support needs, commissioned from the Open University, on 23 September 2024. It launched a families toolkit for policing on 1 November 2024, added support for families with young children on 10 June 2025 and launched a children's book for emergency services families on 28 July 2025.
Oscar Kilo support for police families
- 23 September 2024 Research findings published Police families' wellbeing and support needs, commissioned from the Open University.
- 1 November 2024 Families toolkit launched
- 10 June 2025 Support for families with young children
- 28 July 2025 Children's book for emergency services families
- 2 November 2026 Now Police Family Support resource launched Partners, children, parents, family members and close friends.
Oscar Kilo published research findings on police families' wellbeing and support needs on 23 September 2024, launched a families toolkit on 1 November 2024, added support for families with young children on 10 June 2025, launched a children's book on 28 July 2025 and launched the Police Family Support resource on 2 November 2026.
What it means for you
If you are the officer or staff member, the resource gives you something to share at home. Our guide to stress and PTSD in policing covers the signs of cumulative trauma. Our guide to shift work and fatigue explains how rotas affect sleep and health. If shift work makes childcare hard, our guide to childcare costs on shifts sets out the options.
Time together matters too. Our annual leave calculator shows how much leave you are entitled to, so you can plan time at home before the rota fills up. If you have been involved in a traumatic incident, our guide to TRiM and post-incident support explains what to ask your force for.
If you are a family member, the pages are free and open now. They do not replace your loved one's force support: occupational health, TRiM and the force wellbeing team are still the route to treatment. Our mental health support directory lists the national services and who each one is for.
Support is available now. The Oscar Kilo Mental Health Crisis Line on 0300 131 2789 is confidential and open 24/7 for anyone who works or has worked in policing in England and Wales. Police Care UK supports serving and former officers, staff and volunteers harmed by policing, as well as certain family members. Samaritans answer anyone, including family members, at any time on 116 123.
Sources
- Oscar Kilo, New police family support resource launches during International Stress Awareness Week (2 November 2026). Launch on 2 November 2026; audience (partners, children, parents, family members and close friends); topics (mental health, trauma, burnout, bereavement, resilience, self-care and supporting children through difficult conversations); International Stress Awareness Week and its theme; three-quarters of family members (3 in 4) concerned about a loved one's wellbeing and three in five (3 in 5) finding it challenging to balance police work and family life. Accessed 2 November 2026.
- Oscar Kilo, Police family support. The resource itself: its sections, the common issues it describes (coping culture, secondary trauma, shift work, missed birthdays, public criticism, safety and privacy), decompression, fact files, crisis line 0300 131 2789 for people working in policing and Samaritans 116 123. Accessed 2 November 2026.
- Oscar Kilo, Police families wellbeing and support needs research project: findings (23 September 2024). Research commissioned from the Open University; findings published 23 September 2024. Accessed 2 November 2026.
- Oscar Kilo, Oscar Kilo launches new families toolkit for policing (1 November 2024). Families toolkit launched 1 November 2024. Accessed 2 November 2026.
- Oscar Kilo, Support for families with young children (10 June 2025). Support for families with very young children, 10 June 2025. Accessed 2 November 2026.
- Oscar Kilo, New children's book launched: Darcy visits the allotment (28 July 2025). Children's book for emergency services staff and their families, 28 July 2025. Accessed 2 November 2026.
- Oscar Kilo, Confidential Mental Health Crisis Line now extended to those who have left policing. Crisis line 0300 131 2789, 24/7, now open to people who have left policing. Accessed 2 November 2026.
- Oscar Kilo, Mental Health Crisis Line. Independent and confidential, for anyone working or who has worked in policing in England and Wales. Accessed 2 November 2026.
- Police Care UK, full eligibility criteria. Serving and former officers, staff and volunteers harmed by policing, as well as certain family members. Accessed 2 November 2026.
- Samaritans, Contact a Samaritan. 116 123, any time, day or night. Accessed 2 November 2026.
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