Humberside Police Federation unveils welfare van to support officers during major incidents

The van has a toilet, fridge, microwave and seating, and will offer hot and cold drinks, hot food and snacks. It also has seating where officers can enjoy a well deserved rest and mobile phone charging points.

The new Humberside Police welfare van – dubbed ‘Brews and Twos’ – has been jointly funded by the force’s Welfare and Benevolent Fund, UNISON and the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Humberside Police Federation Chair Lee Sims said: “I saw that we were going out on scenes such as murder inquiries where cops weren’t really looked after. Unfortunately, they were out for long periods of time and were unable to go to the toilet and were unable to have hot drinks.

“So we decided to get a welfare van, which will support police officers and staff by being deployed to major incidents, like missing person enquiries, rooftop sieges, any sort of scene or incident where large numbers of police officers are going to be there for a long time.

“I’d like to thank the Welfare and Benevolent Fund, UNISON and the PCC for their contributions to this van, which have gone towards solely helping the members.”

Federation Secretary Rob Grunner added: “This van will certainly support cops. Having both been cops on the frontline, Lee and I have stood on scene guards, freezing cold, in the middle of the night, so it’ll be a really valuable asset to enable officers just to have a sit down, to get food, to get drinks. It’s all about their wellbeing and welfare.”

Deputy Chief Constable of Humberside Police, Paul Anderson, said that all parties were really proud of the new van.

He said: “Policing is a really, really hard job. To have a facility like this, it can be deployed in a number of situations. It’s like a little movable office, a bit of shelter, somewhere to relax, get a drink. We’re absolutely delighted with it.

“I think it would be fair to say policing has never been a straightforward career, it’s always been hard and unpredictable. So this is important, because we need to do everything possible to make it better for the officers and staff.”