Response Policing Week 2026 - recognising the officers with the most unpredictable job in policing

Last week, we joined police forces across England and Wales to mark Response Policing Week.

Response officers have some of the most demanding and unpredictable jobs in policing and we want to highlight the range of incidents they respond to and the actions they take to keep people safe.

Throughout the week, Gloucestershire’s Response officers deployed to 1,067 calls for service, including 613 emergencies.

Response officers are almost always first on the scene and regularly have to intervene in acts of violence or apprehend individuals suspected of carrying out crimes.

Among the arrests made last week by Response officers were:

• A man suspected of slashing another man with a knife in Gloucester. Officers also provided first aid to the victim and recovered a blade from the scene for forensic enquiries.
• A man suspected of exposing himself to members of the public, including children, in Cheltenham
• A woman who found to be in possession of drugs after being searched in Stroud
• A man wanted on suspicion of causing GBH in Cheltenham. Officers also safeguarded his victim
• A woman in Cirencester on suspicion of assaulting her partner
• A man on suspicion of rape in Cheltenham. After making the arrest officers then carried out a search of his property
• A man on suspicion of assaulting his partner in the Stroud area

While detaining suspected offenders is something Response officers do regularly, they also spend a significant amount of time responding to calls about vulnerable people.

Last week, we received 87 reports of missing people, many of which were deemed high-risk, and 285 calls raising concerns about a person’s welfare. Response officers were then regularly deployed to search for them.

Among vulnerable people Response officers located and safeguarded last week were:

• A vulnerable woman missing from Wiltshire who was subsequently found in Cheltenham and taken home
• A woman who reported swallowing magnets and tablets who was detained under the Mental Health Act by officers who then took her to Gloucester Royal Hospital for treatment
• Five children reported missing from school in the Stroud area
• A vulnerable rape victim who detectives needed to speak to as part of an ongoing investigation

Sadly, however, not all incidents Response officers attend to have a positive outcome.

On several occasions last week officers arrived at a location to find people either unresponsive or deceased. Officers are trained in first aid and will perform CPR where necessary but sadly, despite officers’ best efforts, there were instances when the outcome was not the one wanted.

After attending a sudden death, Response officers often have the unwanted task of informing the deceased’s next of kin and will also liaise with the coroner’s office.

And in addition to apprehending offenders, protecting victims and safeguarding vulnerable people, Response officers also support other emergency services and partners manage incidents they are responding to.

For example, last week Response officers assisted:

• The fire service in Cheltenham with cordons and supported a resident following a fire in a block of flats
• Both the fire and ambulance services respond to a report of a car on its roof in a river in the Cotswolds
• The British Transport Police respond to a sudden death near Stroud

Chief Superintendent Rebecca Love, Head of Local Policing, said: “Response officers are often first on the scene of a reported incident and a lot of the time they do not know what they’re going to be faced with.

“The have to be capable of managing crises, de-escalating danger and often need to make split-second decisions in order to protect the public from harm.

“I’m extremely proud of the bravery and resilience our Response officers show on a daily basis and I hope by detailing just some of the incidents they’ve been involved in during Response Policing Week we have been able to highlight their contribution to the policing of Gloucestershire.”