PCC Clare Moody reflects on Response Policing Awareness Week

This week is Response Policing Week of Action, and it offers an opportunity to reflect on one of the most visible parts of modern policing. It also sits alongside wider initiatives, including National Police Appreciation Week, which aim to increase public understanding of the role policing plays in keeping communities safe.

Response officers deal daily with the full spectrum of harm. They make rapid decisions in unpredictable and often high‑risk environments, frequently with limited information. They are expected to balance enforcement with compassion, problem‑solving with reassurance, and speed with care, sometimes all within the same incident.

I recently served on the judging panel for the Outstanding Policing Awards, which recognise excellence across policing roles. What stayed with me was not just the commitment shown by officers and staff, but the complexity of the environments they operate in.

That complexity is also at the centre of a new online series from Avon and Somerset Police, On Duty, which asks an important question: what does a real police shift actually look like? The series follows officers responding to real incidents, showing the reality of frontline policing. In this episode, viewers see the team responding to a theft and another incident where they apprehend one of the force’s most wanted offenders, found hiding inside a sofa.

Allowing the public to see how policing operates, and the people behind the uniform, is a vital part of building confidence. Opening the door to understanding is one step towards policing that is more trusted, more accountable, and more connected to the communities it serves.