Police Dependants' Trust
| Formation | December 1966 |
|---|---|
| Type | Charity |
| Location |
|
| Website | policecare |
Formerly called | Police Dependents' Trust[1] |
Police Care UK, formerly the Police Dependants' Trust, is a body which looks after the interest and welfare of the families of British police officers who have died or been incapacitated as a result of injury while on duty.[2][3][4]
It was set up in December 1966 from financial donations which flooded in after three CID officers in London were murdered by three men whose car they had stopped for a routine inspection (Shepherd's Bush murders).[1][5][6][7] The initial contributor was holiday camp owner Billy Butlin, who anonymously donated £100,000. Public donations soon swelled the fund to one million pounds.[8][5]
The three killers were all given life sentences.[9] John Duddy died while imprisoned in Parkhurst prison in February 1981,[7][10] while John Edward 'Jack' Witney was released on licence in 1991 after 25 years and was later murdered in Bristol in 1999.[11][7] Harry Roberts was released on licence in November 2014, after serving 48 years.[6][9]
In 2019, following a merger with the National Police Fund, Police Dependents' Trust became Police Care UK.[8]
References
- ^ a b "Police Care UK". Police Federation of England and Wales. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ^ Ferguson, Donna (11 June 2017). "One love, one aim … finding the best way to donate to victims of the terror attacks". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ^ "Thames Valley Police celebrates 50th anniversary with annual open day". Bracknell News. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
...the Police Dependants Trust - a charity which provides practical, emotional and financial support for to serving and former police officers and staff who have suffered harm as a result of their policing role.
- ^ "New scheme to help police partners". Irish Independent. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ^ a b Dowling, Kevin; Leppard, David (23 March 2014). "Fraud squad investigates police union boss over charity deal". The Times. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b Shaw, Danny (12 November 2014). "Harry Roberts: Police killer released from prison". BBC News. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ^ a b c Wilson, Jamie (24 April 2000). "Incensed police seek to bar parole for triple murderer". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ^ a b Plummer, John (21 February 2019). "Merger creates new police welfare charity". Third Sector. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ^ a b Campbell, Duncan (23 October 2014). "Harry Roberts: the man behind the 1966 police murders". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ^ "Parkhurst prisoner dies". The Times. 9 February 1981. p. 5.
- ^ Walker, Peter (23 October 2014). "Harry Roberts to be freed within days". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2025.