Police Dependants' Trust

Last updated

Police Care UK
FormationDecember 1966;58 years ago (1966-12)
Type Charity
Location
  • United Kingdom
Website policecare.org.uk
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

  1. 1 2 "Police Care UK". Police Federation of England and Wales . Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ "New scheme to help police partners". Irish Independent . 8 February 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 Dowling, Kevin; Leppard, David (23 March 2014). "Fraud squad investigates police union boss over charity deal" . The Times . Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  6. 1 2 Shaw, Danny (12 November 2014). "Harry Roberts: Police killer released from prison". BBC News . Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 Wilson, Jamie (24 April 2000). "Incensed police seek to bar parole for triple murderer". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  8. 1 2 Plummer, John (21 February 2019). "Merger creates new police welfare charity". Third Sector . Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  9. 1 2 Campbell, Duncan (23 October 2014). "Harry Roberts: the man behind the 1966 police murders". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  10. ↑ "Parkhurst prisoner dies". The Times . 9 February 1981. p. 5.
  11. ↑ Walker, Peter (23 October 2014). "Harry Roberts to be freed within days". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 November 2025.
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