Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix’s Policing Friendship Tour recently caught up with Andy Marsh, Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset, for a stroll around Bristol ahead of his retirement from the service in July; following a busy year for the Constabulary, which included the BLM protests and the Kill the Bill riots, Mr Marsh talked to Bernard about the challenges over the past 12 months, the changes during his 34 years in policing, and the work of the COPS charity.

The Policing Friendship Tour is taking Bernard across the British Isles where he is hoping to visit all police forces, before then taking the Tour around the world.

Bernard explained: “Public voices of support for policing are not sufficiently often heard above less supportive stories that seem somehow to attract more publicity. My Policing Friendship Tour will be, in part, my way of helping to make support for policing people – in the widest sense – that little bit more visible.”

The Tour will also raise awareness and money for policing charities, and those Bernard talks and walks with can nominate a charity of their choice to be supported. As his chosen charity, Andy Marsh has nominated Care of Police Survivors (COPS), which supports the families of police officers and staff who have lost their lives on duty.