Record number of police officers signed off with poor mental health in the past year
Recent riots have added to the stress felt by those on the frontline
A record 14,508 officers were signed off with poor mental health in the past year, as the increased strain of the job pushes rank and file officers over the edge.
The figure has risen 9% on the previous year and has rocketed by an astonishing 130% since the first survey was conducted 11 years ago.
The Police Oracle study found record numbers of officers have been signed off for stress, depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) over the past 12 months.
And those on the frontline warn that recent experiences many have endured dealing with the nationwide race riots could exacerbate the problem even further.
Of the 43 forces that provided figures both this year and last year – via a Freedom of Information Act request – researchers found 31 had an increased number of officers being signed off for mental health reasons.
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The UK’s fourth largest force, West Midlands Police, reported the highest number of absences, at 1,128 whilst the second largest force, Police Scotland, reported 1,110 absences in 2023-24, and Greater Manchester Police had 1,028 absences, up 71% on last year.
Of these many forces reported worryingly high percentage rises in mental health absences, with Cleveland up 526% and Dorset up 343%.
Also showing relatively high increases were Merseyside with a 69% increase and South Wales 63%.
The new findings follow a disturbing trend after the most recent National Police Wellbeing Survey found 69.6% of officers describing their fatigue level as “high” with 28.9% describing it as “very high”.
And in the Police Federation of England and Wales Pay & Morale Survey, 82% of respondents said they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety or other problems with their mental health and wellbeing over the past 12 months.
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Hayley Aley, the Federation’s co-lead for wellbeing, branded the new statistics “scary” but balanced that by pointing out that it was also positive that officers felt more confident to report mental-health issues.
She said: “Some stigma is being eradicated. Historically, police officers haven’t wanted to declare that they are struggling with their mental health for the fear that it will affect their progression and will have a negative effect on their working life and on their ability to provide for their families.
“I’d love to say that that means they’ll get the help and support they need, but there’s a postcode lottery depending on which force the officer is with and how well they can recuperate and what support is available for them.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) wellbeing lead, Andy Rhodes, said: “Policing is an extremely fulfilling profession where officers can make a genuine difference to people’s lives and to their communities.
“Sadly the role they play means they can often be faced with some incredibly challenging and hostile situations and, over time, this can take a toll.”
