Number of stress-related absences increases

A TOTAL of 201 officers from South Yorkshire Police were signed off work in the past year because of stress-related illnesses, new figures show.

A Freedom of Information Act request asked the force how many of its officers were off work from April 2015 to March 2016 with stress-related illness.

The overall figure was up from 165 the previous year – a 21% increase.

By far the largest single issue was stress – with 127 officers signed off for this reason. Depression was listed as the other main causes of absence in the force.

Neil Bowles, Chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “This is no surprise at all, and it’s not just the media storm around South Yorkshire, as the figures match other forces nationally. Police work is intensively stressful, if you don’t take (or be allowed to take) quality time to relax, then you will make yourself ill. Occupational Health needs to receive a huge investment to meet the demands of the officers and staff and keeping them at work.”

Nationally, 8,632 officers were signed off work in the past year for stress-related illnesses in 43 forces including Police Scotland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and British Transport Police.

That is an increase of 14% from comparable forces who responded to the same FOI last year.

Four forces had more than 500 officers signed off with stress-related illness last year – the Met (1,021), Scotland (760), West Midlands (613) and Greater Manchester (505).

Five forces recorded a drop in the number of officers off sick with stress-related illness – Kent (240 to 210), Suffolk (55 to 49), Thames Valley (217 to 215), Warwickshire (54 to 44) and Wiltshire (80 to 54). City of London Police had the fewest officers signed off, at 23.

The Police Federation of England and Wales said the service must “put more effort” into ensuring officers’ welfare.

Its own welfare survey showed that 62% of officers said they never or rarely felt optimistic and 60% never or rarely felt relaxed; 29% of those who had been off work sick in the previous 12 months said one or more days had been due to stress, depression or anxiety. And almost two thirds of officers said they still went to work even though they felt they shouldn’t have because of the state of their mental wellbeing.

Steve White, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “This data supports our own recent Welfare survey in highlighting just how much of a problem stress and mental-health related illness is within the police service, something the Federation is seriously concerned about.

“The stress officers are under is not just down to the situations they are exposed to, but the everyday and ever increasing demands of the job with changing patterns of crime and falling officer numbers contributing to this.

“Officers continue to tell us they feel there is inadequate support available to them. Sadly, due to budget cuts, and tightening purse strings, it’s a fact that some welfare programmes have been cut.

“The service must put more effort into looking after the most valuable resource they have; officers and staff. The Federation will continue to work with forces and stakeholders to ensure that all officers are able to get the support they need.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said “cultural stigmas” sometimes prevented officers from talking about the effect of traumatic or stressful events.

The Police Federation’s survey showed that officers feared disclosing having mental health problems due to factors such as fear of the reaction they would receive from supervisors and colleagues, fearing the stigma around mental health and the impact on their careers if they were seen as not able to cope.

NPCC Lead for Organisational Development and Wellbeing, Deputy Chief Constable Andy Rhodes, said: “Over 80% of money spent on policing is on its people. Police officers and some police staff are regularly exposed to trauma and highly stressful events, which is why I work with chief constables and the College of Policing to build wellbeing and resilience.

“Unfortunately, cultural stigmas still exist and this can prevent our staff from talking about how these experiences affect them. It is the job of all police leaders to create a culture where people feel confident in talking about their experiences so that we can work on prevention rather than cure. We want our people to thrive in this incredibly rewarding job, not just survive.

“All of the 43 police forces in England and Wales have formally signed up to their respective Public Health Charters to prioritise workplace wellbeing. This is the biggest workforce commitment in the country and rightly so.

“In addition, our research shows us that emotionally intelligent line managers, peer support groups and supportive occupational health services hold the key to supporting the exceptional people who are prepared to work in policing and other high risk occupations.”

Police Minister Mike Penning said the Home Office was doing “all we can to make it easier for the police to do their job”.

He said: “Policing, by its very nature, is a stressful and demanding job and it is the responsibility of chief officers — with help from the College of Policing — to ensure that police officers and staff are supported in their work.

“We are doing all we can to make it easier for the police to do their job. We have cut red tape and unnecessary targets to free up police time, given officers discretion to use their professional judgement and are working across government to stop the police having to pick up the pieces when other public services are not available.

“In October 2014, we allocated £10 million to help support emergency services personnel and volunteers, focused on mental health, physical recuperation and bereavement support.”

The College of Policing has announced plans for public protection officers and staff to share their experiences at a free event aimed at improving wellbeing. Details will be announced on the College’s website.