Time for Chiefs to focus on officer welfare

CHIEFS must redress the balance to focus on officers’ welfare, if mental health is to improve, the head of the NPCC has said.

Sara Thornton, National Police Chief Council’s lead, made the claim as she launched a three-point plan to ensure officers’ mental health is being taken care of.

Between 2010 and 2015, officers taking sick leave for mental health reasons rose by a third to 6,129. And chiefs have a responsibility to cut these figures back, she said.

Ms Thornton (pictured) said: “If we want our officers and staff to function at their best, they must get the support they need from police leaders on mental health, welfare, and wellbeing.

“The men and women who put their lives in danger to protect us deserve more than praise alone. We have to concentrate on how action in the line of duty affects them, their families, and their ability to continue to do their job.”

She said the increase in demand, from areas such as missing people, mental health incidents, and protection of vulnerable members of society, coupled with fewer officers, was taking its toll on officer mental health and wellbeing.

Ms Thornton said: “We need to take three main proactive steps. Firstly, police leaders need to design change that values the ‘people’ element of policing.

“Most forces have gone through substantial change programmes where they have focused on increasing the efficiency of the organisation. In doing this, it is really vital that chiefs consider the impact on staff; their morale and whether working practices result in officers feeling that nobody is taking an interest in their work.”

The second step, she said, was to “value contribution from all levels, to ensure that everyone’s contribution is valued.

She added: “Finally, we need to find the right balance between accountability and learning. Too often we resort to misconduct processes having failed to deal with problems as learning earlier on. We are working with all chiefs and the College of Policing to address the culture of blame that can affect officers at all ranks.”