Mental Health Is A ‘Ticking Timebomb’

Mental health in policing is a “ticking timebomb” about to explode, the Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation has warned.

A total of 39% of sick days taken by police officers in 2023 were due to ill mental health, up from 33% in 2020.

The figure, obtained by a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from The Times, also dwarfed that of other professions in the public sector; including midwives, ambulance staff and doctors.

Federation boss Steve Kent said forces were “sleepwalking into a catastrophe” and the issue was “going to be enormous”.

He said officers worked “staggeringly long” shifts and would often go move from one “horrendous scene” to another.

Steve warned: “The trauma that our officers are absorbing in a 20-35 year career is unbelievable.

“I am seeing and hearing experienced, rock solid officers who never appear to be fazed by the job, who are starting to break.

“That is because of the sheer workload, the sheer nature of the beast of what we’re dealing with.”

The data obtained via the FOI revealed officers lost 495,000 working days to mental health issues in 2019, according to 42 of the UK’s 45 police forces that responded to the request.

Last year, that figure had increased by 55% to 774,000 days – equivalent to five days for each officer.

Reasons for absence included post-traumatic stress, work-related stress, anxiety, depression and postpartum depression, The Times reported.

Steve said: “I’m not surprised by the figures and I think it’s going to grow, and it’s going to grow and grow.

“The only way around this is to significantly boost funding to policing, to boost resilience.

“Let’s start putting the proper oil in the engine in the first place and actually stop our cops getting broken in the first place.

“This has to be done as an absolute emergency measure by the new Government.”

Steve said people who felt they needed help with their mental health should speak to a colleague – whether that be a supervisor or a Federation Rep.

He said South Yorkshire Police Federation had seen a positive change in attitude towards mental health recently, with officers even referring colleagues they were concerned about.

Steve added: “We also have to stop the stigma about it. If people need a bit of time off to go and reset mentally, so be it.

“At the end of the day, their health comes first.”