“We’re Breaking Our Officers”

The “first ripples” of a mental health epidemic in policing could soon become a “tidal wave” unless a solution is found, according to South Yorkshire Police Federation.

Federation Chair Steve Kent said forces were “looking at the cusp of a wave” which could strike disaster among policing.

Since taking on his role, Steve said officers had taken their own lives for various reasons and warned the tragedies were “not stopping”.

He said: “We are breaking our officers psychologically. If you speak to most officers conversationally, they’re all anxious.

“They’re anxious because they think they might get into trouble for something they were doing to the best of their ability.”

“They’re anxious because they hear the constant narrative that policing is corrupt, and the vast majority aren’t.”

Steve warned the intensifying pressure of the job combined with trauma witnessed by officers was creating a perfect storm.

He feared many more lives could be lost before the Government and NPCC “actually sit up and start to pay attention” to the issue.

Steve continued: “We are seeing officers who have been medically retired through mental health problems, and I think we are looking at the cusp of a wave

“We need to see some significant national investment into policing, and that includes psychological assessments for every police officer who is dealing with any kind of trauma.

“We really need to change the narrative because, to use the term we use in the Federation, we are breaking our officers psychologically.”

Steve called for forces to be supported in making early interventions to better safeguard their staff.

He added: “We don’t want to wait until someone’s at crisis point, we need to start dealing with it now.”