Mental Health Crisis Building in Policing

England and Wales are “on the cusp of a mental health crisis” in policing, South Yorkshire Police Federation has warned.

Officers are repeatedly being exposed to trauma due to a lack of resources and available rest periods during shifts.

The latest damning figures showed 25% of officers who attended Police Treatment Centres (PTC) were recovering from the emotional toll of the job.

Referencing a potential mental health epidemic in policing, Federation Chair Steve Kent said: “It might drip in, then it might become a tap and then it might become a flood.

“I honestly think we are going to see serious numbers of our officers starting to break due to their mental health.

“Trauma, stress, the sheer weight of the workloads, the lack of proper rest periods – it is all concocting the perfect storm.”

Steve called for “urgent action” to tackle the root cause of the issue, rather than having to build more PTCs reactively.

He continued: “We need to change the narrative and start proactively supporting our colleagues in terms of their mental health.

“To be blunt, we have an occupational health in our force. If it wasn’t for the support we offer within the Federation, I don’t think that would be sufficient.”

Officers involved in the Federation’s group insurance scheme can benefit from chats with a trained professional two days a week.

But even that service is now becoming oversubscribed.

Steve added: “We’re having to put extra days on because she’s full.

“We are creaking in terms of all the officers who are coming to us, so that speaks volumes in itself.”