PREVENTION is better than cure when it comes to stress in policing, the Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation has said on Stress Awareness Day.<\/p>\n
Steve Kent said: \u201cMy concern is that it doesn\u2019t matter how many tools we put in place to deal with stress, we need to deal with the root cause of it, which is chronic underfunding and chronic understaffing. There\u2019s a culture of performance-focused policing \u2013\u00a0officers are under so much pressure to spin so many plates that we\u2019re not going to reduce stress until we work on that.<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficers are working non-stop, sometimes not getting a proper meal, which is unacceptable, sometimes getting off duty late, and the drip effect of that adds up. Prevention is better than cure, so we need to deal with the root causes before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he said that officers who were feeling under pressure should contact the force or Federation, who had many ways to help them.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe force has the Backup Buddy mental health app and has put enhanced funding into occupational health, and we as a Federation have our own welfare support programme, and counsellors through our group insurance scheme. Officers need to look after themselves and look out for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n