Poor mental health in policing is \u201ca ticking time bomb\u201d, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said, as Oscar Kilo launches a national suicide action plan.<\/p>\n
The plan from Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service, aims to educate and support the police workforce, reduce stress, and improve data recording. It has also announced a 24\/7 mental health crisis line, which is being piloted in police forces across the North East, including South Yorkshire.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cThis is such an important issue. I\u2019m sitting here at my desk where I have pictures of three officers who took their own lives while I\u2019ve been Federation Chair. You can\u2019t get a more powerful reminder than that. Helping to support their families and colleagues have been some of the toughest times I\u2019ve had in this job.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuicide is complex, with no one trigger. But I see officers under a lot of pressure, balancing their home life and their work life, as well as the horrendous nature of incidents that they deal with.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to educate supervisors on suicide prevention and give our supervisors the time to actually support our staff properly and to get to know them better and to get to know patterns. The Federation\u2019s \u2018Ask Twice\u2019 campaign is great, but you need to get to know people to spot a difference in their behaviour. We really need to focus on looking after each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that if any officers were worried about their own or their colleagues\u2019 mental health, they could get in touch with the Federation to access support.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cA lot of our officers are at risk in terms of their mental health. Poor mental health in policing is a ticking time bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n