Federation urges officers to make the most of down time to make sure stress doesn’t get on top of them

ESSEX Police officers are being urged by their Federation to get as much rest as they can between shifts to combat the stresses and strains of the job.

Worrying new survey results from the Oscar Kilo welfare programme show 67% of officers say they suffer from PTSD symptoms.

Nearly half also say they have trouble sleeping and get less than six hours of shut-eye every night.

It’s creating a welfare and mental health cyclone, potentially harming officers’ physical and mental health.

And while family commitments and having the job on your mind 24/7 can mean it’s hard to switch off, officers must try and relax when they can, Essex Police Federation says.

“It’s difficult because all the areas knock-on to each other. Mental health is a massive part of life and how that’s managed and also how that’s recognised,” said Essex Police Federation Chair Laura Heggie.

“I know that the Essex force is doing a lot. They’ve put on virtual wellbeing sessions run by our occupational health which have been really, well received. If people are suffering from their mental health, that also then affects their sleep pattern. If they’re not sleeping properly, then they will feel fatigued.

“It means they can’t perform properly when they’re at work. It means that they’re distracted. There are so many things, and it’s trying to find that balance, which is always difficult when you’re a shift worker anyway.

“Having done shift work myself for 27 years, I never realised until coming into the Federation role, and people that I used to bump into say how much better I looked just because I had a regular sleep pattern, I was eating meals at a regular time. I was eating proper meals and not takeaways,” Laura said.

“All of that you don’t realise how much it adds up and how much of a toll it takes on you and your body, which also knocks onto how you are around other people as well.

Trying to be as self-aware as possible about their mental health is so important for officers.

“We all come to work, and everyone goes on auto-pilot because work is your normal, but it’s then trying to identify when that normal isn’t normal.

“There’s other stuff going on in your life which your normal is then hiding, and then that starts to build up, which then inevitably affects your work.

“It’s recognising indicators within yourself and then understanding your coping mechanisms of how to deal with them,Its important that officers know it’s ok to not be ok,” Laura said.

Officers need to rest whenever they can.

“I would advise they don’t try and fit everything in before a nightshift. I know that some officers will try and get some sleep before going on nights, to refresh them.” Laura said.

“It doesn’t work for everybody, but it is trying to ensure that you’re not in too many places at the same time.

“Officers have to make sure they take the time to rest and to recoup.”