We don’t want officers suffering in silence, says Federation

MORE than 9,500 officers across the UK took time off due to stress, anxiety, depression or PSTD in the last year alone – a symptom of them having to ‘do more with less’ according to Essex Police Federation.

The figure represents a 55% increase in the number of officers taking time out from the job due to mental health issues over the last six years.

Essex Police Federation believes the shocking numbers are a symptom of police cuts and simply having fewer officers to cope with an increase in demand.

“It’s clearly due to having do more with less,” said Federation Chairman Steve Taylor.

“Crime and violent crime is increasing, and in fact the only thing which has gotten smaller is the number of police officers on the frontline.

“The work we do to keep our communities safe is the same as it’s always been, but there’s fewer of us to do it.

“One of the ways working like that manifests itself is stress, strain, niggle all the issues which in a bigger organisation with a bigger workforce you get more down time to overcome, you get more reprieve from the frontline.”

Cancelled rest days and not getting the time off they need is an exacerbating factor while 12-hour shifts are not uncommon for Essex officers, Steve said.

“They struggle to get time off, struggle to get their annual leave,” he said.

“They are more frequently called into large scale operations which require 12-hour duties, that’s not just for specialist officers but for the home front too – we are trying to keep numbers where they are supposed to be, out in communities and protecting the public.”

It’s important that officers recognise the symptoms of mental health in themselves and in their colleagues, he added.

“Mental health is not a dirty word – thankfully in Essex we’ve had a really mature and helpful cultural shift towards it which has encouraged officers to come forward and supervisors have had training in how to identify it.

“It doesn’t take away the symptoms but identifying it is a step in the right direction.

“We don’t want officers suffering in silence – a problem shared is a problem halved, so I would urge officers to seek that help, from the Federation, from the Live Well Campaign or from supervisors.

“Let us try and help you, don’t suffer on your own.”