Cambridgeshire Police Federation chair Liz Groom says pay and conditions, heavy workloads, and long working hours are key issues behind officers’ poor mental health.
New figures show that 148 Cambridgeshire Police officers were signed off with poor mental health in the 2023-24 financial year.
It was a drop of 12 per cent on the previous year when 168 officers were away from the Force and bucks the national trend, which is nine per cent up on last year.
Liz said there were still lots of issues with the potential to impact the mental health of officers that needed addressing.
She said: “While these figures show a fall, we still have a lot of people who are off work with poor mental health and we need to be doing all we can to support them and to prevent others from experiencing issues.
“Being a police officer is very rewarding and we make a real difference to communities, but it’s not without its challenges.
“Our members are regularly exposed to traumatic incidents, and attacks on them by the public continue to increase.
“They’re struggling with excessive workloads, they’re working long hours, and they have seen their pay and conditions eroded. Essentially they’re working hard and longer for less.
“And here in Cambridgeshire, we’ve got a massive disparity around the south east pay allowance, where our members can be working with colleagues in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, essentially doing the same job, but receive a lot less pay.
“It’s expensive to live in our Force and officers are struggling. Officers posted in the south of the county, where it’s most expensive, can’t afford to live there so have to live elsewhere where it’s cheaper and travel long distances just to get into work, and it all adds up.”
The figures have been revealed by Police Oracle via a Freedom of Information Act request.
They show that across the UK, 14,508 officers were signed off in the 2023-24 financial year with stress, anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The national figure is nine per cent up on last year and 130 per cent higher than when Police Oracle first ran its survey 11 years ago, when 6,294 officers were signed off for poor mental health.
Cambridgeshire Police Federation’s Pay and Morale Survey earlier this year explored members’ mental health and found that two out of five officers (41 per cent) found their job very or extremely stressful. A total of 81 per cent reported difficulties with their wellbeing in the past 12 months such as stress, low mood, or anxiety.
Liz said: “We need significant ring-fenced funding across policing for police officer welfare and wellbeing.
“We’ve lost police stations, canteens, and social venues and the chance to debrief traumatic incidents, and they all played a key role in supporting mental health and preventing issues.
“Where issues do arise, we are working with the Force and the Federation is working nationally to ensure officers are supported.
“If you are struggling, PFEW has recently launched its #AskTwice mental health drive, and there are lots of great resources on the campaign website.”
Hayley Aley, PFEW co-Lead for wellbeing, said heavy workloads, resourcing issues, and exposure to traumatic incidents were having an impact on officers.
She said: “At the moment, nobody knows whether an officer is going to a string of traumatic incidents in a week. If an officer goes to 10 road deaths in a month, they’re likely to be impacted by that. It can’t be right there aren’t more preventative measures in place so an officer isn’t overloaded by these incidents.”
Andy Rhodes, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) wellbeing lead, told Police Oracle: “Stressful, fast-paced situations and repeat exposure to trauma can affect officers and many police staff in a number of ways, which is why we are committed to supporting the psychological wellbeing of our people, working closely with leading experts and with the dedicated occupational health teams in forces.
“Every force is committed to early intervention using tried and tested trauma debrief models, combined with mental health peer support and psychological risk assessments, alongside a structured wrap-around for those assaulted using the Op Hampshire assaults package.
“We now have a chief medical officer for policing, who sets the national standards for Occupational Health and has also developed a national suicide action plan. More recently, we were given £100,000 of additional funding from the Blue Light Card Foundation and The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, to help three Police Treatment Centres across the country cope with the demand that followed the recent unrest.
“Policing is a rewarding career as long as the right support is made available to those who need it, when they need it.”