Branch chair Liz Groom has hailed an agreement by chief constables to introduce mandatory recording of police suicides and attempted suicides as a significant move towards seeing a long-term Federation objective realised.
The movement follows the inquest into the death of Sussex Police’s Sergeant Ben Websdale, who died by suicide, and growing voices for improved transparency, accountability and foresight around such circumstances in policing.
Commenting on news of the breakthrough, Liz argued it represented an important step towards a better understanding of the scale of serious mental health difficulties among officers and the risks and pressures they face in the job.
“I welcome this development and hope to see it implemented as soon as possible. The proper recording of data around suicide in our profession is simply something that needs to happen – without accurate numbers, we’ll never have access to the full reality of this crisis, and as such, never know the true gravity of it,” she said.
“Police officers are routinely expected to manage significant pressures, including repeated exposure to traumatic situations, extended and frequently antisocial working patterns, and pay and conditions that do not always reflect the demands placed on them.
“In Cambridgeshire, our members also face an added disadvantage in relation to the South East Allowance, which they do not receive, despite colleagues in neighbouring forces – operating under similar cost-of-living pressures – being eligible for it.
“There should be no question around having the most thorough and comprehensive wellbeing support available for our members.”
Calls for mandatory recording of police suicides have been ongoing at national level and driven by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) since 2022, with independent data collected between this time and 2025 revealing at least 70 serving officers were known to have died by suicide.
Momentum to this cause was added earlier this year by senior coroner Penelope Schofield, who published a compelling report arguing for mandatory recording.
Now, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has agreed to this, as well as to the introduction of a trauma support system, annual psychological assessments, and training, according to a report in the Mirror.
Liz continued: “This movement has been pushed for a long time, so to see it finally acknowledged and accepted by the NPCC is a big moment in the road to addressing this crisis.
“What I would like to see next is other elements of the PFEW campaign agreed to, such as a 12-month limit on all misconduct investigations. From research already carried out, there is undoubtedly a correlation between suicides and attempted suicide, among those under investigation.
“This latest news is a good start, but the PFEW’s recommendations should be adopted in full to give our officers the best protection and to ensure the system is not failing them when it comes to mental health and suicide.”