In Avon and Somerset, a staggering 424 police officers were signed off work last year due to stress, depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

This is a 10% increase on the previous year, when 383 Avon and Somerset Police officers were signed off for mental health reasons.

Across the UK, over 17,700 police officers were signed off for mental health reasons in the financial year 2024-25, which is 22% up on last year and a huge 182% higher than when Police Oracle first ran the survey 12 years ago.

Of the 45 forces that provided figures both this year and last year, 33 reported an increased number of officers being signed off for mental ill health.

Tom Gent, Chair of Avon and Somerset Police Federation, said: “This huge rise is a sign of the stress that police officers are under. We know the number of traumatic incidents that police officers go to are much, much higher than a normal person would ever experience in their whole life.

“That is taking a big toll on officers, as are the high workloads that they deal with, and the pressure they’re under. Officers feel they must do the best they can with each case, but it’s an impossible task and that creates lots of anxiety and stress, knowing you can’t do what you want to do simply because of the workload.

“We need support from the Government, and the national Federation has talked about that in its Copped Enough campaign. We know that pay hasn’t kept up with inflation, but the campaign is about a lot more than pay. It’s about the stress that officers are under, and it’s really clear from retention figures that officers have simply had enough. So we’re seeing people broken, essentially, and having to be signed off work.”

Tom said the police service had a responsibility to look after officers, and that forces should speak to the Government about what police officers are realistically able to achieve.  

He said: “That accountability for the workload needs to sit with forces and with the Government, and they need to be honest with the public about the pressures that policing is under.”

He continued: “The Federation will always be there for officers, they can always come and speak to us confidentially and we can refer them to welfare support.

“We can be that person they can come to if they’re afraid of going to their supervisors, afraid of speaking to the organisation, and we are advocating for them with senior officers in the force and nationally.”

To try to help officers who are struggling with mental health issues, a new 24-hour Mental Health Crisis Line on 0300 131 2789 has been launched by The National Police Wellbeing Service, Oscar Kilo.

It is staffed by expert counsellors to support those working in policing who are experiencing a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts. It is confidential and completely independent – no information will be shared with the force, Occupational Health departments or line management.

Tom said: “This Mental Health Crisis Line is a real positive. The counsellors officers speak to will understand the world of policing, they’ll understand the pressures that officers are under, when they feel like they’ve got nowhere else to go.”