Understanding officers' mental and emotional wellbeing

17 October 2025

Dyfed Powys Federation chair Delme Rees has called for a study to identify the issues contributing towards emotional and mental health challenges for police officers.

In particular, he wants to establish why young in-service officers are experiencing stress and anxiety so early in their careers.

Delme said it was important to identify the issues in order to provide solutions.

“We need to understand why our officers, with only a couple of years of service, are so stressed,” he said.

“What is causing them stress? Is it excess workload?

Stress

“If that’s the case, then things can be done to assist that and help manage workloads.

“Is it family life? Is it financial stress?

“We’d like to know what the causes are, particularly for those who are relatively young in service, because it’s not going to get easier.”

Delme described the first few years in policing as a time when officers are ‘like a sponge’, absorbing everything around them.

However, they may not have the resilience that comes with experience.

While acknowledging that emotional and mental health challenges affect officers across all ranks and service lengths, Delme said understanding the pressures faced by those at the start of their careers is crucial to preventing long-term issues.

Solution

“I’d like to really understand why it’s happening. What is causing it? How can we address it? What can we tackle to reduce it?” he said.

Part of the solution could be provided by better conversations when officers return to work after sickness or stress-related absences.

However, the success of those discussions depends on the skills and understanding of line managers.

“This sort of thing could be done in return-to-work interviews,” Delme said.

“It relies on the experience, understanding, and ability of line managers to have those conversations, and quite often, they are very inexperienced themselves.

“We’re ready to work with and support the Force,” he added. “It feels like an important piece of work for the benefit of our members.”

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