Growing Number Of Forces Back STEP Campaign
30 January 2026
A growing number of Police Forces are installing the Stay Alive app - developed by the Grassroots Suicide Prevention charity - on their officers’ and staff members’ work phones as part of the STEP (Suicide Trauma Education Prevention) campaign.
The Stay Alive app gives people immediate access to evidence-based resources and crisis contacts. It is designed both for people experiencing suicidal thoughts and those supporting colleagues or loved ones.
Almost 1 million people have downloaded it.
The initiative to get the Stay Alive app on as many police officers and staff members’ phones as possible is being driven by Hampshire Police Federation Chair Spencer Wragg, who founded the STEP campaign.
Spencer came close to taking his own life seven years ago, before seeking mental health support, and has also lost police colleagues to suicide. He saw how the pressures and trauma of the job could affect people, but felt that suicide was not being spoken about in the police service, and not enough was being done to prevent it.
While campaigning for STEP, Spencer met the people behind the Grassroots Suicide Prevention charity and realised how much police officers and staff would benefit from its free, easy-to-use app.
Last September, he succeeded in convincing the Chief Constables of Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police to get the app put on nearly 8,000 work mobile phones.
After speaking at the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW)’s conference about this initiative, Spencer had a flurry of interest from other Federation branches, and shortly afterwards Leicestershire Police put the app on more than 3,000 work phones.
Sussex, Surrey and Gloucestershire police forces are in varying stages of following suit. Spencer added: “There are also five or six other forces, including some larger forces, who are close to sign-off on the app. This is picking up pace across the country.”
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