Officer fatigue highlighted in new survey

26 June 2020

Almost half the officers who responded to the first national police wellbeing survey revealed they were getting less than six hours’ sleep a night.

Around 35,000 people took part in the survey which was carried out by Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service, and the College of Policing.

They will now carry out research with experts from around the world to consider ways to reduce the growing issue of officer and staff fatigue and will involve practitioners and staff associations in the UK.

“This survey gives clear evidence of how fatigue is affecting police officers,” says Al Wollaston, secretary of Hertfordshire Police Federation, “Six hours’ sleep a night is not enough for the vast majority of people and a lack of sleep can have a detrimental effect on our ability to work which is extremely concerning when you consider the critical nature of the role of a police officer.

“Day in, day out, police officers are making split-second decisions; decisions that can make the difference between life and death. We know that shift working has an effect on them and we now have the evidence to back that up.

“Officer wellbeing should be the number one priority for all police forces. How can we effectively serve the public if we are not looking after our own officer and staff team? Let’s hope this research leads to measures being introduced to reduce officer fatigue not just for the benefit of those individuals but also for the Force and the communities we serve.”

The wellbeing survey also found that police officers working in safeguarding and investigations reported lower levels of wellbeing, while police staff reported lower levels of wellbeing in areas such as custody, contact management and incident management.

There were, however, many positive findings: 

·         65 per cent of respondents reporting feeling satisfaction in their work.

·         The majority of officers and staff reported they felt trusted in their roles and were able to act and make choices which reflected their own personal beliefs and values.
 ·         Both police officers and staff reported feeling high levels of competence in their work, meaning they felt they could be effective, make important contributions and felt valued by their co-workers and supervisors.

Chief Constable Andy Rhodes, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) wellbeing lead and service director for Oscar Kilo, said: “Looking at the results, we see some areas of progress, and other issues which strengthen our resolve to keep doing more.

“It’s clear that many people feel valued by their peers and supervisors - but less so by the organisation and the public – a gap we see in every survey that is directly linked to trust. Fatigue also leaps off the page, and this has a lot to do with our cultural acceptance in relation to things like disrupted sleep and all the risks it can bring to our health and operational decision-making.”

Chief Constable Mike Cunningham, CEO of the College of Policing, said the survey would provide a baseline which Oscar Kilo would use to measure progress and help prioritise work nationally and within individual forces.

Read the full survey results on the Oscar Kilo website.