Federation urges officers suffering with fatigue to reach out a contract someone they trust for support

29 June 2020

Police officers who are struggling with the effects of fatigue should contact someone they trust in the organisation to discuss how they are feeling, Kent Police Federation has said. 

The first ever national police wellbeing survey – of 35,000 police officers and staff by Oscar Kilo - has revealed high levels of fatigue among police officers and staff, with almost half of respondents saying they frequently get fewer than the recommended eight hours of sleep. 

The survey showed that 45% of officers frequently get fewer than six hours of sleep, with shift workers more likely to experience poor sleep quality and report lower levels of emotional energy and job satisfaction. The survey ran for eight weeks between November 2019 and January 2020.

Neil Mennie, Kent Police Federation Chair, said: “If officers are having difficulty with sleep or are suffering from fatigue they should let talk to someone and look into support services. They need to have a discussion with someone they trust about how they are feeling, whether that is a line manager, a colleague, staff support or the Federation. 

“It is a difficult one because the nature of police work is that it puts pressure on individuals, but they do need to try and find time to rest and have a break - to draw a line between work life and home life. Although that is not always easy.” 

Neil said it is essential for officers’ health and wellbeing that they start and finish their shifts on time so that they can get reasonable rest periods. 

He added: “Many extend their shifts out of goodwill but this has knock-on effect in terms of rest. There is also the cancellation of rest days, which doesn’t happen often, but it should always be a last resort as when you cancel rest days you interfere with officers’ plans, family wellbeing and it can prevent officers getting enough sleep. 

“There is the misconception that we have officers that work in the day time and others doing night duties, but that doesn’t account for roles like CID where there may be people working well past 11pm on a regular basis. It is a difficult one but the very nature of the work means that officers may often be doing longer hours than their patten says they should.” 

Chief Constable Andy Rhodes, NPCC Wellbeing Lead and Service Director for Oscar Kilo, said: “Fatigue 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.”

 He said Oscar Kilo was “linking in with staff associations, wellbeing leads across the UK and experts from around the world to establish a specific area of work on fatigue as part of the national programme to ensure we address this”.