208 officers signed off for mental ill health in Kent

14 November 2023

A record 13,294 UK police officers have been signed off work over the past year due to stress, depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – 80% up on a decade ago.

A Freedom of Information request to all forces covered the financial year 2022/23. This year’s figure is slightly up on last year (13,263), and much higher than pre-pandemic levels. In 2012-13, when Police Oracle first carried out the survey, just 6,294 officers were signed off work for poor mental health.

208 officers in Kent were signed off for mental ill health in the past financial year. m

Neil Mennie, Chair of Kent Police Federation, said: “The figures around mental health are alarming and the announcement of a 24/7 helpline for colleagues from the Government is a useful component.

“Here in Kent this is already offered as part of the employee assistance programme. Our last pay and morale survey showed that Kent Police have a pretty decent Occupational Health reputation in the business of health and welfare support.

“I am by no means qualified in this arena but as with everything else in policing under investment and having to make savings will no doubt be a factor. We are in a storm of heavy workloads, long hours a cost of living crisis and still not enough cops despite the ‘spin’ relating to the uplift.

“These helplines are important but could be at the end of a journey where the opportunity to help arose much earlier. We all have a responsibility to look after our colleagues and forces must do all they can to make this an environment where folks can speak up earlier and in safety.

“Progress has been made but this remains by its very nature a more hidden issue than physical injuries. However the relationship between physical and mental injury can easily be overlooked leading to a tendency to ‘park’ the latter’.

“There are many parts of medicine that remain expensive and with long waiting lists. The police covenant which has had a very slow start presents an opportunity to improve and facilitate better treatment in this area and let’s hope it does.”

All but three forces responded to the survey, and two thirds (28 out of 43) reported higher levels of mental-health-related absence than a year ago. The UK’s biggest force, the Metropolitan Police Service, reported the highest number of absences, a huge 1,846. The second highest figure was from Police Scotland, at 1,087.

Forces with a high percentage rise in absences include Devon & Cornwall (up 155%), Bedfordshire (up 58%) and West Mercia (up 55%).  

The Police Federation of England and Wales’s Wellbeing Lead, Sue Honeywill, said: “With officer numbers proportionally at an all-time low, officer morale at its lowest and the workload at its greatest, it can be no surprise that we are witnessing extremely high levels of officers signed off for mental ill-health related reasons.

“Officers’ pensions have been eroded, assaults on officers are increasing and the cost-of-living crisis has squeezed pay to such a level that we know some are forced to resort to food banks to stay afloat. On top of this, media reporting paints a picture of incompetence and immorality within the service that is not a true representation of the overwhelming majority of decent and hard-working officers.”

Sue added that she “feared these figures will remain high” as the Home Office is demanding that officers investigate all crimes more thoroughly, but is not providing extra resources. She stressed that police chiefs must do more to protect the rights and working conditions of their officers.

A Home Office spokesperson responded: “The Government is committed to ensuring police officers are provided with appropriate mental health support .

"We have made significant progress by ensuring that improved mental health training and support is provided, and we continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS), with £3m for 2023/24.”

The NPWS has developed a number of initiatives to support officer wellbeing, a National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) spokesperson said, but they acknowledged that there was more work to be done.

They said: “By providing services like occupational health provision, along with additional training and health checks, we are better equipped to support the wellbeing of our officers and staff. The work of Oscar Kilo makes a real difference, and has meant that more police officers and staff feel OK to say that they’re not OK.

“We recognise, however, that managing wellbeing is a never-ending process and that there is always more to do. We are committed to continuing to work with colleagues in the health service, charities, and staff associations, to ensure that we are always being guided by the best practice and research, and ultimately, ensuring that we are doing everything we can to support our people.”