That was the message delivered by Dr Paul Jackson of the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) on day two of the Police Federation's Roads Policing Conference in Hinckley, Leicestershire. He said: “Fatigue is very common among roads policing officers and that needs to be addressed.”
In 2016 the Police Federation conducted a survey among police officers to measure issues surrounding demand, capacity and welfare. The findings of that research showed that stress and fatigue for police officers was very common, and was of significant concern. However, the survey’s findings showed that the levels of stress and the resultant fatigue among roads policing officers was often worse.
Dr Jackson highlighted to delegates work that has taken place within the airline industry over the past 10 years, to address the issue of fatigue among pilots and cabin crew. Central to the positive changes in employees reporting levels of fatigue - which could impact their ability to safely operate an aircraft - has been the acceptance that fatigue was an issue. At the forefront of the changes implemented has been the acceptance by senior airline managers to acknowledge that they needed to put in place policies and reporting mechanisms to help address the issue. This is a learning that senior police managers also need to recognise, Dr Jackson concluded.
Findings from our 2018 Demand, Capacity and Welfare survey will be published on 13 February.
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