Mandatory recording of suicides agreed by chiefs

15 April 2026

Suffolk Police Federation has welcomed a new agreement by chief constables to introduce mandatory recording of police officer suicides and attempted suicides across forces.

The move follows the inquest into the death of Sussex officer Sergeant Ben Websdale, who died by suicide, and comes amid growing calls for greater transparency, accountability and long-term support within policing.

Branch vice chair Matt Paisley said the decision represents an important shift in how the risks facing officers are understood and addressed at a national level.

“This is something the Federation has been calling for over a long period of time,” he said. “It’s not just a policing issue - it’s about ensuring there is proper recognition of the pressures officers are working under and that Government and wider society have a clear understanding of that reality.

“At the moment, too much of this relies on fragmented information. Without consistent recording, it becomes far too easy for these tragedies to be spoken about without being fully understood or acted upon.

Clearer picture

“Reliable data will change that. It will give us the ability to properly evidence what is happening and build a clearer national picture of the risks officers are facing.”

He added that the figures are expected to underline the growing pressures within the service.

“These changes are a reflection of the challenges and realities our members face on a daily basis,” continued Matt, adding: “It’s about people working in extremely demanding environments, often under sustained pressure from investigations, workload and operational demand. The indications we already see suggest that pressure is increasing, not easing.

“Speaking specifically about policing in Suffolk, officers are working through cancelled rest days, high demand and ongoing scrutiny. We need to see that matched with meaningful improvements in support, wellbeing provision and overall conditions.

“Ultimately, this is about ensuring our members are properly represented and that what they are experiencing is impossible to ignore.”

 

 

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has been calling for the mandatory recording of police suicides and attempted suicides after figures revealed that between 2022 and 2025, at least 70 serving officers are known to have died by suicide.

Now the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has agreed to make recording of suicides mandatory and to introduce a trauma support system, annual psychological assessments, and training, according to a report in the Mirror.

It comes after coroner Penelope Schofield published a report earlier this year calling on forces to record officer suicides.

Federation representative Sid Carr said the change marks progress, but stressed it must lead to practical improvements in officer welfare.

Officer welfare

“This is something I’ve been raising for years,” he said. “It’s encouraging to see movement, because it finally starts to reflect the reality officers are living through every day.

“Recording this properly is essential if we want to understand the true scale of what is happening. But it can’t stop there - it has to lead to action.

“From the moment officers join, they are exposed to traumatic incidents, often repeatedly and with very little recovery time in between.”

Sid argued that there is no consistency in providing people with the support they need, right from the early stages of their careers.

Culture change

“There is still a reluctance in some cases for people to speak openly about how they are coping. That culture needs to change, because the job involves dealing with death, grief and distress on a routine basis,” he continued. 

“We need structured, regular wellbeing checks that apply to everyone, not just certain roles, so that issues can be picked up before they become critical.

“I’ve worked in this job a long time, and I know how demanding it can be. Teams are stretched, workloads are high, and people are often dealing with complex and distressing incidents back-to-back.

“If anything positive can come from this, it’s that it drives real investment in care and support for officers. That has to be the direction of travel from here.”

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