Officers Getting Minimum Amount Of Rest Between Shifts

12 February 2025

The pressures and demands of policing mean that officers are struggling to get a proper rest between shifts, Surrey Police Federation has said.

The last National Police Wellbeing Survey found that 45% of officers were getting fewer than six hours’ sleep a night. Nearly 70% of respondents said they had high levels of fatigue, and 28.9% reported ‘very high levels’ of fatigue.

Surrey Police Federation Chair Darren Pemble said: “Officers are working long hours to cover high demand – they regularly only take the minimum rest period, all so that we can provide a service to the public.

“The public don’t see how few officers we have policing. If officers don’t get their rest, then they will not be able to function as they would with a good eight hours of sleep.”

Fatigue affects work performance, increases the risk of accidents and injuries, and impacts people’s long-term health. That’s why Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS), has launched a new online Fatigue Risk Management Toolkit that can be used to develop a force fatigue risk policy, or simply when dealing with the challenges around sleepiness and fatigue in policing. It includes sections on the factors that lead to fatigue, spotting the signs of fatigue, achieving healthy sleep practices, and links to training.

The force must take fatigue seriously, said Darren: “Police Regulations and the Working Time Directive govern how we should work. We should be making sure officers have a minimum of 11 hours between duties, as they are entitled to their Compensatory Rest.

“Officers are subject to high standards and have never been more accountable, so we shouldn’t be setting them up to fail. The force has a duty of care to look after their officers and staff, and we will continue to work with them to protect our members and their working conditions.”