It is time welfare provision is taken seriously, says Federation chair
24 February 2022
West Mercia Police Federation chair Sarah Cooper described a new joint strategy to reduce the number of deaths by suicide in policing as a welcome and important step forward.
Sarah said she was pleased to see the Federation come together with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), College of Policing (CoP), Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Home Office, UNISON and Police Superintendents’ Association on a new consensus statement that sets out the police service’s commitment to suicide prevention.
Sarah said: “This is a really important step forward in recognising the issue of suicide in policing. Tragically, West Mercia has lost a number of officers to suicide in recent years. I have witnessed first-hand the negative impact that inadequate welfare provision within the service has had on officers, and then the devastating ripples of suicide on family, friends and colleagues.
“I absolutely welcome the publication of this statement but we need more than words in a document. It is time that welfare provision was taken seriously. West Mercia’s strategic vision is to protect people from harm, yet we can’t even protect our own staff from harm. How are officers able to serve the public as they would want to when they are broken and struggling themselves?
“Policing is an incredibly challenging profession, we are witness to the very worst of humanity and the most tragic of incidents. Yet, despite this, every day I am told by my members that it is not the demands of their public facing role that is breaking them, it is a lack of support and welfare provision internally.”
Sarah acknowledge the Force has invested in raising awareness of mental health, but says this is not backed up by real investment in being able to provide the support that is needed once those issues are identified.
She explained: “We are failing our officers on a daily basis. I repeatedly raise my concerns about this with chief officers, but we need to see a real tangible shift in addressing the shamefully underfunded occupational health and welfare provision within Force.
“This statement highlights that with appropriate, supportive culture and interventions at the right time, we can improve overall mental health and reduce the incidence of suicide. Based on my interaction with officers I would say that we are falling well short of this currently, officers are disillusioned with empty words and they need to see and feel a significant improvement in welfare provision.”
Sarah added: “We are here to support all of our members and I would encourage anyone who feels that they are not being provided with the welfare support they need in the workplace to come to us.”
The consensus statement was developed by Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS), which worked with the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) to learn from the ambulance service’s approach to suicide prevention and provide guidance for policing.
It’s been welcomed by the the Federation’s national vice-chair Ché Donald.
He said: “While the national consensus statement represents a welcome first step in helping to tackle this issue, it’s only the beginning of a more collective approach which we hope will pay dividends in the longer run. Our combined aim is to break down the many existing barriers to help-seeking.
“As a staff association, PFEW has always taken a pro-active approach to the issues around mental health support for colleagues. However, we fully recognise there is a lot more we can all do, both as organisations and as individuals involved in policing.
“Only by working together within the service can we help to transform attitudes, and increase the confidence of those who might otherwise shun the existing support services available for depression and mental illness.
“This means confining some attitudes and language to the past, ensuring colleagues are protected from burn-out because of work demands, and providing effective health screening and better support for those in high stress roles.
“It’s crucial the service offers the very best care to colleagues and their family members, and that lessons are learnt from every single tragedy, so others don’t similarly suffer in the future.”
What will happen now the consensus has been agreed and published?
The Officer & Staff Safety Review (OSSR) proposal to improve the way data is recorded on police officer and staff death, serious injury and suicide has been agreed and will be progressed.
The NPWS has funded and commissioned a toolkit working closely with the Samaritans, given their expertise in this area. The toolkit will be made available in Spring 2022 to all forces and will also be accessible via the Oscar Kilo website.
Reference to this toolkit will be included in the NPWS Blue Light Wellbeing Framework, which is completed annually by every force and is requested by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.
More information on the consensus statement.
