Conference 2025: ‘The true scale of officer suicides is being severely underestimated’

19 November 2025

Policing is facing a mental health emergency, senior representatives warned at this year’s Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) conference, as new evidence suggests the true scale of officer suicides is being severely underestimated.

The Federation is calling for every force to formally record all suicides and suicide attempts among serving officers, saying the profession cannot hope to tackle a crisis it cannot properly measure.

During an emotional discussion on Day 2 of the conference at Birmingham’s NEC, the panel said that inconsistent or absent data collection was preventing policing from understanding the depth of the problem.

Misconduct case link

Recent work between the national Federation and its local branches revealed major gaps in force records. Two of the country’s largest forces were unable to provide any figures, yet the Federation still identified 56 police officer suicides between 2021 and 2024.

Of those, 34 officers were under criminal or misconduct investigation at the time.

In the same period, 120 officers disclosed suicidal thoughts or attempts, with 71 of them also facing ongoing investigations - suggesting a potential link between lengthy disciplinary processes and declining mental health.

Federation National Board member Paul Williams criticised the system: “How can a criminal be arrested, tried, sentenced and released faster than an officer can have a misconduct case resolved? Officers are left isolated, their routine stripped away, often for years. It’s an incredibly lonely place to be.”

Although the Office for National Statistics (ONS) categorises policing as low-risk for suicide, the panel said the classification is misleading because most forces do not routinely record incidents.

Devastation

Board member Richie Murray warned: “It’s the tip of the iceberg. If forces aren’t recording the data, we can’t present it, and the service can’t begin to understand or address the true scale of the problem.”

Speakers highlighted intense operational pressures - trauma exposure, staff shortages, relentless workloads - and warned that a misconduct notice can become ‘the final straw’.

Delegates heard the story of Sussex Police Federation representative Sergeant Ben Websdale through a moving video presented by his wife, Michelle.

Hampshire Police Federation chair Spencer Wragg also shared his experience of reaching the brink of suicide, telling the audience: “Although most of the room would have been to a suicide, we know the implications of that, we know what that means to families, we see that devastation, we deal with it, it makes no difference to you when you’re in that place.”

He said the lack of structured welfare support leaves many officers dangerously vulnerable, even as they continue responding to 999 calls.

The Federation is now pushing for major reforms, including mandatory risk assessments for any officer placed under investigation, minimum national welfare standards, and the roll-out of the Stay Alive suicide prevention app across all work devices.

Urgency

A motion has been tabled in the House of Lords to amend the Police and Crime Act, making recording police suicide and attempted suicide a legal requirement.

In her keynote speech, national Federation chair Tiff Lynch echoed the urgency: “I wish our branch reps didn’t have to deal with the aftermath of suicides within force, but they do.

“We talk about the job getting more dangerous on our streets. It’s even more dangerous in our heads. We've had too many funerals, too many wakes, too many anniversaries - it’s got to stop.”

She used her speech to call for three changes:

• Recording all suicides and attempts
• A commitment to prevention through the STEP programme
  
• Acknowledgement and reform of the link between misconduct processes and suicide.

Tiff confirmed that political support is growing, with Lord Bailey of Paddington tabling an amendment due for debate early next year.

You can watch all conference coverage on the PFEW YouTube channel.