New crisis line will offer officers and staff confidential mental health support

22 July 2025

Police officers and staff struggling with their mental health can now access support 24/7 through an independent and confidential crisis line.

The new service was launched on Monday (21 July) by Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service, following a successful 12-month regional trial.

It is solely for police personnel and is aimed at those experiencing a mental health crisis or having suicidal thoughts.

Jess Davies, chair of West Midlands Police Federation, said the crisis line will give police officers and staff somewhere to turn to for help and support and could prove to be life-saving.

“We know that policing can be a very stressful and challenging profession,” says Jess, “As well as facing traumatic incidents while working, police officers and staff are also dealing with the same issues that life throws at everyone else – such as financial difficulties, relationship breakdown, family illness and bereavement.

Impact

“These can build up and have a real impact on anyone’s mental health and it’s important that people know there is help available to them. No one should suffer in silence but I think in the past police officers and staff have been reluctant to admit they need support since their role is so focussed on helping others at their time of crisis.

“While the stigma around mental health is slowly lifting, this crisis line will further break that down.

“I would urge all officers to save the crisis line number in their phones so they can use it themselves if they need to or share with a colleague who they feel is struggling.”

The crisis line will give police officers and staff access to counsellors trained in suicide prevention and with an understanding of policing. They will be able to provide immediate help in a crisis, keep the callers safe and stable as well as signpost them to more support based on their individual needs, including counselling, therapy or other services. 

Call handlers will share their name and then ask for information about the caller’s situation. This is purely as an assessment, and this information will not be shared – it is completely confidential. No information will be shared with the Force, occupational health or line management.

Partnership

A follow-up call will be scheduled if there is cause for concern regarding any caller.

Oscar Kilo will provide the service in partnership with TASC, the Ambulance Staff Charity, drawing on its experience of delivering a similar service for ambulance and fire service personnel.

An initial 12-month trial in the North-East region demonstrated the need for the mental health crisis line which is being launched to run alongside the specialist bereavement counselling service designed to help those affected by the suicide of a colleague. 

Oscar Kilo aims to ensure that everyone working in policing has access to first-class wellbeing resources. It has developed a suicide prevention consensus statement and national suicide action plan, progressed the Police Covenant, supported the appointment of chief medical officer and advanced a national health and wellbeing strategy for policing.

As part of its Copped Enough campaign, the Police Federation of England and Wales points out that mental health crises in policing are soaring, with the profession now having the highest mental health-related sickness rates.

The Federation is campaigning for fair pay, support for frontline risks, with an allowance recognising the dangers officers face, a plan focussing on officer retention and better protection and mental health support, so officers are not forced to suffer in silence.

You can contact the mental health crisis line on 0300 131 2789.

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