Police federations demand Government action as officer suicides hit at least 15 in nine months
Hampshire and Sussex forces say the figure has already passed the whole of last year
At least 15 police officers and staff members have taken their own lives in the first nine months of 2026.
That is already more than in the whole of 2025.
Following World Suicide Prevention Day, Hampshire and Sussex Police Federations delivered a letter to the Policing Minister, calling on the Government to do more to tackle suicides among officers and police staff.
Who is behind the campaign
The letter was signed by Spencer Wragg, Chair of Hampshire Police Federation and founder of the STEP (Suicide Trauma Education Prevention) campaign, and Sussex Police Federation Chair Raffaele Cioffi.
Also signing were Michelle Websdale, former wife of Sussex Sergeant Ben Websdale, and Nena Hodges, sister of West Mercia PC Dane Roleston-Lowe.
Both men took their own lives last year.
What they are asking for
The group called on the Government to make a series of changes.
They want all police forces to accurately record the number of officers and staff who die by suicide.
They are pushing Chief Constables to roll out the Stay Alive app, provided by the Grassroots Suicide Prevention charity, to the mobile phones of all officers and staff.
They also want a commitment from the NHS to provide greater mental health and wellbeing support to officers at risk, and mandatory trauma support referrals for officers under investigation and those who have attended a suicide.
The letter further calls for ring-fenced funding for officer wellbeing on top of existing force budgets, and a review of the work of Professional Standards Departments and the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
They asked the Policing Minister to join them as part of the STEP campaign to "speak up loudly against this crisis" and requested a meeting, adding: "We will not be silent on this".
'This issue isn't going away'
Speaking outside the Home Office, Spencer said: "Last year there were 13 officers who we know took their own lives. This year, we're only in September and that number has been surpassed. This issue isn't going away.
"This issue is really important, and we need to understand it better. Recording it is only one side of it. Suicide is sometimes really difficult to talk about, it comes with real stigma, and people feel concerned about putting themselves forward and actually asking for help."
Spencer said an increasing number of officers and staff were reporting that they had attempted suicide.
He said this was worrying, but that it showed people were more confident about speaking out and "accessing the services available and getting help".
Raffaele said there was often a higher risk of suicide when "a police officer's home life and work life become completely imbalanced and there's a crisis in both", and that forces were not taking this risk seriously enough.
He added: "It is simply unacceptable for us to stand by and let that continue without making representations to those who can truly make a change."
The scale of the problem
Statistics from the Police Federation of England and Wales show more than 100 police officers and staff died by suicide between 2022 and 2025.
At least 70 officers died during that time, and there were more than 200 attempted suicides.
Of the 70 officer suicides, 47 are attributable to officers involved in misconduct or criminal investigations against them, along with 173 of 236 attempted suicides.
In 2025, 12 of the 13 police officer suicides involved officers under investigation.
A personal fight
Nena said: "This cause is deeply personal to me because I lost my beloved brother, Dane, to suicide after he had dedicated more than 28 years of his life to serving with West Mercia Police.
"The pain of losing him is something my family will carry for the rest of our lives. Dane was not a statistic, a number or a headline — he was a brother, a son, a father, a friend and a much-loved member of the policing family.
"We cannot bring him back, but we can fight to make sure that other families do not have to experience the devastating loss that we have. I am speaking out for Dane, for his colleagues, and for every police officer who is struggling in silence.
"They spend their lives protecting and supporting others; when they are at their darkest, they deserve the same compassion, protection and support in return. Enough is enough. We must act before another family is left asking whether more could have been done to save the person they love."
Police officers and staff who are struggling can contact the Mental Health Crisis Line on 0300 131 2789, or Samaritans on 116 123.