Hundreds of Dorset police officers signed off for mental health

The Police Federation in Dorset has confirmed that 211 officers were signed off work in 2024-5 because of 'stress, depression, anxiety of post-traumatic stress disorder'.

It's come from a Freedom of Information Request, which says across the UK, over 17,700 police officers were signed off for mental health reasons in the financial year 2024-25.

These figures are 22% up on last year and a huge 182% higher than when Police Oracle first ran the survey 12 years ago.

Of the 45 forces that provided figures both this year and last year, 33 reported an increased number of officers being signed off for mental ill health.

'Policing needs to get better at identifying when officers are struggling'

Chris Wood, Chair of Dorset Police Federation, said: “Although the numbers have dropped from last year in Dorset Police - which is a positive step in the right direction - this is still too many officers struggling with their mental health especially when we compare our figures to other Forces in our region as well as our previous years’ data.

“Policing needs to get better at identifying when officers are struggling before it becomes a problem for them and their families and put measures in place to prevent these issues in the first place with better working conditions and the government can do more with better pay.”

'Very worrying'

PFEW’s Wellbeing Lead, Paul Williams, added that the national figures were “very worrying”.

He said: “Behind each mental health condition, you've got an individual who's going through incredible trauma, which has a significant impact not just on them, but on their family, marriage and career. It can be devastating.”

Paul said it was “a demonstration of the complexities of policing, a demonstration of the budget cuts over the past 15 years, and the lack of increase in pay for police officers. All this has contributed to an extreme rise in mental ill health within the police, and it's only going to keep rising if there's no intervention”.

'Dorset Police remain committed to investing in the health and wellbeing of our workforce'

Assistant Chief Officer Jo Mosley, Director of People and Support Services, said: “Dorset Police is made up of fantastic people and we remain committed to investing in the health and wellbeing of our workforce, so they are able to perform the great job that they do every day in being tough on crime, putting victims first and keeping people safe.

“We have dedicated teams to support our officers and have established several wellbeing initiatives aimed at recognising officers at risk due to exposure to trauma at work and high-stress situations. These initiatives also include programmes to support their ongoing health and recovery, where appropriate.”

We're told their work includes:

• Mental health awareness training for line managers
• Focused work with officers in specific teams and roles across the Force who are exposed to high levels of trauma and shift work
• TRiM - a proactive programme providing support and signposting for those who have been involved in traumatic incidents
• A trauma tracker that picks up on individuals and teams who have had repeated exposure to traumatic incidents and the cumulative effects
• Pause-Point - providing managers with additional training to support their staff, particularly those exposed to traumatising material on a daily basis, with consideration of placing staff in an alternative role for a period of time when necessary
• Free confidential support via our Employee Assistance Programme

Jo Mosley added: “Other ongoing work includes conducting detailed analysis of our demand and resource management to ensure we have the right people in the right places, whilst also understanding workloads and the processes involved in day-to-day policing.

"Through the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the Force is recruiting more officers and strengthening support for patrol and neighbourhood teams.”

In order to help officers who are struggling with mental health issues, a new 24-hour Mental Health Crisis Line on 0300 131 2789 has been launched by The National Police Wellbeing Service, Oscar Kilo.

It is staffed by expert counsellors to support those working in policing who are experiencing a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts.

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