The number of South Wales Police officers signed off with poor mental health has increased by 64 per cent in the past year, startling new figures show.

 

A total of 383 officers in South Wales were off work in the 2023-24 financial year due to mental ill-health, a rise of 149 from 234 from the previous year.

 

The figures have been revealed by Police Oracle via a Freedom of Information Act request. They show that the number of South Wales Police officers signed off with poor mental health has risen by 130 per cent since 2020-21.

 

Phil Walker, South Wales Police Federation chair, said: “The increase in the numbers of our colleagues who have been off work through mental ill-health are shocking and serve as a stark reminder of the issues our members face every day.

 

 

“Our members are repeatedly exposed to traumatic incidents and run towards danger to protect the public.

 

“Yet, we have increasingly seen them coming under physical attack for just doing their jobs and many hundreds of officers across the country were injured in the recent riots.

 

“They have had their pay cut, their conditions eroded, and forced to do a lot more with a lot less over the past decade – and it all adds up.

 

“Our own Pay and Morale Survey found 44 per cent of respondents reported their job was very or extremely stressful and 83 per cent said they had experienced stress, low mood, and anxiety in the past 12 months.

 

 

 

 

“So these figures aren’t a surprise. It’s been building for a while. We now need our political and police leaders to do something about it.”  

 

The Police Oracle investigation found that across the UK, 14,508 officers were signed off in the 2023-24 financial year with stress, anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

 

The national figure is nine per cent up on last year and 130 per cent higher than when Police Oracle first ran its survey 11 years ago, when 6,294 officers were signed off for poor mental health.

 

Phil said: “The Federation and the police service in general have been doing a lot of work in recent years to reduce the stigma around mental health and to break down barriers.

 

 

“Part of the reason for the increase in these figures could be that officers are more comfortable to come forward, which is great, but it still doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be addressing the reasons for these increases.

 

“If you are struggling, PFEW has recently launched its #AskTwice mental health drive, and there are lots of great resources on the campaign website.

 

Hayley Aley, PFEW co-Lead for wellbeing, said heavy workloads, resourcing issues, and exposure to traumatic incidents were having an impact on officers.

 

She said: “At the moment, nobody knows whether an officer is going to a string of traumatic incidents in a week. If an officer goes to 10 road deaths in a month, they’re likely to be impacted by that. It can’t be right there aren’t more preventative measures in place so an officer isn’t overloaded by these incidents.”

 

Andy Rhodes, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) wellbeing lead, told Police Oracle: “Stressful, fast-paced situations and repeat exposure to trauma can affect officers and many police staff in a number of ways, which is why we are committed to supporting the psychological wellbeing of our people, working closely with leading experts and with the dedicated occupational health teams in forces.

 

“Every force is committed to early intervention using tried and tested trauma debrief models, combined with mental health peer support and psychological risk assessments, alongside a structured wrap-around for those assaulted using the Op Hampshire assaults package.

 

“We now have a chief medical officer for policing, who sets the national standards for Occupational Health and has also developed a national suicide action plan. More recently, we were given £100,000 of additional funding from the Blue Light Card Foundation and The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, to help three Police Treatment Centres across the country cope with the demand that followed the recent unrest.

 

“Policing is a rewarding career as long as the right support is made available to those who need it, when they need it.”