I felt as if I’d been hit on back of the head with a bat after flashback to dead girl
»» Officers’ mental health trauma »» Stigma stops them seeking help
SCOTLAND’S senior police officers are “burning out” amid a mental health crisis, with many too terrified to speak out about their psychological battles, we can reveal today.
The shock news comes after a spate of tragic sudden deaths rocked the force at the start of the year.
New research has shown high ranking officers at Police Scotland have been blighted by soaring levels of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression and occupational stress.
One discussed how they felt like they had been hit with a “cricket bat” after suffering a flashback to the gruesome death of a child while on duty.
A team from Glasgow and Stirling Universities conducted face-to-face and telephone interviews with 30 superintendents.
The factors contributing to the officers’ problems include dealing with traumatic incidents, working hours, workload and the force’s working culture.
One of the officers interviewed said: “I felt as if I’d been hit over the back of the head with a cricket bat and I just saw this little girl again.
“And after that, I really struggled and I had a period off work and I did suffer from depression and anxiety and a lack of confidence in my ability as a supervisor and even as a spouse and a parent.”
The report said: “High levels of occupational stress and anxiety, currently or in the past, were reported, as were experiences of PTSD, anxiety and depression.
“The main stressors reported were working hours, workload, culture, leadership and organisational change.
“Officers and staff recognised progress towards promoting and managing mental health in the service but identified interventions, including training, counselling, and environmental workplace changes as needed to address mental health issues within police cultures.”
Experts found that stigma still prevents officers from being open about the challenges they face.
Dr Evangelia Demou of Glasgow University, who led the research team, added: “Police officers and staff recognised that there has been progress towards promoting and managing mental health in the service but they think mental health problems such as stress and anxiety are still common. There is stigma associated with mental health in the workplace which continues to prevent some officers from being open about the challenges they are experiencing.”
In January, Police Scotland was hit by a number of shock deaths as the service dealt with dwindling budgets, short staff and equipment problems.
The Record revealed that the force told us they don’t collate figures on self-harm or suicide among staff.
The news came after police officer Jamie Lynch, 28, died.
Jamie, from Kilwinning, Ayrshire, who was based at Govan police station in Glasgow, is one of several Police Scotland officers to die suddenly in the past year. The others include Natalie Faulds, 25, based at the city’s Baird Street police station, Detective Constable Gordon Gibson, 42, based at Greenock Police Station, and Martin Mooney, 40, based in Stirling.
Police Scotland’s Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said: “The health and wellbeing of our officers and staff is absolutely fundamental to the delivery of policing in Scotland and I am committed to doing everything I can to support our people.
“Working in policing is a job like no other and we recognise that our officers and staff find themselves in situations which can be stressful, traumatic and can have a lasting impact on them.”