Police officers need more time to recuperate after shifts

EIGHT of out 10 police officers suffer with symptoms of depression and anxiety due to being overworked, the chairman of the Police Federation has warned.

Calum Macleod said a lack of resources in police welfare departments have slashed the support available to stressed officers, while Freedom of Information requests have revealed front line staff in some forces were due as much as a week of rest days last year.

Almost 250,000 rest days were owed across just over 30 forces, according to snapshot figures. The police were asked for statistics on how many days off were due to staff as of September 2017, when Britain’s terror alert was “critical”.

Mr Macleod says reductions in staff numbers are having “significant impacts upon the public” as fewer officers are sharing a larger work load.

He told the Press Association: “The conversation around mental health in policing has become greater in recent years.

“There is a recognition that police officers are human, that they can be broken and that their mental health is an issue.

“What we’re seeing is eight out of 10 officers, in a recent survey, have come back and said they are feeling symptoms of anxiety or depression.

“That is a very startling figure when you look at the amount of police officers in the UK. They need to recuperate to provide the best possible service to the public.”