The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Thousands of days lost to absence in Fife police ranks due to illness.
Officers in Fife have already been off work for 2,830 days this year
Thousands of police officer days in Fife have been lost due to absence for psychological disorders.
Some 2,830 days’ absence have already being recorded this year in Police Scotland’s kingdom division due to stress or a mental health condition.
Reasons for being off include posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety and alcohol problems.
MSPs for Mid Scotland and Fife said it was alarming that so much time – an increase of 109 days on 2018/19 – had been lost due to stress.
A Scottish Police Federationsponsored study by Carleton University last year found more than two-thirds of Scottish officers surveyed experience stress daily due to juggling tasks.
Liz Smith MSP said the figures, released in response to a freedom of information request, showed the pressure the force was under.
She said: “The list of psychological disorders covers many aspects of mental health problems and I hope the officers concerned are receiving the help they need. Scotland needs a strong police force – it is very concerning to hear that many officers have been suffering from these problems.”
Conservative colleague Murdo Fraser said the statistics reinforced the federation’s concerns.
He said: “The research conducted by the Carleton University in Ottawa found that almost four in five police officers in Scotland – from 3,000 responses – reported a lack of staff caused daily stress several times each week, while 56% of police officers at all ranks said they either rarely or never received an uninterrupted break at work.”
Police Scotland said it had a duty of care to its employees and mechanisms were in place to provide direct assistance and promote a culture of wellbeing and support.