Levels of sickness and stress taking a toll on policing in Dorset
That's what councillors have been told by the Police Federation
High sickness and stress levels among Dorset Police officers often relate to a lack of staff – Dorset councillors have been told.
The trauma of having to deal with deaths and violence is also highlighted in a report by the Police Federation, but the ‘union’ says more could be done simply by having an adequately staffed force.
Figures released under a Freedom of Information Act request show 211 Dorset officers off work with stress, depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Chair of the Dorset Police and Crime Panel, BCP councillor Alasdair Keddie, says the nature of the job is likely to lead to higher incidents of mental and physical health problems, but more needs to be done to tackle it.
“I just hope we are on a path assessing this and making the best possible choices for our staff because, ultimately, we have to understand that it is in the delivery of the Police and Crime Plan that these officers are being exposed to the trauma and mental health issues.”
Police and Crime Commissioner for the county, David Sidwick, says trauma assessment has now been expanded from traffic officers to other parts of the force. He says as a result 214 incidents between April and March were followed up with 991 employees contacted and 55 assessments taking place, with around 35% referred for psychological support.
The Commissioner said that while he welcomed the move to expand trauma support there are still issues at a lower level than experiencing trauma which are also important – pay, whether the officer felt valued, whether or not there were enough staff to do the job.
He said that while he could ask for managers to tell their staff they were valued and appreciated he could do little about what he described as “the fundamental issue” of enough staff.
“That for me is the fundamental, underlying cause, of a substantial amount of the stress,” he told the July meeting of the Police and Crime Panel.
“This has got to change, not only for the people of Dorset and the precept (amount paid through council tax) but more importantly for the officers who are keeping us save every day of the week.”