Exclusive: Sickness rates of Essex police officers doubled since 2020
Our investigation shows 5462 instances of officers off sick in 2024, compared to 2741 in 2020
We can exclusively reveal the sickness rates of Essex police officers has doubled in the last five years.
Our investigation shows 5462 sick days were taken by officers in 2024, compared to 2741 in 2020.
Essex police federation chair, Laura Heggie, tells us she believes the figures are even higher than that:
"All our senior leaders and chief officers are trying to drive sickness levels down and it's trying to come up with the answers as to how we do that.
"I believe sickness would be nearer to three figures a day.
"It's a real concern because when people are out of the workplace then there's only a certain amount of people that are picking up that work.
"The more workload they get, the more pressure on others.
"We really need to work on it as a force."
Exclusive data, gathered through Greatest Hits Radio's Freedom of Information Request to Essex Police, shows the total number of sickness instances within the force (police staff, PCSOs and officers) in 2024 was recorded as 8961.
In 2023, that figure was 8158, and in 2020, it was 4945.
When asked whether it's linked to mental health, not just physical health, Ms Heggie told Greatest Hits Radio the force has more people suffering with their mental health than they've ever had.
She continues: "That's not to say we didn't have mental health issues before but people are more open to talking about it."
"The stigma has gone that opening up about your mental health may affect your career etc. So with more people coming forward, I see it as a strength."
When contacted for comment, Essex police said:
“ Whilst sickness absence will occur for a range of reasons, our officers and staff line of work can result in them dealing with very difficult, demanding and psychologically challenging situations.
“We work to reduce stigma of mental health in the workplace and ensure the workforce feel confident in speaking up and in support of one another.
Essex police provide a range of health and wellbeing interventions "to prevent absence and appropriately manage return to the workplace".
They also use a Trauma Risk Management process to identify those who may be vulnerable to mental health issues as a result of their exposure.