Number of West Yorkshire Police officers off sick with mental health issues is 'a critical concern'

We can exclusively reveal more than 700 West Yorkshire Police officers have had to take time off sick this year alone due to mental health issues.

Figures we obtained from the force show 737 officers were off with psychological disorders in the year to October - representing more than 1 in 10 officers employed by the force.

Psychological disorders include anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD, shock and stress.

Chair of the West Yorkshire Police Federation Craig Nicholls says it's an 'alarming trend' with the numbers rising significantly in recent years:

"I do think it underscores that need for better support within the police service.

"The traumatic events daily that we see would turn people's hair grey.

"And some officers go home and they don't have friends and family at home, they might not have loved ones there to be able to be that support system when they do get home, so they have to deal with that.

"Trauma is one of those things that just doesn't go away at the end of the shift, it doesn't park at the end of the shift. It stays with you, it's a mark on you that you have to carry.

"I think it's imperative that you have a comprehensive mental health support system in the background for officers. It includes regular mental health checks, access to counselling, and creating more importantly a work environment that prioritises mental health and wellbeing."

The force have released a statement, which says:

"West Yorkshire Police is committed to providing a safe, healthy and positive working environment, including supporting the psychological and physical wellbeing of our officers and staff.

"Policing is acknowledged to be an extremely challenging profession in which officers and staff can experience real trauma. We have policies and process in place to support individuals who may be absent and enable them to return to work as soon as possible.

"In addition, we have Peer Support and TRiM (‘Trauma Risk Management’), which is a peer delivered process of early intervention and assessment of officers and staff who have been involved in, read about, listened to, viewed or witnessed a traumatic event, incident or situation.

"It also includes the Employee Assistance Programme (‘EAP’) a confidential service that provides all employees with appropriate support and counselling 24/7, and the range of support and services offered through the national system for police officers, namely Oscar Kilo.

"We encourage officers and staff to speak out if they have been suffering from mental health-related issues or conditions. It is well known there was previously a tendency for staff to try and ‘bottle up’ issues they may been suffering from, and we are pleased this change in culture has taken place with more staff feeling it is OK to come forward and say they need help.

"Early intervention (and feeling it is okay to ask for support), is encouraged so that people are able to get the support they need."