Branch chair Nick Munnelly has endorsed a campaign launched last week to promote better practices for police officers impacted by suicide.
On Monday (24 March), the Suicide Trauma Education Prevention (STEP) movement began, promising a targeted effort at helping cops process distressing incidents on the job which could give rise to suicidal ideation.
This includes the response to calls where a member of the public has taken their own life.
Across the 36 months of 2015, 2016 and 2017, 60 suspected suicides were recorded among police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) in England and Wales.
By comparison, a similar 33-month period from April 2021 to January 2024 saw an estimated 80 police officers and staff die by suicide.
“Unfortunately, it is clear to see suicides among both the police and general public are becoming increasingly common,” Nick said.
“This is concerning both directly and indirectly – firstly, because it means we are losing colleagues in such tragic circumstances.
“And secondly, because more people taking their own lives means more incidents for emergency services to deal with – including police officers, whose own mental health can then potentially deteriorate.
“That’s why having support that is bespoke to policing is so important, because it is a profession like no other, where our members have to deal with the unthinkable and consequently carry the weight of other people’s trauma.”
As the STEP initiative is lobbied to chief officers, MPs, and police and crime commissioners, it will propose key parts of Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) – already widely used in policing – become mandatory every time an officer attends a suicide-related call.
Nick believes this would be a welcome adjustment to force procedure, arguing frontline cops should be assessed even if they don’t feel particularly impacted by what they have witnessed.
“From my observations and own experiences in policing trauma can be complicated and can be felt at any time even after many years following an incident”, he said.
“If STEP allows better, deeper interventions with officers before it gets to a point they are considering action like self-harm or suicide, I think it’s a worthy campaign which I will support and encourage our force to get behind it.”
“While it is pushed out there, though, it’s crucial all police officers and staff know they are never alone – there is plenty of help available now if you are struggling with trauma or your mental health in any way.”
Federation members seeking help should contact the Federation without delay.
For Samaritans, call 116 123.
There is also support offered by charities such as the Police Treatment Centres (PTCs), Oscar Kilo, PTSD 999, Police Chaplaincy and Police Care.
READ MORE: ‘If you’re weighed down, come and talk to us’ says Fed counsellor