A message from NPCC Chair this Mental Health Awareness Week

NPCC Chair Chief Constable Gavin Stephens QPM writes that there is so much more we need to do to support colleagues.

In my role I have a responsibility to look ahead and ensure that in policing we are fit for the future. Fit to tackle new criminal threats, fit to protect the most vulnerable in our communities and fit to serve. Colleagues in policing have public service in their hearts, but we all know that it has an impact on us and on our families. Officers, staff and volunteers who keep the public safe and fight crime, often put themselves in danger to do so, not just physically, but mentally too.

Even though policing can be hugely rewarding it’s not without its challenges and complexities. Behind the badge, we are just like anyone else - worried and affected by the rising cost of living, by the increasing demand on public services, by not giving the very best service we’d like to due to competing pressures. These personal and professional experiences combined can take their toll.

As officers we are told our profession will expose us to some of life's most challenging situations, but we can never really prepare ourselves for how or when the impact will hit us. Sometimes it is an emotional connection that you least expect that has the most impact.

Fundamentally, policing is about people. Ensuring that the very best people are ready and able to serve their fellow citizens on what could be their very worst day. The responsibility to care for victims and witnesses, for those in need, runs directly alongside the welfare of our own teams. Compassion is essential, and often it needs to be recharged.

In recent years I’ve seen a growing tide of issues such as stress and PTSD hit those in blue light services. While it’s been inspiring to see how forces have stepped up to the challenge and really encouraged open and honest conversations which have undoubtedly reduced stigma, there is so much more we need to do.

I share my own experience because it shows that at some point in our lives we all need help, and that it is not shameful to ask for that help – a message which must we must share, regardless of rank or role.

When I lost my wife Sarah, at a young age, to ovarian cancer in 2014 it was a combination of professional counselling, my family, and importantly my colleagues at work that kept me going. At a time when I thought that it would be impossible to be Mum and Dad, and be a police officer, it was my police family that allowed me to keep working. I am so glad that I did.

My own experience and talking to so many colleagues about their struggles over the years taught me that we all must be advocates for good mental health, and that it starts with what we can do for each other. In policing we often deal with members of the public who are having the worst day of their lives, but would we recognise when the same is true of our colleagues?

Some forces are showing real initiative and taking wellbeing and mental health seriously. In Humberside, the force has employed a team of trauma therapists, who offer clinical sessions and also embed themselves across the force, providing support to call handlers, firearms officers and other pressurised roles.

Nationally, we are working closely with the College of Policing and Oscar Kilo the National Police Wellbeing Service, to ensure we are responding to the needs of our workforce and equip them with the tools and resources they need.

We have also asked the Police Remuneration Review Body for an above inflation pay award - because colleagues deserve a good standard of living and to be recognised for the role they have in society.

If policing starts with people, it finishes with solving problems. We see this day in day out when colleagues find ways through, or around, the most complex issues and challenges. I am confident that if we continue to approach mental health with the same tenacity we approach our investigations with, and the same compassion we reserve for victims, we’ll continue to make great strides forward.

The National Police Wellbeing Service | Oscar Kilo

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