It really is time police forces urgently address officer’s well being now.

The increase in police officers suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is now one in five, with many suffering Complex PTSD. The rise in officers taking their own life is also increasing and at a shocking rate. There is a very desperate need for the well being of officers to be put to the forefront of Police Forces, but it still isn’t.

Police officers deal with traumatic events on an unprecedented scale. Their work loads are frequently extremely heavy and the pressures they are under, are at times quite unbearable. There is a need now for a total review of how officer’s well being is dealt with and for the Home Secretary to recognise the need for our emergency services to finally have the proper care they rightly need after years of doing a job that takes a toll not just on their physical body, but their mental side that is often ignored.

There is also a need for those in senior positions such as the Commanders and co to really start to look at the need of their officers. What is important to remember here is that when a member of the public dials 999, it is these frontline officers that coming running to their assistance and it is these officers who take the trauma brunt and need the after care that they are not receiving.

Belinda Goodwin left the Upminster and Cranham ward in East Area to now be seconded as a full time Police Federation Representative for the PFEW. She is a lady that gets things done, and really is on a mission to get police officer well being as one of the priorities for all the police forces across England and Wales. Belinda represents 43 police forces and 144,000 officers across the country. She was voted in at a National level in 2018 and since then has made big strides to make the changes that are so desperately needed.

“One of the first things I have been working on is for police forces to start to record police suicides. It is outrageous that no force records these figures. We have also been working with Oscar Kilo and the Samaritans and now have a toolkit for suicide prevention.

“Work is being done but it is often too slow. We have been asking for a National Database that records officer suicides. Another factor is that when an officer sadly takes his own life, as we are a family and close knit teams, the impact it has on other team members is often very worrying and this needs to be addressed too and they should be supported.

“There are many things that we are working on such as asking the Health and Safety Executive to come in after an officer has taken his own life and real safeguarding measures need to be put into place. There is a lot going on and we work closely with Operation Hampshire, but it often takes too long.”

Policing is a complex role at all levels. Violent crime we all acknowledge has vastly increased and violence towards our officers is a daily occurrence. Most officers will have faced some form of assault at some level in their career. But again, as quickly as we rush an officer to have a bone mended, do we do the same for their mental health? We do not visibly see the impact a shocking event has on a person’s mind, but it often leaves a very disturbing imprint that we identify as a trauma. We all know that trauma isn’t something you can take a few pills and it will pass in a day or two. It needs to be processed. As Dr Van Der Kolk states ‘Trauma is the imprint that all experiences leave on your soul and body as your sensation.’ And these officers deal with high levels of traumatic experiences that at some stage will definitely leave that imprint on their mind.

“We need a real culture change”,continues Belinda. “We must put officers first, our officers must be valued. It is time senior officers start to put officers first. When officers go out on shift the first thing they do is check through their vehicle to make sure everything is working properly. But do we do this for our officers? When they arrive ready to go on shift do we check in with them and ask them if everything is okay?

“We all wear our uniform with pride and stand together as a family but without the support of senior leaders, this work will take a lot longer.”

Over the next three years Belinda will be working closely with all police forces to push the need to put officers well being at the top of the list.

It was thanks to Belinda that during Her Majesty the Queen’s funeral a team of Welfare Vans from Wales came down to support officers here in London. Not just those doing duties in the capital, but for those officers working in the BCUs’. Some much needed support was on hand, or even just a cup of tea and something to eat for officers who have very little respite.

It really is time now that officer’s well being is addressed. We know the huge pressures police teams are under daily and their lack of staff is also another factor, but a system must be made where officers know there is someone there to support them if they need it. A system that is user friendly and does not have a stigma attached to it and where officers do feel comfortable enough to have a chat with someone if needed.Belinda is doing extremely positive work and really is out there with the determination to support all our officers.

Trauma is an experience we go through that overwhelms our ability to cope, and our officers frequently go to situations that are extremely difficult to deal with and could potentially leave them feeling unable to cope afterwards. Let’s start to put their mental well being first.

Officers with the wellbeing vans Belinda sent out a few months ago.