The chairman of the body representing rank and file police officers in Cumbria has highlighted concerning figures depicting the scale of the mental health struggles that officers face.
Paul Williams, chairman of the Cumbria Police Federation, said it was “not surprising” that in the 2019 and 2020 financial year, 86 Cumbria Police officers were signed off for mental health issues such as stress, depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder.
The figures, obtained as a result of a Freedom of Information request from policing news service Police Oracle, also showed that nationally, 9,874 officers took time out of work for mental heath issues.
Five UK police forces did not provide figures.
Mr Williams said: “It’s certainly not surprising, it’s certainly something I expected. I think a lot of this isn’t necessarily Covid-related – a lot of it is related to the decade of cuts to numbers of police officers.” Mr Williams added the Cumbria Police Federation provides services to “look after cops”.
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