Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of (a) serving and (b) retired police officers who have died by suicide in the last 10 years.

The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested as the Office for National Statistics publish data on suicide by occupation, including police officers.

Information on suicides by occupation can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/adhocs/10807suicidebyoccupationenglandandwales2011to2018registrations

The statistics show that police officer (sergeant and below) suicide deaths in England remain relatively steady and small in number (e.g. 13 in 2011, reaching a high of 21 in 2012 and in the teens each year since, with 13 in 2019).

The death of any serving or retired police officer is a tragedy. The Government and police leaders take this matter seriously and are working to support the mental and physical wellbeing of all police officers and staff.

We have invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers and staff. This includes £7.5 to fund the development of the National Police Wellbeing Service, which was launched in 2019. The Service is helping forces to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it in response to traumatic events.