Police: Suicide

(asked on 30th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will commission research into the potential work-related causes of police officer suicides and attempted suicides.


Answered by
Chris Philp Portrait
Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
This question was answered on 6th December 2023

This Government takes the physical and mental health of the police workforce very seriously and we are committed to making improvements in wellbeing support for officers and staff. Since 2019, the Home Office has provided over £14m to the National Police Wellbeing Service. 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.

Through the Police Covenant, we continue to work with policing partners to ensure those who work in policing and their families get the support and protection they need. We have already delivered pre-deployment mental health support for all new starters, established a Chief Medical Officer for policing and set an initial priority work stream on suicide prevention.

The Home Office is also providing funding to establish and run the first year of a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support line for current and former members of the police workforce. This will provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most and can be accessed from any area at any time.

Reticulating Splines