Police officers are routinely exposed to trauma and pressure, but as this latest UWE Policing blog by Dr Paul Gavin and Dr Cody Porter makes clear, it is the organisational stressors that are doing the deepest harm. We are grateful for their new research insights that highlight a workforce struggling with burnout, secondary trauma and continued stigma around seeking help. Their findings make for uncomfortable reading, and emphasise that wellbeing cannot be a tick box exercise and must be led with genuine focus from the top. Over to Paul and Cody…
The Fraying Thin Blue Line: The Mental Health Struggles of Police Officers in the UK and Ireland
Police officers encounter a wide range of occupational stressors on a daily basis, and this is having a damaging effect on their mental health. In recent years, an increasing number of police officers have been signed off work due to declining mental health. Research by Dr Paul Gavin and Dr Cody Porter at UWE Bristol has examined the mental health of police officers throughout the UK and in Ireland. This blog piece shares some of their findings. The message is clear: police officers on both sides of the Irish Sea are struggling with their mental health, and while the causes are familiar, the solutions require cultural and structural change within policing.
To put it bluntly, being a police officer is a stressful job. It means that you are at risk of encountering violence, trauma, and high-pressure situations on an almost daily basis. These are what we refer to as operational stressors – they relate to the day-to-day nature of policing, and they can have a serious impact on the mental health of police officers. In fact, it is estimated that a police officer will encounter between 400 to 600 traumatic incidents during an average career, compared with the three to four traumatic events typically thought to be experienced by the public. However, many police officers view these operational stressors as part of the job, and therefore, they can often cope with and manage the stress that comes with them. Organisational stressors are another matter. These are often related to the administrative nature of police work and include excessive workload, poor pay and conditions, a culture of bullying and sexism, a poor working environment and a lack of a work / life balance. These organisational stressors are often much more damaging to the mental health of police officers than the operational stressors they experience.
Findings from this research
54 police officers from the UK (but the vast majority were from England and Wales) and 98 police officers from the Republic of Ireland took part in the survey took part in an online survey to investigate police perceptions of mental health.
Participants revealed that police officers were struggling under the weight and pressures of their job. Exposure to violence and trauma were listed throughout the responses, with many participants writing that they were suffering from some form of PTSD. They described being ‘devoid of emotion’ and being ‘desensitized to most things that most people would find shocking’. Secondary trauma was described as having an impact on mental health, with one participant writing that they had to ‘relive other victims’ pain and hearing accounts given by victims of the most horrific crimes in great detail every day’.
Participants were also impacted by a lack of support and appreciation from senior managers, a poor work/life balance, an ever-increasing workload and a culture of bullying. One participant wrote that being a police officer was a job where ‘you are just expected to get on with it and are expected to know everything even if it’s not something you have dealt with before’. Several referred to feeling burned out, with one writing ‘I am running completely on empty’. Those who stood up to bullying and harassment in the workplace were subsequently isolated and unsupported by their managers.
Although support is available to police officers through Employee Assistance Programmes, many viewed these as nothing more than a ‘box-ticking exercise’. There is also a substantial stigma associated with seeking help for one’s mental health, One participant wrote that ‘there is a level of stigma attached to asking for help within the police which may stop people getting the help they need’. For those who do seek help, this may negatively impact their relationships with colleagues and on their career. On this issue one participant wrote that‘Showing any signs of weakness has an effect on how your team view you. They may not want to be crewed with you if you’re honest about the way you feel as they don’t see you as competent’.
Findings from the Republic of Ireland
Members of An Garda Siochana (the Irish police force) reported a similar experience in terms of exposure to violence and traumatic events, with participants describing the psychological impact of such exposure as both ‘significant’ and ‘huge’.. There was also a very human cost to such traumatic exposure, and this was deeply felt by participants with one writing that ‘I can still hear the screams of that mother. I see her face in my dreams’.
Participants, regardless of their age, gender, rank, or length of service, claimed that bullying was rife within the organisation and that management provided very little support in such cases. There was also a perceived lack of managerial support when it came to excessive workload. Participants explained how these issues resulted in their feeling stressed, that work was becoming overwhelming and that they were now drowning in paperwork. Overall, this has had a negative impact on police morale, with one writing that ‘Morale is as low as it can get. Staff are leaving in their droves. They don’t feel valued. They are overworked. There are not enough officers. Everyone is exhausted’.
Irish police officers reported barriers to seeking support, including stigma within the organisation and the potentially negative impact that it could have on their career. For instance, one participant wrote that mental health was ‘a taboo subject due to the nature of the job, a sense of ‘that’s what you signed up for so get on with it’ due to years of this being the norm’, Another wrote that the career impact of seeking support for ones mental health ranged ‘being held back in your career’ to your career coming to ‘a dead end’.
What needs to change?
The findings of this research shows that police officers are working under immense pressure and that this is having a negative impact on their mental health. Operational stressors are an unavoidable part of the policing role, and exposure to violence and trauma in policing are parts of the job that will not change. Organisational stressors, such as poor managerial support, excessive workloads, and toxic workplace cultures, are what are proving most damaging. The impacts of these stressors are clear and are damaging to policing: low morale, burnout, and a workforce reluctant to seek help for fear of stigma or career repercussions.
If policing is to remain effective and sustainable, this culture must change. Support must be more than a box-ticking exercise. It needs to be embedded in everyday practice, led from the top, and genuinely focused on officer wellbeing. That means having open conversations about mental health, robust protections against workplace bullying, and systems that encourage – not punish – help-seeking. The work is challenging and will require both cultural and structural change within policing. Without such change, the cost will continue to be borne not only by the officers themselves, but also by the communities they serve.
Editorial Team
The team are grateful to Dr Gavin and Dr Porter for bringing these voices to the fore, and for prompting further debate that the profession urgently needs to have.
Paul Williamson (Editor-in-Chief); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Claire Bowers (Senior Lecturer); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer) and Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer).
If you would like to be a guest blogger, please contact Police.Blog@uwe.ac.uk