£2.4m boost for police mental health support
Police officers and staff across England and Wales are set to benefit from expanded mental health and wellbeing support after the government announced a £2.4 million investment as part of its Police Reform White Paper.
The funding will be used to increase access to psychological assessments, introduce new systems to monitor officers’ exposure to traumatic incidents and expand support services designed to improve wellbeing across the service.
Around 150,000 clinical psychological risk assessments and mental health checks will be made available each year for officers and staff in operational roles, helping identify those who may require specialist support before problems escalate.
The package also includes new guidance for forces on introducing trauma tracking systems, enabling senior leaders to record repeated exposure to traumatic incidents and intervene earlier where officers and staff may be at increased risk.
In addition, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) will oversee the rollout of the ResetU sleep, fatigue and recovery app to all police forces, while funding will also secure the continuation of the confidential Mental Health Crisis Line for police officers and staff.
The Home Office said the measures are intended to ensure officers and staff receive a consistent standard of wellbeing support regardless of the force in which they serve.
Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones said policing placed “immense pressure” on officers and staff, adding that their wellbeing should “never [be] treated as an afterthought” as the government delivers its programme of policing reform.
Andy Rhodes, Service Director of the National Police Wellbeing Service, said the investment would strengthen preventative support by expanding access to psychological health checks, trauma tracking and other services that help officers access support before issues develop into a crisis.
He said the measures would be introduced in phases, working with forces to ensure they could be implemented effectively.
Former Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent Dal Babu welcomed the funding, saying officers and staff routinely dealt with traumatic and distressing incidents while protecting the public and should have timely access to appropriate wellbeing support.