More than eight in ten Staffordshire Police officers have experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing in the past year.
And 86% of officers say there are not enough of them to do the job properly, according to the findings of the Officer Demand, Capacity and Welfare Survey, published by the Police Federation of England and Wales today.
Eight in ten officers said they were often or always single-crewed, and average job satisfaction stands at just four out of ten.
The survey should make for “unpleasant reading for chief officers and the Government alike”, said Keith Jervis, Staffordshire Police Federation Chairman.
He said: “Police numbers have fallen and demand and pressure upon the service continues to rise.
“Magical schemes, projects, new ways of working, remote working with mobile data devices gives very limited efficiency savings. In reality, fewer police officers equal less capacity to deal with incidents and police demand.”
Keith said occupational health has been on the agenda at Staffordshire Police, but the number of officers suffering from low mood was “a reflection of policing with demand far exceeding the capacity we have to deal with it, taking its toll on officers, grinding them down and affecting their health.”
“This is really worrying,” he added.
5% of respondents said their overall health was poor or very poor and 47% said their job was very or extremely stressful. Half of the respondents reported never or rarely being able to take their full rest break (54%).
Officers reported an increase from 2016 in all areas of violence - from verbal abuse to physical attacks and use of weapons. 28% of respondents reported that they had suffered one or more injuries that required medical attention as a result of work-related violence in the last year.
Keith added: “This cannot continue, our officers, are the force’s most valuable asset and they must be protected and have sufficient numbers to operate safely.” He said he would continue to work the force to improve conditions for members.
