Long-term sick leave among police for psychological issues 'up by a third'
Despite overall employee numbers falling, the number of police officers and police staff taking time off for psychological reasons went up from 4,544 in 2010 to 6,129 in 2015.
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The figures, which come from a Freedom of
Information (FOI) request submitted by BBC Radio 5 live Daily, also show a
steady increase in overall long-term sick leave over the same period.
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In 2010/11, 9,825 employees were recorded
as being on long-term sick leave - defined by forces as either 28 or 29 days or
more - compared with 22,547 in 2014/15.
Of the 46 forces in the UK, 40 responded to
the BBC's FOI. They came from England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Police
Scotland did not reply. If you are looking forward to translate this content,
contact Translation Services UK
West Yorkshire Police recorded the largest
rise in long-term sick leave over a year - up 44% between 2013/14 and 2014/15 -
with Warwickshire police showing the biggest decrease, 17%.
Police forces have seen their number of
employees decrease, with cuts leading to a drop of 17,000 officers since 2010
according to Che Donald, from the Police Federation of England and Wales, which
represents frontline police officers.
Mr Donald said that overall crime had gone
up and described the police service as "overstretched and
overworked".
He told the BBC: "The increase in
sickness levels, including mental health and psychological issues, does not
come as a surprise.
"We are seeing more officers needing
to take time off for mental health reasons; they are often working in highly
stressful fast-moving environments along with being exposed to horrific
situations which takes its toll."
In October 2014 the Government allocated
£10 million to help support emergency services personnel and volunteers,
focused on mental health, physical recuperation and bereavement support, Mike
Penning, the minister for policing, told BBC Radio 5 live Daily.
He said: "Policing, by its very
nature, is a stressful and demanding job and it is the responsibility of chief
officers, with help from the College of Policing, to ensure police officers and
staff are supported in their work."
Global economy losing momentum, says IMF
head Christine Lagarde
The head of the International Monetary Fund
is warning that the global economy is losing momentum and urging governments to
take action to preserve the recovery.
Christine Lagarde said in a speech on
Tuesday in Frankfurt, Germany, that "the recovery remains too slow, too
fragile".
She said that the global economy isn't in a
crisis - and that's good news. She said, however, that slow growth risks
becoming ingrained as a "new mediocre".
She said the global outlook has weakened
over the next six months, suggesting the IMF may be revising its growth
outlook. The speech sets the stage for the IMF and World Bank meetings in
Washington later this month.
Ms Lagarde urged governments to take
pro-growth reforms and to increase spending on public infrastructure.
Advanced economies still face a hangover
from the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 in terms of too much debt, low
investment, and, for some, high unemployment. A stronger dollar has weighed on
growth in the United States, while China's economy has slowed.
In January, the IMF forecast global growth
of 3.4 percent this year, increasing to 3.6 percent in 2017.
Ms Lagarde said mediocre growth that does
not help ordinary people much risks political backlash that "has consequences
for the social and political fabric in many countries".
She warned against turning to protectionism
- favouring domestic producers in competition with foreign firms - as a
response.
"The answer to the reality of our
interconnected worth is not fragmentation, it is cooperation," she said.
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