Examining Police Wellbeing: Episode 1

In this first episode, retired police officers Michael Brown, Richard Horton and Dave Thomas discuss the various aspect’s of police work in general, and how it and the organisation influenced their own wellbeing.

TRIGGER WARNING
These podcasts examine and discuss suicide and associated trauma. If you have been affected by anything in these podcasts, you can contact the Samaritans on 116 123

For several years now, the levels of mental health and well-being within the UK police have been in decline. Many will argue that this is a result of an ever-increasing workload, a reduction in capacity and experience, underfunding, and a perception that social and mainstream media proactively portray a negative narrative of law enforcement within the UK.

Additionally, lenient sentencing, poor organizational practices, and the disproportionate time spent on officers under investigation have contributed to create a perfect storm. In this short series of podcasts, I will be looking at the rising trend of police officers taking their own lives. I will be speaking with a variety of people to put a spotlight on police suicide, the reasons behind it, and hopefully how we can halt its rise.