This national action plan is about recognising that suicide in policing is an issue that deserves attention, and that more needs to be done to support police forces in reducing suicides.
The plan, produced by the National Police Wellbeing Service, is endorsed by NPCC, Police Federation, Police Superintendents Association and Unison.
The new national action plan
The national suicide action plan aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording.
In addition, it is intended to help create a culture that supports mental health, tackles stigma and ensures that everyone affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts is able to access appropriate and timely support.
Why we're doing it
The death of any member of the policing family is a tragedy and every death by suicide produces ripples across the service. It affects not only close families, friends and communities, but also those colleagues who knew and worked with the person who died - along with the wider policing family.
The causes of suicide are complex, and we don’t always know why someone chooses to end their life. Whilst there is evidence to show a link between suicide and mental health, many suicides happen in periods of crisis and extreme stress, without underlying mental ill-health.
Policing can be stressful; therefore, this action plan provides key areas of focus for us to collectively work to reduce suicides and suicide attempts across policing.
In general, people spend one third of their lives at work, therefore colleagues and line managers have an important part to play in terms of emotional and social support. Employers are in a unique position to help keep people safe (Business in the Community and Public Health England, 2020).
Every police force needs to be engaged in providing an open, supportive and inclusive environment where individuals can thrive. In contributing to the wellbeing needs of every member of the workforce, we will give mental wellbeing and suicide prevention the priority it needs and deserves. In turn, in building these environments, we hope to improve support for managing and reducing the risk of suicide.
In producing this document and considering the national action plan for policing, we’re making it clear that suicide prevention matters.
This plan doesn't stand alone
This national action plan is designed to address suicide as a key priority area and to bring together learning, ideas and action from across policing in England and Wales. It will act as a catalyst for the development of future work to support police officers and staff in alignment with the commitment of the Police Covenant.
It also follows on from and supports a number of other products and services already available to all forces. They are:
- Suicide Consensus Statement (2022), landscape and next steps
- Suicide Postvention Toolkit (developed with Samaritans)
- Bereavement counselling
- Mental Health Crisis Line (Proof of concept live in NE regional forces from May 2024)
In addition, the National Police Wellbeing Service, amongst many other services, provides the following support for police forces:
- Annual psychological risk assessments for higher risk groups
- Trauma intervention training for line managers
- Peer support training and programmes
- Monitoring of officer and staff wellbeing trends through the national survey
- Preventative resources – online learning and self-help resources
- Anti-stigma and communication campaign materials and resources
Our suicide prevention approach recognises the vital role these preventative activities play in helping to reduce escalation into mental health crisis, whilst acknowledging there is more to do.
The suicide prevention consensus and now this action plan will address gaps in awareness, education and data collection specific to suicide and allow us to ensure that we are doing everything we can to support police forces, making sure they have the tools and guidance they need to support their staff.
Everything we do to support our people’s mental health contributes in some way to reducing suicide, but we recognise there are specific improvements we need to make to raise awareness, reduce stigma and sensitively manage the aftermath of a colleague’s suicide which is what we hope this action plan will do.