Wellbeing remains a major issue across the police workforce, the latest Oscar Kilo survey has revealed.

The annual survey, which is the fourth of its kind, generated the highest response rate to date, with the chair of South Wales Police Federation Steve Treharne unsurprised with the results.

“The results back up what we’ve been saying for years and the fact that 42,000 officers took part shows the service is crying out for help,” said Steve.

The survey, which has been developed by Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service and Durham University, acknowledges the high levels of motivation that members of the policing workforce have to serve the public, despite a decline in their sense of being valued.

And, while results reveal cops find their work meaningful, the intention to quit has increased to the highest average level since 2019/20 for police officers.

 

Reflecting on the results, Steve added: “Perhaps this will finally be the catalyst for change. We cannot have further procrastination – officers deserve to feel valued and cared for, and they need that now.

“Policing is depleted, it’s not the job it once was, having endured cutbacks year after year.

“Looking after wellbeing should not be considered a benefit – it’s a necessity in a job that takes its toll on the best of us.”

Other findings include high levels of burnout, with 69 per cent of police officers reporting high levels of fatigue.

Officers reported anxiety, not being able to recover from stressful incidents, the negative impact of working shifts, difficulty recovering from high work demands through impaired rest days and poor-quality sleep, and difficulty ‘switching off’ outside of working hours.

The summary of research findings will be used to evidence the development of the work of the National Police Wellbeing Service and College of Policing.