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As we edge closer towards all Police Forces having to record traumatic incidents each Officer attends mandatorily; it’s important to realise how far gone we already are. I was sent the below graph a few weeks before that announcement was made and it demonstrates in combat environments how rapidly soldiers’ effectiveness is eroded by constant trauma. It also explains why frontline soldiers are rotated away from their ‘day job’ for that very reason. Now huge disclaimer, no one is saying Police Officers experience the same traumas those in a war zone do. But they do experience constant traumatic incidents daily that the vast majority of society will possibly only experience maybe only once in a lifetime. So what do we do about it? Firstly - leaders need to have a conversation with the public, yes, the public; about how many Police Officers we have available to respond to 999 calls. Why? Well if you’re working six days on and you go to one traumatic call a shift, you’ve already beaten the lifetime average for a normal person in one week. We then expect that Police Officer to be rational and calm on and off duty and deal with all that trauma on their own on their days off and then come back ready to go again. Now I could tell you what it’s like to burn out after years of doing that and how long and hard it is to drag yourself back to a job and a role that’s broken you, but that’s not the point right now. The numbers on Response Teams are far too low to accommodate how much trauma those teams experience. That’s the fact. Secondly, we are so focussed on ‘charter times’ that unlike the Ambulance Service, Fire Service, RNLI and Coastguard - instead of debriefing after each emergency, Police Officers are rushed on to the next one. Why? To keep Senior Officers happy with their ‘Charter Time’ stats. Also as a side note - the main charter time that’s focussed on is Domestic Abuse, rightly so. But when Policing is battered in the media about shoplifting and burglary responses, I never understand why Policing doesn’t push back and say ‘because we prioritise Domestic Abuse because there is a much higher risk of serious injury and death than there is at a shoplifting and we only have x numbers of Police Officers to answer 999 calls’. I think most reasonable people would accept that. We are at the crest of a wave of finally realising how broken Police Officers are nationally. If you’re a leader, it’s time to do something now, before the evidence makes you do it. #ThinBlueLine 🚨

Yesterday, a friend and former colleague died by suicide. He was a dedicated police officer, for the most part he served with pride, was the recipient of many awards, and commendations, championed for his leadership in delivering against the forces plan to tackle organised crime and serious violence and was admired by many of those he led. However, towards the end of his promising career, he did fall foul of today’s increasingly imbalanced misconduct and cut throat dismissal system. What many officers would deem to be an infraction warranting formal or dare I say informal correction, he was pursued for. He ultimately opted to resign and commenced a promising career in the private sector. To my knowledge he was open about why he was leaving and his new employer was understanding and supportive. When we last spoke, he was using his experience to assist and support others in transitioning from policing into the private sector as well as raising money and awareness for various charities. It appeared, certainly to me, that he was doing well outside of policing, missing the clowns, but not the circus as they say, and today’s news of his untimely death has left me feeling numb, deep sorrow and anger. I’m deeply saddened and extend my sincere condolences to his wife, children, wider family, friends and close colleagues. Having reflected only three days ago on the 7 year anniversary of my mother’s own suicide, I know of the deep pain you are feeling and the search for answers to many questions consuming your thoughts right now. And I’m angry, that yet another colleague felt there was no other option available to him. That a system and profession he gave everything to, treated him with such hostility and contempt towards the end of his career, seeking to reduce the majority of his unblemished service, diligence and sacrifice to others, to a line on a barred list. For what it’s worth, I’ll remember you for the decent bloke you were. Rest easy mate, you will be missed.