Police: Suicide
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the number of serving police officers taking their own lives is recorded.
Answered by Sarah Jones
The Home Office does not currently collect information centrally on the number of police officer suicides. The Office for National Statistics publishes data on the number of suicides registered in England and Wales by occupation. The latest available data can be found here: Suicide by occupation in England and Wales: 2023 and 2024, provisional - Office for National Statistics
This Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police workforce is a priority, and we are committed to making improvements in wellbeing support for officers and staff. This includes exploring options to improve the current monitoring and data recording processes for police officer suicides.
The National Police Wellbeing Service has created a national suicide action plan which aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording. In addition, the Service has put in place a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support Line to provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most.
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