A record 1,203 Police Scotland officers were signed off work last year due to stress, depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
The figure is 8% higher than the previous financial year, when 1,110 Police Scotland officers were signed off work for mental health reasons.
Across the UK, over 17,700 police officers were signed off due to mental ill health in the financial year 2024-25, which is 22% up on last year and a huge 182% higher than when Police Oracle first ran the survey 12 years ago. Of the 45 forces that provided figures both this year and last year, 33 reported an increased number of officers being signed off for mental health reasons.
The highest number of absences were, unsurprisingly, reported by the UK’s largest police forces; as well as Police Scotland, these include the Metropolitan Police (2,054 absences), Greater Manchester Police (1,050) and West Midlands Police (1,162).
Chief Superintendent Rob Hay, President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS), said: “These figures serve to illustrate the immense pressure that currently exists across policing in the UK, and the toll that is having on the wellbeing of police officers.
“Underinvestment in policing – officer numbers, resources, estates, technology and the pay and conditions necessary to create a sustainable service – is costing police officers their health, and as a result the service the public receives is suffering.”