Rose Fitzpatrick CBE QPM

Related to the work on workforce wellbeing above, I recently met with Rose Fitzpatrick CBE QPM, former Deputy Chief Constable at Police Scotland and now Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group, established to champion and drive suicide prevention in Scotland.

We discussed her insights as Chair of this national group and as a former police officer. Suicide can often be oversimplified - the Samaritans regularly reminds commentators and the public that the majority of deaths by suicide are extremely complex, where no single event or factor has led someone to take their own life. Rose highlighted the work of Police Scotland Sergeant Laura Gibson for the Churchill Fellowship on Wellbeing and Resilience in law enforcement. Sergeant Gibson’s research focuses on the concept of police officer resilience and explores US police service training programmes that exist to provide officers with the required skills, techniques and support to allow them to cope with the demands of their role. It looks at the awareness of wellbeing and resilience at the start of an officer’s career, and the impact of trauma, stress and burnout throughout an officer’s journey through policing. Supporting officers to improve their personal resilience, as a preventative measure, a de-escalation tool and perhaps as an alternative for those reluctant to seek therapy, we will provide a healthy buffer that protects against the long-term influences of stress and trauma. I will be meeting with Sergeant Gibson to discuss her work further.