Officer or staff suicide statistics

The Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland are committed and working to ensure focused and preventative support is in place, coupled with proportionate oversight and scrutiny, to support the health and wellbeing of our workforce and suicide prevention activity.

Comparative and reliable official data on the number and details of officers who die by suicide is critical. The only official data on probable suicides in Scotland is collected and published by the National Records of Scotland. This data draws from information recorded on death certificates and is analysed by a range of demographic metrics and standard occupation codes across a very wide range of jobs.

While Police Scotland senior managers will have knowledge of a death by suicide involving a serving officer or member of staff, their focus will be on any lessons to be learned and supporting those left behind. There are also complexities around capturing and retaining such data, and incidences where officers or staff have left the organisation, and the service has not been alerted to a death. For these reasons, the Authority views the National Records of Scotland as the official source for reliable data on deaths by probable suicide. A single source collecting data on a standard method creates reliable information and allows policy comparisons of frequency across public and private services. The Authority does not expect Police Scotland to duplicate the publication.

Notwithstanding the above, the COPFS reported to the Criminal Justice Committee last year that every unexplained death in Scotland, including a death by suicide, is investigated and this includes an examination of the individuals employment, or duties played a part on their decision to take their own life. The outcome of those investigations is shared with the individuals family.

The Samaritans caution against suicide being oversimplified and regularly highlight that most deaths by suicide are extremely complex, where no single event or factor has led someone to take their own life. The Authority’s focus is therefore on ensuring there are effective proactive and preventative support available to our workforce to help them manage their wellbeing, and manage the impact of trauma, stress, and burnout throughout their policing journey.

Supporting officers and staff to improve their personal resilience, as a preventative measure, aims to protect against occupational stressors. The Authority is also seeking measurement of progress against organisational stressors such as time taken to deal with complaints, leave lost through court appearances and attendance at mental health incidents prior to handover to more appropriate professionals.

I trust this update is helpful. The Authority looks forward to providing further evidence and answering members questions on 11 September 2024.

Yours sincerely

Martyn Evans

Chair