Four in 10 police managers are suffering from stress-related anxiety and one in five are depressed, research has revealed.
Eight out of 10 senior-level officers also said they had suffered from a serious illness, such as heart disease and back problems, in the past five years, Police Review reports.
The Superintendents’ Association’s tri-annual health study of 800 officers showed that one in three superintendents would rather take a day off on leave than take time off sick.
Rick Naylor, president of the Superintendents’ Association, said the long hours which superintendents work and the expectations put on them were responsible for high levels of stress.
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“Superintendents have very high pressured jobs and whereas they will enjoy it, love being supers and being in the thick of things, they also have to be careful because living the lives they do and working extremely long hours can damage their health,” he said.
Naylor said many chief officers work more than 10 hours a day.
