Officers medically retired 064/2022

FOI Reference: 064/2022

Request:

1a, could you please provide me with the number of police officers who were medically retired in each of the following years, and b, how many of those retirements were related to mental health? 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021.

Response.

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.

A total of 21 police officers were medically retired, of which 8 were related to mental health, in the timeframe specified.

Please note: In order for an officer to ill health retire from the force, they have to be referred to the Selected Medical Practitioner (SMP) who will give a determination as to whether the officers health condition is permanent or not. It is the intention of the force to try to retain officers and to provide them with appropriate roles that would suit their needs. It is important to note with regards to the numbers provided re mental health, that the officers may have had multiple ailments and that their retirement might not have been solely due to mental health illness. For example, an officer may have been retired as a result of degenerative back disease but they were also granted permanence due to depression, therefore the reason for retirement might not necessarily have been due to their mental health illness.

It should be noted that as a result of the systems adopted by Dyfed-Powys Police in relation to the recording of such information that the information released may or may not be accurate.

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 16/02/2022)