Police Officer deaths 1170/2024
FOI Reference: 1170/2024
Request:
- How many police officers were employed by your Constabulary each year between 2014 and 2025? Please show results on an annual basis (e.g., 2014 = 10,000, 2015 = 9,000).
- How many police officers have died whilst in service in your Constabulary each year between 2014 and 2025? Please show results on an annual basis.
- How many police officers in service in your Constabulary have died by suicide each year between 2014 and 2025? Please show results on an annual basis.
For each case of death whilst in service between 2014 and 2025:
- Please provide anonymised demographic details: age, gender, rank, and length of service at the time of death.
- Specify whether the officer was in active service or on leave at the time of their death.
- Was the officer under investigation for misconduct or criminal offences at the time of their death? If so, please specify the nature of the investigation (e.g., misconduct, criminal, internal review).
For cases where the officer was under investigation for misconduct or criminal offences:
- Was the investigation carried out by another agency? If so, which organisation?
- How long was the officer under investigation for?
- Was the officer suspended from their duties? If so, for how long?
- Was there any record of suicidal thoughts, ideations, or attempts held by your Constabulary? If so, when was this recorded?
- Were there any records indicating the officer reported work-related stress, PTSD, or other mental health challenges prior to their death?
- What policies, practices, or programs does your force have in place to monitor and support the mental health of officers?
- Have there been any reviews or evaluations of these measures since 2014? If so, please provide details or summaries.
- What policies, practices, or programs does your force have in place to respond to a death in service?
- Have there been any reviews or evaluations of these measures since 2014? If so, please provide details or summaries.
- What is your Constabulary’s current policy regarding updating police officers under investigation for criminal offences (e.g., frequency of contact, bail updates, charging decisions)?
- What safeguarding measures does your organisation put in place for officers being charged with a criminal offence?
- Do officers receive training on recognising and responding to mental health challenges in themselves and among peers? If so, what does the training entail?
- Have there been any reviews or evaluations of these measures since 2014? If so, please provide details or summaries.
- Are there any records of external factors (e.g., financial stress, family issues) contributing to the suicide cases reported?
Response 1:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
2014 – 1142
2015 – 1195
2016 – 1170
2017 – 1182
2018 – 1207
2019 – 1163
2020 – 1183
2021 – 1209
2022 – 1254
2023 – 1317
2024 – 1318
Response 2:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
2014 – 0
2015 – 1
2016 – 1
2017 – 1
2018 – 0
2019 – 0
2020 – 0
2021 – 1
2022 – 0
2023 – 1
2024 – 0
Response 3:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does not hold the information requested, this is due to the fact that it is only captured on the system that they are deceased in service. The system does not break it down further.
Responses 4, 6-11 & 20:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information that you have requested. However, we are withholding the information since we consider that the following exemption applies to it:
Section 38(1)(a) Health & Safety
The Section 38 exemption is a prejudice-based qualified exemption. There is therefore a requirement to carry out a HARM Test in respect of such information and there is a requirement to carry out a Public Interest Test in order to establish whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption may be outweighed by a wider public benefit in disclosure.
(1) Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to –
(a) Endanger the physical or mental health of any individual,
Harm
To release this information into the public domain at this stage, due to the low number of deaths, could cause physical or mental harm to the health of any surviving relative of the deceased, as to publish this information would create difficult and painful memories to family members at a time when those family members may well be within the healing process, through time, in coming to terms with what happened to their relative some time ago.
Public Interest Test
Considerations favouring disclosure - Disclosure of the information would lead to better informed public awareness, ensuring transparency.
Considerations favouring non-disclosure - Disclosure of the information would cause significant distress to the family. Releasing the information could also jeopardise the physical and mental well-being of members of the family who are only just coming to terms with events of the past in relation to such matters. Disclosure of the information would therefore result in a loss of confidence in the public authority to protect the well-being of the family and local community.
Balance Test:
Disclosure under the Act is a disclosure to the world not just to the individual making the request. The Police Service will never divulge information if it will affect the health and safety or well-being of individuals or groups of people. The Police should be transparent with the public however they have a greater duty to protect the public from harm or distress. Therefore, in this case, the balance lies in favour of non-disclosure of the requested information.
Response 5:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does not hold the information requested, this is due to the fact that the information is no longer held.
Response 12 & 13:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, however the following exemption has been applied to the whole of the information you have requested:
Section 21 – Information reasonably accessible by other means:
(1) Information which is reasonably accessible to the applicant otherwise than under section 1 is exempt information.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—
(a)information may be reasonably accessible to the applicant even though it is accessible only on payment, and
(b) information is to be taken to be reasonably accessible to the applicant if it is information which the public authority or any other person is obliged by or under any enactment to communicate (otherwise than by making the information available for inspection) to members of the public on request, whether free of charge or on payment.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), information which is held by a public authority and does not fall within subsection (2)(b) is not to be regarded as reasonably accessible to the applicant merely because the information is available from the public authority itself on request, unless the information is made available in accordance with the authority’s publication scheme and any payment required is specified in, or determined in accordance with, the scheme.”
The information requested can be accessed via the following hyperlink –
Occupational Health Policy - https://www.dyfed-powys.police.uk/foi-ai/dyfed-powys-police/publication-scheme/our-policies-and-procedures/Policies/people-services-PSD-and-equality--diversity/occupational-health-policy/
Response 14 & 15:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
No specific Death in Service policy held – process for officers has been around since the 1960’s. From April ‘25 – process will be extended to police staff.
Response 16:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
There is no policy for this. Police officers have the same entitlements as any other member of the public under investigation for a criminal offence.
Response 17:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
Officers under investigation will be assigned a welfare officer and will have the services of Occupational Health available to them.
Response 18:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
Yes, we deliver the following:
Initial Learning
- Wellbeing & Resilience input (approx. 2 hours)
- Personal Resilience
- Stress
- Compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, vicarious trauma
- Burnout
- Trauma and traumatic incidents
- Traumatic stress
- Stress & Trauma – Signs and symptoms.
- Inc Psychological sings & symptoms
- Trauma Risk Management
Sgt’s courses
- Trauma Exposure and TRiM for the ADJUST briefing.
CID courses and HR
- Trauma and Policing input
- Traumatic incidents
- Stress and trauma (signs and symptoms)
- Psychological signs and symptoms
- TRiM
Staff has access to ALL Oscar Kilo resources and an internal wellbeing hub website.
Response 19:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
Yes, training is reviewed prior to each delivery. It’s updated as and when required based on any updates to policies, processes etc. Or for example if there’s been an incident and there’s learning from it, the training will be amended.
This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 19/02/2025.
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