“There is a crisis in policing and it cannot be solved without first addressing the mental health crisis in policing.” So says Neil Woods, LEAP US board member and Chairman of LEAP Europe, who is leading the campaign to raise awareness and tackle this issue. “It’s not an excuse for poor behaviour, but the context is important and there is a growing body of evidence that the cumulative effects of job stresses can have major impacts on police culture, day to day decision making and behaviour.”

That’s what we covered at a recent event in Birmingham, England. Where Neil – who hosted – was joined remotely by fellow LEAP speaker and police mental health advocate, Lieutenant Sarko Gergerian. Watched by an audience from 17 different UK Police Forces, we were grateful to be supported by UK social justice charity Cranstoun, who tackled the issue of the damage that policing the War on Drugs does to police mental health and how switching to programs that offer constructive support, such as diversion, can create meaningfulness and avoid the moral injury from criminalizing vulnerable people.

We were glad to welcome two police educators who run police degree and apprenticeship programs in the UK. Both of whom offered sobering lived experience from within policing on the different ways that serious physical injury or illness is handled, compared to mental health struggles. They gave important insight into how we can prepare future officers more effectively for the mental health challenges they will likely face.

In  solidarity,