Officer absences (FOI ref: 263/26)

Request

1) Please confirm how many police officers (of any rank) employed by West Midlands Police were signed off work for 2 calendar weeks or more during the period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 (i.e. where 1 or more day of such absence falls within that period).

2) Please provide a breakdown to indicate the reasons for such Police Officers being signed off.

Response

1) Please confirm how many police officers (of any rank) employed by West Midlands Police were signed off work for 2 calendar weeks or more during the period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 (i.e. where 1 or more day of such absence falls within that period).

2) Please provide a breakdown to indicate the reasons for such Police Officers being signed off. To simplify the work involved, a breakdown will suffice (for the purposes of this request) which merely indicates a) numbers of officers citing one or more mental health issues as the whole of part of the reason for absence b) the number of officers not citing mental health as a reason for absence.

*’Seasonal Absence’ can include: Chest Infection, CoVID-19, Influenza, Severe Cold, Sore Throat/Tonsilitis, Upper Respiratory Tract Infection or Viral Infection.

“West Midlands Police has a committed workforce and we know the majority of officers, PCSOs, and police staff have excellent levels of attendance and continue to work to the highest standards. Our officers and PCSOs hold inherently challenging roles many of which carry considerable risk.

“Various supportive measures are in place including counselling support for those dealing with traumatic incidents, general health checks and a 24/7 wellbeing service. The force also has a robust approach to dealing with cases of absence - as well as appropriate interventions and support where necessary - and we will continue to work with our staff to resolve any issues.”

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that this data has been extracted from a number of data sources used by forces for police purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request may be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when interpreting the data.

The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of data which has relevance to your request, but you should be aware that the collation of figures for ad hoc requests may have limitations and this should be taken into account when those data are used.  

If you decide to write an article / use the enclosed data we would ask you to take into consideration the factors highlighted in this document so as to not mislead members of the public or official bodies, or misrepresent the relevance of the whole or any part of this disclosed material.