Sweden equips the police. More people must be trained, more people must be employed and more tools must be used against serious and organized crime. It is necessary. But one crucial issue is still treated as if it were secondary: the mental health of police officers.
Police officers face what many other people are protected from. They deal with violence, death, suicide, sex crimes, children being harmed, gang shootings and threats to democratic society. They make quick and legal decisions under pressure and act against people who may be violent, desperate or armed.
It is happening in a situation where crime has become more serious, more organized and more cross-border, at the same time as the security policy situation has deteriorated. Terrorist threats, hybrid influences, cyber attacks, misinformation and crises in our surrounding world also affect the police's mission. Police officers are crime fighters, security creators and a central part of Sweden's civil preparedness. It requires legal competence, tactical skill and physical ability.
But above all, mental endurance is required in a profession that is almost starting to appear impossible to cope with. Not because police officers lack the will or competence, but because the demands on the individual are growing faster than the police organization's ability to create sustainable conditions. When politics, the public and the media demand quick results, the pressure often ends up at the very end of the organization – on the individual police.
Research shows that the police profession is associated with an increased risk of stress-related ill health, sleep problems, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic symptoms, burnout and suicidal problems. Ill-health does not just arise from individual events. The research shows that organizational factors such as high workload, lack of recovery, shift work, insufficient support, a culture of silence and weak leadership also affect how police officers feel and perform. Mental strength – or temporary deficiencies in it – must therefore never be considered a private problem.
It is therefore positive that the Police Authority is now developing crisis support. The emergency care often works well, with things such as quick relief calls, time off or changed working hours. However, preventive and long-term support is lacking.
There is a lack of systematic work to protect mental resilience, and only certain groups, for example those who investigate sexual crimes against children, must explicitly receive regular supervision in order to be able to empty the mental backpack that is constantly being filled. That more people don't get that kind of support is serious given that a police officer can experience hundreds of traumatic events during a working life, and no one can predict when the mental burden leads to ill health, post-traumatic stress and, in the worst case, suicide.
That more people don't get that kind of support is serious given that a police officer can experience hundreds of traumatic events during a working life
If the Police Agency is to succeed in its ambitions for improvements, political support is required:
● Introduce a national resilience program for police mental health. In order to secure a support that is so obvious that it is never linked to fear of stigmatization or a questioning of the professional role, we want to see a national, research-based support program for police officers. It must be politically financed as a permanent part of the core business. The program should provide regular and confidential mental health support: structured health talks, quick access to psychological support and clear pathways to help.
● Strengthen basic education and knowledge development. The police union has long demanded a political decision on an extended basic training for police officers in order to equip future police officers for the ever-increasing challenges of the profession. These include giving police officers better mental and professional tools for a sustainable professional life. Police officers have a vulnerable, socially important role and work in complex, emotionally and ethically difficult situations where they must deliver safely and legally. In order to cope over time, we need to better equip the individuals so that they feel better and want to stay in the profession at a time when experienced police officers are needed more than ever.
● Give managers the right conditions. In the work with the crisis support, the police authority has particularly noted the importance of catching people in time. Here, leadership is absolutely decisive for whether mental stress is noticed - or silenced. Managers need to be able to detect early warning signs, create a culture where it is legitimate to seek support and organize work so that recovery is possible. This requires training in stress, trauma and resilience, as well as managerial support and more time for the employees in the operational activities. But political growth decisions are also required that make all this possible - today's police shortage is putting a damper on the wheels of heavily burdened managers.
The police are part of Sweden's democratic resilience. When crises occur, when violence escalates or when society is affected, the police are expected to be at the forefront. Then it is not enough to just count the number of police officers. If the police force is to be able to grow sustainably and long-term, it requires police officers who are loyal to the mission - and a society that stands behind its police officers by giving them the necessary conditions to be able to bear the heavy task.
With a national program for the mental health of police officers, the Police Agency can better care for those who are assigned to help and protect others. The individual suffering can be reduced and with that the police force's ability to build long-term safety and security for us all is strengthened.
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