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Warwickshire Police
Warwickshire Police is the force responsible for policing the county of Warwickshire, England. The area we cover is around 1,970 square kilometres and we divide this into two local policing areas: North Warwickshire and South Warwickshire. The North Warwickshire policing area serves a population of approximately 288,800 and the South Warwickshire policing area serves a population of 258,500.
Our work in suicide prevention
Warwickshire plays an active role in suicide prevention through both external community engagement and internal support for staff.
Externally:
Warwickshire Police responds to mental health crises, including situations where individuals may be at risk of taking their own lives. Officers handle immediate, life-saving emergencies and collaborate with partner agencies to ensure future safeguarding and support for those in crisis.
In September 2019, Warwickshire Police launched a mental health triage team. This team, comprising a mental health nurse and a police officer, reviews and triages mental health incidents, equipping attending officers with tailored guidance on supporting individuals in crisis. The team also attends acute mental health emergencies, delivering the most effective medical and police response. This approach provides immediate life-saving intervention, better safeguarding, and reduces future demand on both the NHS and police services by ensuring individuals receive the right care the first time.
The force also collaborates with organisations such as the NHS and Alex Cotton, MBE, to promote discussions about mental fitness and support those affected by suicide. Initiatives like ‘Balls to Talk,’ adapted from an NHS program, train operational supervisors to address suicide prevention effectively and pass on this knowledge to their teams. Bereaved families are supported through resources such as the NHS’s Help is at Hand initiative and the Kaleidoscope Group, providing guidance and signposting to bereavement support.
Internally:
Warwickshire Police prioritises the mental and physical wellbeing of its staff through a range of resources and initiatives, including:The Occupational Health DepartmentWelfare Support OfficersA Peer Support GroupMental Health First AidersA Health and Wellbeing Team that focuses on mental fitness, physical health, and managing workload demandsWellbeing Champions, who are front-line officers dedicated to promoting innovation and implementing ideas to enhance wellbeing
Our current priorities
The current priorities focus on putting victims and survivors first by addressing their needs and providing support, protecting people from harm with proactive safeguarding measures, preventing and reducing crime by tackling its root causes, and ensuring an effective and efficient service that delivers high-quality, responsive, and value-for-money policing for the community.
Our current priorities
The current challenges include establishing, piloting, and evaluating a Mental Health Triage Unit to ensure its effectiveness, as well as providing viable, accessible, and practical support for officers and staff to address their wellbeing and resilience needs.