The new National Police Wellbeing Survey, delivered by Leapwise in partnership with the College of Policing and the National Police Wellbeing Survey, closed on 16 June 2025, and the results are now public. Over 40,000 police officers and staff took part, with participating forces achieving a record 25.4% response rate, and some forces securing a response from more than half their workforce.
The Leapwise Key Findings Report, published today, paints a concerning picture of the level of strain the police workforce is under, while also pointing to strengths in the service.
Four worrying truths
The report is extensive and covers a wide range of issues that influence police wellbeing and workforce engagement, including leadership, culture and climate, resources and support services, and work and manager support. Here are four things that stand out.
1. Burn-out is a significant problem in policing: worse than in the NHS, and particularly acute at the frontline
A worrying 45% of the police workforce have often felt burnt out because of their work in the past 12 months. This compares to 30% of the NHS workforce, showing the level of strain across policing. The operational frontline is most likely to experience strain: 58% of officers report often feeling burnt out, 67% of officers report having often felt fatigue and physical exhaustion at work, and 58% of officers report their work is emotionally exhausting.
2. Assaults on police officers are common – 44% report being assaulted by members of the public in the past year
The report lays bare some of the experiences the police workforce deals with that most employees don’t have to worry about. 44% of officers and 39% of special constables report having been assaulted during the last year, and a fifth of officers, specials, and PCSOs also report having been discriminated against by members of the public.
It is encouraging that the vast majority of assaults are reported (79% reported formally and 10% informally).
3. Organisational stressors matter as much for wellbeing as the nature of the job itself
Dealing with criminals, people in distress, and trauma is only half the battle for police officers and staff. Our survey results reveal that organisational stressors are equally significant for officers and staff.
As in other public services, the biggest contributor to feelings of exhaustion is arguably workload pressures. More than half the workforce (55%) report unrealistic time pressures (rising to 68% for officers), and most officers (72%) report often finding it difficult to take breaks.
Other factors also cause daily frustration: 41% of the workforce are dissatisfied with the software they can access; the police workforce is less satisfied than other public services with learning and development opportunities, and there is widespread frustration with how change is managed. Only 15% report feeling that change is managed well (even lower than in the civil service and armed forces).
4. Cultural challenges remain
While the conduct of the vast majority of officers is clearly good, it is concerning that 16% of the workforce report being bullied or harassed in the past year, and 12% reported experiencing discrimination within the organisation.
Bullying, harassment, and discrimination are all experienced disproportionately by under-represented groups (Black and minority ethnic, LGBT+, and those with disabilities and long-term illness). To oversimplify, these groups are roughly between 50% more likely and 100% more likely (i.e., double) to experience bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
Unfortunately, the workforce is often reluctant to report poor behaviour: roughly half the incidents were not reported either formally or informally. Respondents reported a range of reasons for not reporting incidents, but the main ones were that they believed no action would be taken and (most worrying), because they feared it would have a negative impact on their career.
Reasons for optimism
While the results of the survey are concerning and demand action, there are reasons for optimism.
First, it’s not all doom and gloom. The report shows clear strengths in policing – with 89% of the workforce feeling they have the knowledge, skills and experience to do their jobs, two thirds report a sense of personal accomplishment from their work, and most feel satisfied with their line managers and report a sense of inclusion and belonging within their teams.
Second, it is clear that some forces are leading the way, with far better results on key questions. Satisfaction with health and wellbeing support ranges from a worrying 35% to a respectable 59%, for example. There must be lessons to be learned from high performers.
Third, there are some signs that there is a commitment to act on findings in today’s press release.
Finally, there are developing solutions for many of the issues highlighted. Several forces, including Avon and Somerset, have invested in improving leadership and culture support, though there is far more to do here across forces. Others have leant into the support offered by Oscar Kilo, including the new national crisis line for policing.
The need for action
We hope these survey results spark action at all levels of policing. Some of the issues have major policy implications and will need a response in the forthcoming Home Office Police Reform White Paper. Others require an operational response locally. Participating forces will know their own specific improvement priorities, and forces that didn’t take part in the survey can still learn from national results.
Please get in touch to discuss the findings, our workforce insights work across the public sector, or ideas and initiatives you’ve seen make a difference.