12% Of Urban Police Have Lifetime Mental Health Diagnosis, For Which 17% Sought Care; 26% Have Mental Illness Symptoms

Approximately 12% of surveyed police officers had a diagnosis of lifetime mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideation or self-harm issues. About 17% had sought mental health care services in the past 12 months. Approximately 26% had positive screening results for current mental illness symptoms. Odds of interest in using mental health service for those with suicidal ideation or self-harm issues was 7.66 times of those that did not have these particular mental health issues.

Four primary barriers for police officers accessing mental health services were found via focus groups. These . . .