NSW Police pushed to find 'root cause' of psychological injury claims, officers allege bullying, harassment
An auditor-general report examining the mental health and wellbeing of NSW Police officers found the force has not made enough effort to understand the "root causes" of the psychological injuries.
It said NSW Police Force (NSWPF) was therefore not "efficiently or effectively preventing future psychological injuries".
In the five years between mid-2019 and mid-2024, psychological injury claims made up 74 per cent of compensation costs, totalling $1.75 billion compared to just 26 per cent for physical injuries.
The report found "work-related harassment and/or workplace bullying" was among the fourth most prevalent category used by NSW Police officers claiming psychological injuries, behind "other mental health stress factors", "exposure to workplace violence" and "work pressure".
Acting Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell in response said ensuring officers had the support they needed was a "priority" for the force and it had "implemented several initiatives aimed at improving psychological wellbeing".
"I do not share your view that the NSWPF is not efficiently or effectively preventing future psychological injuries.
"Where risks cannot be eliminated, the NSWPF strives to minimise risks to health and safety."
Bullying and harassment in the workplace was more commonly used in psychological injury claims by officers than "exposure to a traumatic event" or "being assaulted" on the job.
The report did not further examine workplace bullying or other impacts on workplace morale.
It comes after an ABC News investigation late last year into the exposed widespread allegations of a toxic culture at the NSWPF, including bullying, harassment, discrimination and a dangerous lack of mental health support.
The investigation included claims the toxic culture was driving officers out of the job in large numbers, leading to unprecedented shortages across the state.
It prompted the outgoing NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb to announce an independent review of the culture on the force, led by former Victorian Human Rights commissioner Kristen Hilton.
That review is still underway and a report is expected to be released by the end of the year.
The auditor-general report said the NSWPF had been "operating with significant workforce shortages since 2023" and most officers interviewed claimed that was having a significant impact on their mental health.
"In all of the local commands where police were interviewed for this audit, frontline police advised that the primary cause of their workplace stress was high workloads, exacerbated by staffing shortages," the report said.
"At some busy metropolitan stations, junior police advised that they are expected to arrive an hour before their official rostered start time, and may be expected to stay back for up to an hour after their rostered end time without additional payment."
The report made four recommendations for NSW Police to implement by July next year, including implementing a "workforce allocation model that matches police numbers to command-level workload demands and changing workload levels".
It also called for the force to "investigate and report on the factors that contribute to police role overload and burnout, and adjust policy settings, practices and controls accordingly".
The report found NSW Police had failed to adequately investigate whether any workplace hazards or stressors had potentially contributed to the 171 critical incidents between mid-2019 and mid-2024.
Critical incidents are those that result in deaths or major injuries to police or the public while police are involved.
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