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Police officers standing on duty
THE ISSUE

A SYSTEMIN CRISIS.

When those who protect the public are denied natural justice, transparency, and trauma support, the entire system breaks down.

THE FACTS

The numbers don't lie. Our policing family is in crisis.

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47 of 70 known police officer suicides between 2022–2025 involved officers who were subject to misconduct or criminal investigations.

SUICIDE & INVESTIGATIONS

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12 of the 13 police officer suicides known to the Police Federation in 2025 involved officers who were under investigation.

2025 POLICE SUICIDES

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Almost one-third of misconduct cases finalised in 2024/25 took longer than 12 months to conclude.

CLINICAL PTSD

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Major UK research found almost one in five police officers and staff showed symptoms consistent with PTSD or Complex PTSD.

TRAUMA & PTSD

WHAT'S GOING WRONG?

The problems run deep, and they are costing lives.

PROLONGED INVESTIGATIONS

Officers can spend months, sometimes years, under investigation, often suspended or on restricted duties, with devastating consequences for their mental health, careers and families. Investigations must be thorough, but they must also be timely and proportionate.

INCONSISTENT STANDARDS

What amounts to gross misconduct should not depend on where an officer serves. With thresholds applied differently across UK forces, clearer national guidelines are needed to ensure decisions with potentially career-ending consequences are fair, proportionate and consistent.

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS OVERREACH

Professional Standards Departments play an essential role in policing, but their work must also be subject to scrutiny. Investigations should remain fair, proportionate and timely, without becoming unnecessarily adversarial or losing sight of the person at the centre of the process.

WHO HOLDS THE INVESTIGATORS TO ACCOUNT?

Officers need a clear, independent and trusted way to report concerns about those investigating them, with allegations of improper or unfair conduct independently reviewed without fear of prejudicing their own case. Accountability cannot only work in one direction.

WELFARE & TRUST

Support only works when people trust it. Officers routinely face trauma and immense pressure, yet many are reluctant to seek help through policing systems they do not trust. Welfare must never be an afterthought, especially during an investigation.

WHAT WE WANT TO ACHIEVE

A disciplinary system that protects the public without unnecessarily destroying the people who serve it. We believe accountability and officer welfare can and must exist together.

  • Temporarily pause disciplinary proceedings, except where immediately necessary, while urgent safeguards and greater scrutiny are introduced.
  • Examine cases where officers have died by suicide while under investigation and identify what could and should have been done differently.
  • Families live through investigations too, carrying the uncertainty and watching someone they love struggle.
  • Ensure potential failings, overreach or improper actions by Professional Standards or police leadership can be investigated independently.
  • Examine whether public gross misconduct hearings are proportionate, procedurally fair and causing unnecessary harm to officers and their families.
  • Introduce clearer national guidelines so investigations and sanctions are fair, consistent and proportionate across every police force.
  • Introduce regular welfare assessments and access to independent psychological support for officers going through disciplinary investigations.
WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO

Change is possible.

It Stops Now isn't here simply to highlight what is wrong. We want to help change it.

Bring lived experience and evidence directly to those with the power to create meaningful change across policing and government.
We will give the police family a voice, sharing their experiences directly with those who have the power to create change.
We will push for an independent way for officers to report wrongdoing by those investigating them, because accountability must apply to everyone.
We will push for clear national standards so misconduct decisions are fair, consistent and proportionate, regardless of where an officer serves.
We will push for better welfare, trusted support and meaningful change wherever it could help prevent another police suicide.
We will honour and remember those we have lost, while using their stories to strengthen our determination to prevent further lives being lost.