Canadian police officers fear stigma of reporting mental health issues: survey

An inspector says cops who responded to a “horrible suicide” must be offered mental health support “so we can say we did it.”

A cross-Canada survey of more than 800 officers has found that despite beefed-up officer wellness programs and growing awareness about the psychological toll of the job, stigma still surrounds mental illness in policing.

Most cops polled, especially women and junior officers, believe reporting mental health issues could have negative repercussions on their career.

“They’ll tell you there’s no stigma. It’s an outright lie. You’ve got to present the persona of being indestructible or your career is over,” a male constable with nearly three decades on the job says in a recently published study out of Western University by London officer-turned-academic Lesley Bikos.

The research is the first phase of reporting from a nationwide, anonymous survey launched in 2019 that’s believed to be the first of its kind — data collection from more than 700 officers that Bikos, a PhD candidate, hopes will provide an on-the-ground picture of policing culture in a turbulent, changing time for the profession.

“The big, common theme that kept coming up, over and over again, was stigma,” Bikos said in an interview.

Bikos also conducted more than 100 interviews with officers ranging in rank from constable to senior management in 31 police services across the country, unearthing troubling anecdotes about workplace mental health incidents. The stories included in Bikos’ report are anonymized, but include details such as gender and years of service.

The mental health toll of policing has drawn increased attention in recent years, particularly in 2018, when nine active or recently retired Ontario police officers died by suicide.

Ontario’s coroner’s office launched a review into the deaths, which concluded the suicide rate was statistically higher than in the general public and “anecdotally … may reflect increases in mental health issues across the policing sector.”

Acting on a central recommendation from the review, Ontario coroners have begun tracking first-responder suicides. According to preliminary data provided to the Star, seven officers died by suicide in 2019, while four more died last year, including Const. Mike Austin, who died inside Toronto police headquarters.

The deaths have helped promote openness about mental health issues in policing.

This week, for Bell Let’s Talk Day, chiefs and police associations across Canada urged their members to reach out for support and take advantage of wellness programs; according to the National Police Federation, the union representing thousands of RCMP officers, there was a 69-per-cent increase between 2014 and 2019 in members seeking mental health support.

Meanwhile, peer support networks have stepped in to help officers who may not want to go through their employer.

Although half those who participated in the online survey said mental health stigma has reduced in their workplace — generally, Bikos found, police forces now openly acknowledge mental health issues and some have developed more supports — there remains a widespread culture that prioritizes stoicism and toughness.

“The belief that those who experience mental illness are labelled weak, incompetent, and lazy largely remained, despite senior management messaging and programs/resources,” Bikos writes in the study, published in Policing: An International Journal.

“They had the real sense, whether it’s perception or reality, that this was all window dressing,” Bikos told the Star of the mental health supports and messaging.

Traditional masculinity was often identified as the largest cultural barrier to reducing stigma for both male and female officers, according to the study. But men had “deeply internalized” the idea that mental illness equated weakness and incompetence.

“Somewhere in my heart and mind I will always see this as a form of weakness,” said one male officer who is currently off on mental health leave after nearly two decades as an officer.

“Til the day I die, it will always feel that way just a little bit. I failed as a cop. I couldn’t deliver. That’s a huge part of the shame.”

Only 24 per cent of those surveyed said they felt that could report mental illness without fear.

The risk was most acutely felt by women officers, low ranking officers, and those already on leave for mental health reasons.

The latter group offered valuable insights because they had actual experience reporting mental illness. Bikos said some used the resources available through the police service — “we could classify that as progress.” Others felt isolated and were off for long periods of time, or retired early; in interviews, some said they’d been off for years and never heard from their service except for administrative reasons.

“That’s the issue. You can have supports in place, but if it’s not culturally accepted and leaders don’t demonstrate compassion and walk the talk, it leaves the impression that their concern is not genuine,” Bikos said.

Bikos stressed that she interviewed dedicated and progressive managers who attempted to create change, but they were too often outnumbered.

One female senior manager said she was trying to convince two other male supervisors that they should create a policy to take a more active approach to the mental health of officers.

“Their response was, ‘You’re going to turn them into pussies.’ I mean, that says it all,” the female officer said.

“Well, newsflash! People are killing themselves. It’s ugly, there is so much stigma and it hinders us from moving forward.”

Waterloo police Const. Angie Rivers has been on leave with post-traumatic stress disorder since 2015, stemming from alleged workplace sexual harassment and bullying. She was later part of a class-action lawsuit that alleged gender-based discrimination within the Waterloo police service, allegations the force denied. In 2019, Ontario’s top court ruled that the lawsuit could not proceed.

In an interview, Rivers said it took her a long time to realize she was suffering from mental health issues, which at one point included suicidal thoughts, in part because she says officers weren’t told symptoms to be aware of.

It was also “socially unacceptable for me to be ill,” Rivers said.

“The internal culture where I come from looks down very heavily on people with mental health issues,” Rivers said.

These cultural barriers can make it challenging for officers to come forward for assistance, “which is why I think you see officers reaching for help in unhealthy ways, such as drugs and alcohol or violence.”

Cherri Greeno, a spokesperson for Waterloo Regional Police, noted the service had not reviewed Bikos’ study and said she could not comment on Rivers’ case due to “labour laws and ongoing current proceedings.”

But she said Waterloo police “has progressive and comprehensive programs, initiatives, training and supports in place … to ensure our members feel supported and are able to receive help when they need it.” These include an annual mandatory check-ins with a mental health professional, which she said is aimed in part at “helping to end the stigma associated with mental health challenges.” She also noted the service is developing an in-house psychological services program.

Greeno said a recent internal member survey found that, overall, respondents felt greater attention is being paid to mental health and work-life balance. Seventy-one per cent of officers agreed the service provides sufficient support for mental wellbeing.

Bikos’ study also found that officers with mental illness were called back to work prematurely and sent out on duty, “despite clear signs they were not healthy,” posing a potential danger to both officers and the public. In general, untreated mental illness in officers creates risk ranging from lost productivity to heightened chance of suicide to increased aggressiveness and use-of-force incidents.

To begin working towards eliminating stigma around mental illness, policies that normalize mental illness as a job hazard, “not a personal failure,” increased supports that are confidential, including access to police-specific counselling that’s backed up to allow for intensive treatment, and improved return-to-work policies are needed, Bikos said.

Bikos also says an “honest review of organizational culture and its impacts on the workplace must be done.”

If you are considering suicide, there is help. Find a list of local crisis centres at the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. Or call 911 or in Ontario call Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000