More than 165,000 working days have been lost among Police Scotland staff suffering from mental health issues in the last two-and-a-half years.
Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request reveal that in the same time period over 2,200 officers took time off work to deal with issues regarding their mental health.
While 68 cops in the nationwide service took early retirement on the same grounds.
Since 2019-20 a total of 166,580 days were lost as a result of "psychological disorders".
In 2020-21, 44,312 work days were lost among police officers, up from 43,413 the year before.
The "psychological disorders" category takes into account staff or officers who are off with alcohol problems, anxiety, bereavement reaction, bipolar, debility, dementia, depression, insomnia, other psychological disorders, post-natal depression, post-traumatic stress, schizophrenia and stress, according to Police Scotland.
Some 23,935 police staff days were also lost due to mental health problems in 2020-21, rising from 20,384.
Between April 1 and September 30 this year, 22,163 days for officers and 12,373 days for staff were lost - however a change in recording methods this year means these figures should not be compared with previous years.
The figures come after a survey conducted earlier this year revealed that almost half of officers reported feeling burnt out while working.
A survey of frontline cops discovered that 29 per cent of officers were experiencing moderate burnout in 2020, with a further 16 per cent endured high levels.
A third of officers went to work when they were mentally unwell while around 50 per cent said they rarely got an uninterrupted break at work.
Scottish Police Federation chair David Hamilton said: "Policing takes its toll on people, not just through the trauma that we deal with it, not just through the risk and responsibility that we carry, but also through the long hours and short notice disruption to our lives.
"The police service can only do so much but as with so many things, it comes down to too few doing too much with too little."
The mental health crisis in the police force has been blamed on the SNP government for slashing officer numbers by around 800 since Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister in 2014.
Maurice Golden, Scottish Tory MSP, said: "It’s deeply concerning, but not entirely surprising, that such a high proportion of police officers are suffering from mental health difficulties.
"Police Scotland staff are under immense strain, not least because the number of divisional officers has been cut by around 800 since Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister.
"In many cases, officers are having to work in crumbling stations and with inadequate equipment too.
"Yet, astonishingly, in this month’s budget, the SNP chose to cut the police capital spending budget ignoring Scottish Conservatives calls for a £36.5 million increase in spending."
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Liam McArthur said: "These figures show the brutal toll that mental ill health is taking on the national force. The mental health of officers and staff can no longer be sidelined.
"Police officers are often the ones to assist us in our moments of greatest need, yet the Scottish Government has failed to provide officers and staff with the support they need to manage their own mental health.
"Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see many more mental health staff working alongside the police, mental health first-aiders supporting colleagues and annual staff surveys to identify issues quickly and provide support wherever it is needed."
The Scottish Government highlighted that Police Scotland was the first force in the UK to implement mental health and suicide intervention training for all officers.
A spokesperson said: "We greatly value the work of Scotland’s police officers who are doing an excellent job in very difficult circumstances.
"We continue to support initiatives being undertaken by the Chief Constable to ensure police officers and staff are physically and mentally healthy at a time when Scotland needs its frontline emergency workers more than ever.
"Officers and staff can access a range of services to care for their physical and mental health through Police Scotland’s Your Wellbeing Matters programme which includes occupational health, employee assistance and the Trauma Risk Management programme.
"Police Scotland were also one of the first police services in the UK to implement mental health and suicide intervention training for all officers, up to and including the rank of Inspector.
"This benefits the police workforce as well as the public they serve.
"Police officer numbers have been maintained and are favourable relative to elsewhere in the UK, with around 32 officers per 10,000 population in Scotland compared to around 23 in England and Wales.
"The 2022-23 Scottish Budget includes £188 million of additional investment - a 7% increase - recognising the vital role of emergency services and the justice sector during the pandemic.
"The total budget for policing in 2022-23 is almost £1.4 billion, including an additional £40.5m increase in resource funding and a further £6.6m to mitigate the impact of COVID on the policing budget."
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