Police chiefs do not keep records of how many officers have taken their own lives, the Daily Record can reveal.
Police Scotland have been hit by a number of shock deaths as the service deals with dwindling budgets, short staff and equipment problems.
But the force has told us they don’t collate figures on self-harm or suicide among staff.
The news comes as police officer Jamie Lynch, 28, died last Sunday night.
Jamie, who was based at Govan police station in Glasgow, is the fifth Police Scotland officer to die suddenly in the past three months.
When asked by the Record under Freedom of Information laws for an annual breakdown of the number of reports of suicide, attempted suicide and self harm by Police Scotland officers, the force said: “Police Scotland does not record the circumstances of death of police officers, attempted suicide or self harm.
“When a police officer dies, it is classed as death in service but the reason is not recorded.”
Last night, there were calls for Police Scotland to record the number of suicides among staff.
Scottish Labour justice spokesman James Kelly said: “It is a matter of concern that Police Scotland do not have data on suicide or self-harm incident. The safety of our police officers and other Police Scotland workers is of paramount importance.
“Police Scotland owe a duty of care to their staff and should ensure anyone suffering from mental health issues receives the support they need.”
Cammy McLeod, of Who Dares Cares, a charity which supports military veterans and emergency service staff who have post traumatic stress disorder, said: “It is surprising that a major public body like Police Scotland does not collate figures on suicide or self harm among its staff members.”
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: “Anything that can improve the mental health of police officers and staff should be explored, but it will be difficult for that to happen if we don’t understand the full picture.”
Scottish Police Federation vice chairman David Hamilton said: “We’d welcome any additional examination of reasons for officers dying prematurely and will continue to work with Police Scotland to identify any trends.”
The death of Jamie Lynch, of Kilwinning, Ayrshire, follows that of four other officers since October – PC Natalie Faulds, 25, based at Baird Street police station in Glasgow, earlier this month; Detective Constable Gordon Gibson, 42, at Greenock Police Station last month, and Martin Mooney, 40, based in Stirling, was struck by a train in October.
The Record understands another officer, based in west Scotland, died suddenly in December. None of the deaths is believed to be suspicious.
