‘Devastating’: Probe into Vic Pol suicides uncovers patterns of stress, exhaustion and workplace bullying

A coronial probe into suicides within Victoria Police has uncovered tragic patterns of stress, exhaustion and workplace bullying — with work-related stressors evident in 70 per cent of recent deaths.

A coronial probe into suicides within Victoria Police has uncovered tragic patterns of mental ill-health, stress, exhaustion and workplace bullying — with two police members taking their own lives each year on average.

Deputy State Coroner Paresa Antoniadis Spanos ordered coronial investigators to canvass the deaths of all 35 Victoria Police employees who died by suicide in the past 15 years as part of an investigation into the 2023 suicide of a highly-experienced senior sergeant at Moorabbin Police Station.

The coronial inquiry heard evidence the senior sergeant’s family believed he suffered from work-related post-traumatic stress disorder.

A senior sergeant at Moorabbin Police Station who died by suicide is believed to have suffered from work-related PTSD. Picture: NCA NewsWire

In examining the wider issue of suicide within the force, Judge Spanos found work-related stressors were present in 25 of the 35 deaths, with “organisational factors” identified in 16 cases.

“The main recurring factor was bullying, which was explicitly mentioned in seven of the 16 cases. The two other organisational factors that most recurred in the cases were issues with excessive workload, and issues related to shift work and rostering,” Judge Spanos found.

Evidence of mental illness was found in 22 of the 35 police members, with 17 diagnosed with depression and eight with PTSD.

A probe into suicides within Victoria Police uncovered patterns of mental ill-health, stress, exhaustion and workplace bullying.

The finding comes amid intense turmoil within Victoria Police ranks and the sudden axing of Chief Commissioner Shane Patton and Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson.

Mr Patton was ousted after an overwhelming 87 per cent no-confidence vote in his leadership against the backdrop of the bitter, newly resolved pay dispute which divided the force.

Sources have told the Herald Sun the force’s leadership crisis is not over and that ousting of top hierarchy figures will not resolve key issues impacting the mental wellbeing of rank and file police such as frontline vacancies.

Sources say the leadership shuffle will not resolve key issues impacting mental health in the force. Picture: Diego Fedele

The senior sergeant whose suicide was investigated by Judge Spanos was working as a family violence training officer at Moorabbin Police Station.

In 2020, he made a WorkCover claim for a work-related leg and back injury which his wife gave evidence was “poorly handled” by his superiors, whom accidentally copied the officer into an email questioning the validity of his injuries.

The senior sergeant’s mental health deteriorated the following year and he was referred to a psychologist as part the Victoria Police Employee Assistance Program.

In an apparent oversight, he was sent to a counsellor instead of a psychologist, who was unable to clinically diagnose him for depression.

The senior sergeant from Moorabbin was off-duty when he accessed police equipment the day of his suicide.

He was off-duty when he attended his workplace and accessed police equipment the day of his suicide.

Judge Spanos made no adverse findings against Victoria Police, finding the senior sergeant never presented as suicidal and that his mental health management “appeared reasonable”.

“I would suggest that Victoria Police carefully considers how they support their members’ mental health and welfare in the inherently challenging roles they perform,” said Judge Spanos, noting no “strong conclusions” could be made about an increased suicide risk for police members compared to the wider population.

Victoria Police says it is ‘committed to providing a safe, inclusive, respectful workplace’. Picture: Nadir Kinani

A Victoria Police spokesperson said it takes “the health and wellbeing of its employees extremely seriously”.

“The loss of any member of the police family to suicide is truly devastating,” the spokesperson said.

“Bullying, discrimination, harassment and victimisation will not be tolerated and we are committed to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace.”

Originally published as ‘Devastating’: Probe into Vic Pol suicides uncovers patterns of stress, exhaustion and workplace bullying