One in 10 police officers is said to be unable to perform full duties Nearly one in 10 police officers in England and Wales is on sick leave or restricted duties, according to figures obtained by The Times.
The newspaper says the totals are up by 20% on four years ago.
It says the figures were compiled from Freedom of Information requests to all 43 forces in England and Wales.
In Warwickshire, nearly one in seven officers is on sick leave or restricted duty but in Cambridgeshire the figure is just one in 24.
The Times says 9,500 police officers are on restricted duty because of ill-health.
That means they get their full salaries whilst completing paperwork or answering phone calls – sometimes for just a few hours a week.
The Home Office said decisions on sick leave and restricted duties were made by individual chief constables.
The chairman of the Police Federation, Paul McKeever, said many of the 6,086 officers on restricted duties due to health problems should be allowed to retire.
He told The Times: “The artificial cap on people being allowed to retire due to ill health, no more than six officers per thousand a year, was seemingly plucked out of thin air by the Home Office.
“It means that many officers who have no likelihood of returning to front-line duties are not able to retire.”
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