- For confidential support call Samaritans on 116123 or visit www.samaritans.org
A police officer left traumatised after discovering the body of a teenage girl she knew who had been brutally murdered, has said the horror left her feeling suicidal.
PC Hannah Briggs, of Hampshire police, was called to the murder scene of the youngster who had been savagely beaten before being set on fire and dumped.
At the time, PC Briggs was only a trainee police officer and was sent to guard the crime scene. She had known the young victim ‘very well’ before joining the police.
The teen had been killed 13 days earlier, with her body dumped in woodland in Hampshire after being defiled by her killer.
The horror of what PC Briggs saw when she arrived left her profoundly impacted – and almost drove her to killing herself.
Now, the young mother has bravely opened up about her trauma in a bid to raise awareness of the growing crisis of suicide within the police force.
She said: ‘I was sent to the scene of her murder… only a few people knew about my link to the girl. Her body had been burnt. That was traumatic.
‘But I put on a brave face and did my duty until one of the sergeants who was aware of my knowledge of her, moved me to a different scene placement.’
Speaking about the ordeal in a post on Hampshire Police Federation’s Facebook page, PC Briggs said when she returned home she could not stop crying.
The gruesome murder scene of the girl, who Hannah had worked with during her time supporting young people vulnerable to sexual and criminal exploitation, forced her to take the next day off.
However, despite her trauma, PC Briggs did not qualify for ‘trauma risk management’ and she returned to her patrols soon after.
But within months, she suffered a breakdown.
‘I went back to work, I carried on going to deaths and suicides, but I became sort of numb,’ she said. ‘In September, I was placed on the CID attachment, and by October I had a breakdown.’
Hannah was referred to occupational health and signed off work by her GP. But she felt she had to return to her job because she had a young child she needed to provide for and she was still on probation.
However, colleagues soon spotted warning signs her mental health was suffering, with her Sergeant saying she appeared to be like ‘a zombie’.
PC Briggs said: ‘I was. I was just going to job after job, I was always on edge, I was always looking for the exit. I wasn’t sleeping at night, I was having flashbacks, I was binge eating.’
Hannah later took a new role in the child abuse team. But as her sleeping and binge eating continued to spiral, she approached charity Police Care UK for urgent help.
But when this failed, the young officer started to contemplate taking her own life.
‘When I think about it now, the idea of leaving my family terrifies me because I’m now of sound mind,’ Hannah recalled.
‘But when I was there in that mindset it felt like it was the right thing to do, I felt like I was a constant misery for everyone.
‘A tiny part of my head was fighting so hard for me to survive and I’m so glad I didn’t go through with it.
‘I truly believe that unless you’ve had a mental health issue, you can’t understand the pain people are in.’
Four years after she started suffering from trauma, PC Briggs was signed off work again and was supported by Hampshire Police Federation and her child abuse investigations inspector.
She is now calling for more support for officers left traumatised by their work.
It comes amid an ‘escalating’ crisis of police officers, nationally, taking their own lives.
Between 2011 and 2022, there were 242 suicides of current police officers and PCSOs in England and Wales – with an average of 22 people taking their lives a year.
However, between 2021 to 2024 the rate had climbed to almost 27 a year – with an estimated 80 former and current police officers taking their own lives, Police Federation of England and Wales said
The federation, which represents thousands of rank-and-file officers, has now launched the Suicide Trauma Education Prevention (STEP) campaign in an effort to provide more support for officer.
It’s something championed by PC Briggs, who said it could ‘prevent more suicides’ by giving senior cops ‘better awareness around mental health first aid’.
She added: ‘We need more support and debriefs, to be asked: “How are you really feeling?” so we can cry or scream or decompress, rather than just being told to go onto the next job, deal with it, be resilient.
‘I love being a police officer, I’m so proud, I work so hard. But I want to speak up about this.
‘I want all the people out there to realise that we deal with so much, but we have feelings, and it affects us and it affects our families.’
Spencer Wragg, chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation, said: ‘Suicide is often still a taboo subject, but we can’t shy away from discussing it.
‘For police officers, it’s something we’re already exposed to. We take care of other people in these situations, but it’s important that we look after ourselves at the same time.
‘This is not an issue that’s restricted to my force, or this area. It’s across the whole of the UK, it’s across the whole of policing.’
Hampshire police’s Deputy Chief Constable Robert France said: ‘We fully support the work being done by Hampshire’s Police Federation Chair to highlight the complex issue of trauma and suicide within policing, because we know that our work often exposes us to some incredibly distressing incidents.
‘We do not underestimate the emotional and physical toll our work can have on us, so we are committed to ensuring we keep our people healthy, well and resilient, while giving them the tools they need so they know when and how to ask for help.
‘Our officers and staff have access to a number of different support services, including a 24-hour support line, as well as post-trauma support and psychological screening for those working in high risk roles.
‘But we know that there is always more than can be done to improve the support we offer and to ensure that everyone who works for the force feels confident about accessing those support services for themselves, as well as recognising the signs in others.
‘We’re already building upon the packages available, a key part of which is reducing the stigma around mental health so that people feel they can talk openly about it and fully embed it into our everyday business so that it is always at the forefront of our minds.
‘We also know the key role that line managers can play, something that PC Briggs has herself highlighted with her praise for the support she received from some of those supervising her; so ensuring that our guidance for managers is always evolving is another vital element.
‘I hope that our continued work in this area emphasises just how important we believe this is in ensuring no one should be left to feel they have to suffer alone.’
Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, insisted the ‘physical and mental wellbeing’ of officers was a key ‘priority’ for her.
Mrs Jones added: ‘I commend PC Briggs for coming forward and speaking about her experiences.
‘It shines a spotlight on the fact that, every day, officers have to face traumatic situations most people never will.
‘That’s why I’m a big supporter of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police Federation and the great work they do in supporting those most in need.
‘The recent launch of its STEP – Suicide Trauma Education Prevention – campaign, combined with excellent police rehabilitation facilities like Flint House, are a life-line.
‘While the number of officers sadly considering taking their own lives is concerning, we are working hard to ensure the support is there to prevent it from happening.
‘That’s why I decided to bring core services back in-house such as Occupational Health and why, as Police Commissioner, I am investing in this area.
‘I encourage anyone struggling with their mental health to come forward and ask for help. We do not want you to suffer in silence.’
- For confidential support call Samaritans on 116123 or visit www.samaritans.org
- Support for police officers can be found at the charity Thin Blue Line here: www.thinbluelineuk.org.uk
