A POLICE federation is joining forces with its counterparts from around the country in order to commission to research into the effects that shifts have on its members.

North Yorkshire Police Federation has been joined in the pilot study by several other police federations. It will be carried out by Third Pillar of Health, a company that specialises in research into tiredness and fatigue.

A federation spokesman said: “[We] acknowledge that working shifts is a necessary part of being a police officer.

“We are aware that working shifts has a number of consequences in terms of health, performance as well as professional and personal relationships.

“This will allow us to understand which job roles and shift schedules give rise to the greatest problems and compare the results in North Yorkshire with those in other forces. The aim is to improve the management of fatigue in the future.”

Participating federation members will undertake an online assessment and be able to download their own personal report which will highlight areas where they can make changes to improve their sleep and energy levels during the day.

A spokesman for Third Pillar of Health said: “Anecdotally there appears to be a significant issue with tiredness and fatigue in UK police officers. Together with increased workloads as a result of widespread budget cuts there appears to be rising levels of stress as well as absence.”