October 8 2013 at 08:08am
By DAILY NEWS CORRESPONDENT
From January to September this year, 45 police officers were murdered – some combating criminals, some kidnapped from their homes, some just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Over those same nine months, another 45 officers fell victims to their own hands.
No longer able to cope with life, many shot themselves – and sometimes even took their families with them.
The number of police suicides has dropped over the past financial year, but they remain an enormous and emotional issue at police headquarters.
National police spokesman, Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale, said officers dealing with deep emotional trauma or suicidal feelings have numerous options. The SAPS has Employee Health and Wellness interventions aimed at supporting individuals, groups and families of police officers with psychologists and social workers in the force, he says.
Officers have a choice of visiting psychologists, chaplains or social workers, even during working hours, and can refer themselves for counselling at no cost. A commander may also refer an officer for counselling, and some of the units and divisions “whose operations constantly expose them to traumatic events” have mandatory sessions.
Even friends, family and other colleagues can recommend counselling for an individual if they feel the officer’s behaviour has changed because of a traumatic event or trauma in their personal lives.
Some officers may be too proud or wary of psychotherapy to use the systems, but Makgale said the number of officers voluntarily seeking help was improving.
“Members are continuously exposed to education, information and communication interventions conducted by Employee Health and Wellness professionals to sensitise them on the importance of taking care of the mental, physiological, spiritual and social aspects of their lives,” Makgale said.
SAPS regulations stipulated that debriefing of employees is not compulsory, but it is compulsory for the traumatic incident to be reported to a debriefer, who will help the employee make an informed decision.
Asked if there was a stigma against receiving counselling, and whether such sessions were recorded on an officer’s personal record, Makgale said counselling information was always treated confidentially and did not ever form part of the employee’s personal work file.
“The general perception, widespread within the wider population, that ‘cowboys don’t cry’, is also rife among officers, so seeking help and support is not always easy for them in such environments.
“Employee Health and Wellness is not aware of cases where support and counselling information was used to jeopardise placement or promotion of members.”
There may be a financial reason why some officers kill themselves. The police Orphan Trust Fund and Widows and Orphan Fund support the families of officers killed in the line of duty. These funds do not activate when officers kill themselves, but their families still have access to Employee Health and Wellness services.
The number of police suicides over the past three years has surpassed the number of officers found murdered since 2010, but it’s unclear how the SAPS plans on ensuring the numbers decline.
“One suicide is one too many. Suicide numbers up to the last quarter of this financial year are lower than those of the 2010/11 and 2011/12 financial years,” said Makgale.
But with more than 155 000 active officers on the force, the question remains if the current programmes are enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment