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Police Suicides on Duty

Dr David B.Lingiah

Psychologist

Glasgow

Mauritius was recently shocked by the suicides of two police officers while on duty. Something is definitely not right in the police force or in the lives of the individual police officers for them to resort to suicide as a way out. From 2004 to 2009 there have been 11 cases. According to the CP Dhun Iswar Ramparsad one was an exemplary officer while the other had a drink problem, had attempted suicide at one time, and had personal problems: “Le caporal Madary était un bon garçon. C’était un policier exemplaire. Le constable Joganah avait lui, apparemment, des problèmes avec la boisson. Il a déjà fait une tentative de suicide. Il avait des problèmes personnels.”

It seemed the CP was well aware of the behaviour of his officers and he had not done anything to provide any assistance in the case of the suicidal person. When he was asked by 5-Plus Dimanche how did he feel about these suicide cases he revealed he was quite calm about it as his sole mission was the maintenance of law and order in the country. However, he was wondering whether he should employ a psychologist on his staff. : “Dans quel état d’esprit êtes-vous après ce double suicide ? The CP  replied: “Je suis serein malgré la situation. Je n’ai pas le choix. J’ai une mission : faire respecter l’ordre et la paix.” He added: “Je me demande s’il ne faut pas engager un psychologue.” The CP has realized the absence of an important ingredient in his force.  It is better late than never. There is a large pool of such professionals (psychologists) on the island; it will not be difficult to recruit one or two for our police force. I only hope this is done the sooner the better before we see any more police committing suicide while on duty for whatever reasons.

At the same time Le Defi  noted the lack of specialists such a psychologists for the proper health maintenance of the police force: “La police mauricienne est le troisième plus gros employeur dans le secteur public, avec un effectif de 12 967 hommes et femmes, engloutissant Rs 4,2 milliards du budget du pays. En termes de gestion de ressources humaines, ce sont des chiffres colossaux. …Mais pas de spécialistes en ressources humaines, de psychologues, de sociologues, d’économistes, bref des spécialistes indispensables à la bonne gestion de presque 13 000 personnes.”

Other countries make full use of these professionals within the police force. Mauritius police force too could benefit from this type of professionals; a good investment in the long run for all concerned.

“Police departments have used the services of psychologists for more than two decades. In the 1980's, police psychology began to be recognized as a distinct field, with psychologists' activities expanding beyond screening job applicants to include a broader range of psychological support services. These included counselling to help officers cope with the unique stresses inherent in police work, training in human relations and general stress management, debriefing after traumatic incidents, and such operational interventions as forensic hypnosis and assistance in negotiations with hostage holders or barricaded persons. Psychological support services for officers who used lethal force were more prevalent than interventions for managing non lethal, excessive force”, (and) In nearly every field of work ranging from the primary to the service sector there should be a psychologist assisting staff if ever they are faced with stress or any similar problem that affects their performance at work, (1994).”

Dr Christopher Gelber, police psychologist, remarked: “Bureau psychologists provide routine roll-call training in their divisions on subjects having to do with employee wellness, such as stress management, suicide prevention, substance abuse, blood pressure, and communicable diseases, (2009).”

In general, by integrating the expertise and support of behavioural scientists or police psychologists into the structure and daily operation of the police department, management and supervisory personnel can ensure the maintenance of productive functioning as well as the quality of the day-by-day performances of their sworn and non-sworn personnel.

 The utilization of police psychologists has proven to be an extremely valuable asset and is cost effective (Davis, 1993). The overall wellness, mental health and efficiency of the entire organization can be altered in the long run (Reiser, 1972b). The time has come where law enforcement departments can no longer afford not to borrow from the expertise of the behavioural and forensic sciences (Davis, 1993).

References & further reading:

Davis, J. A. (1993). The use of behavioural scientists in law enforcement. The Law Enforcement Quarterly, San Diego, California.

Davis, J. A. (1994). The art and science of psychological-criminal profiling: Selected readings in forensic profile analysis, Course Workshop Training Manual, San Diego, California.

Davis, J. A. (1995). The police psychologist in today's law enforcement. The Police Chief Magazine. International Association of the Chiefs of Police (IACP). Alexandria, Virginia, Vol. LX11, 11, 36-38.

Gelber, C. (2009) The Police Chief, Nov 2009., USA.

Reiser, M. (1972b). Practical psychology for police officers. Springfield. Il.: C. C. Thomas Publishers.

Reiser, M. (1972a). The police department psychologist. Springfield, Il: C. C. Thomas Publishers.

Scrivner, E. M. (1994).The Role of the Police Psychologist, Series: NIJ Research in Brief Published: October 1994, 14 pages 29,857 bytes).

The press:

5-Plus Dimanche (7/12/2009)

Le Defi (7/12/2009)