Suicide – The silent police killer

Research has shown that police officers are 11 times more likely to take their own lives than members of the general population. Because of the frightening number of police committing suicide, police management is upping its efforts to offer help.

Violence affects psyche … Police officers are confronted by violence daily and this can have a detrimental effect on their mental health.

Police officers in the province are confronted by gruesome crime scenes daily and are constantly in the line of fire. Some take their own lives and in extreme cases the lives of their loved ones because of their inability to deal with the emotional and psychological effects of their strenuous jobs.

To assist those police officers who need emotional assistance, the South African Police Service has the Employee Health and Wellness (EHW) programme which provides a counselling service.
This service helps officers who find themselves in emotional distress after handling cases of murder and brutal attacks.

A spokesperson for the police in Bloemfontein, Colonel Annelie Wrench, said there are dedicated members deployed at all cluster police stations in the province who are there to help police members deal with their emotional problems.

She added that the police services has psychologists, reverends, and social workers to help police officers deal with their emotional, personal, and work-related problems.

“Commanders are also encouraged to be on the look-out for telltale signs in their subordinates for emotional and psychological distress and immediately refer them to the EHW.”

A chaplain at Mangaung police station, Kelebogile Modise, said one of the reasons male police officers refuse to seek counselling is because they are seen as brave and strong. This makes it difficult for them to seek help to deal with the trauma they face daily.

Modise added that in most cases the wives of police officers come forward asking for psychological assistance for their husbands.

“We offer this type of service to the men and their families if necessary because we realised that sometimes the problem involves a wide range of people. We will even provide counselling for the children.”

The service is free and confidential.

“I believe the service has helped most of the police officers.”

According to Modise, officers sometimes seek help too late.

“This is when the problem has become too great for them to handle. They will come for one session and never return. You then hear that the officer has killed the family and then himself.”

The three psychologists who work at the station see some ten police officers a month. They come from the six surrounding police stations.

Joan Molatodi* is one of the officers who has used the EHW service.

She had personal problems she needed to deal with and consulted a psychologist to help her cope.

Molatodi said her stress levels increased to the level where she could not carry on, and this was when she sought help. She is coping well now and her work has improved since attending the counselling sessions.

The deputy minister of police, Maggie Sotyu, recently said suicides committed by police officers have increased greatly over the years.

Speaking ahead of Police Day celebrations in Bloemfontein, Sotyu said police officers have a tendency to kill their entire family before committing suicide.

This has many officers’ families living in fear.

Sotyu believes that police officers’ exposure to death and rape can become traumatic for those who deal with it on a regular basis.

“Police officers are often the first on the scene and get to see some of the most gruesome results of murders.”

The MEC for Police, Roads, and Transport, Butana Komphela, added that the department has a strategy it will be implementing in the Free State to solve the suicide problem.

“We have agreed with General Sithole that we must enhance the wellness programmes of the police, but that wellness programme must not deal with the police in general. It must deal with the police in an individual capacity.”

A study done by the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) found that police officials were 11 times more likely to take their own lives than members of the general population in 1995. There has, however, been a decrease in the rate of police suicides since 1994.

“Police officers are often the first on the scene and get to see some of the most gruesome results of murders.”- Maggie Sotyu.

Police suicide is a problem faced by many law enforcement agencies. The suicide rate of New York City police officers is estimated at 29 per 100 000 a year – substantially lower than in South Africa
“The problem is often ignored, misunderstood, misrepresented, and under researched.

Police suicide is not a subject easily discussed in most police departments or by the families of police officers who have taken their own lives. Many incidents are not reported to avoid the stigma associated with suicide,” stated the ISS.

The research further explained that factors linked to post-traumatic stress disorder such as depression, hopelessness, substance abuse, moodiness, and aggression are often cited as causes of police suicide.
“All these problems can be linked to stress emanating from police work.”

Other factors associated with police suicide are their easy access to firearms, crime and corruption among police officials, and the police culture which often denies the problem and views it as disgraceful to both the victim and the profession. *Not real name