Almost all professions these days involve huge workload and 24/7 mental engagement, but some professions are more challenging, like policing. According to a paper ‘Mental Health Problems in the Indian Police – How we could help them’ published in Indian Journal of Mental Health, written by Dr. Manoj Kumar Pandey, who is a teacher of Psychology, policing has been described as one of the most challenging, stressful, health threatening and psychologically dangerous jobs in the world. Assam Police officials are also under tremendous stress and experts feel that their regular mental health check-up is the need of the hour.
“Their work is associated with danger, bureaucracy, politics and tense community relations. Police are defined as those non-military individuals or organizations who are given the general right by government to use coercive force to enforce the law and whose primary purpose is to respond to problems of individual and group conflict that involve illegal behavior. The police role, and what is considered to be appropriate activity and behavior, is determined by legal requirements, the police organization, and the community,” the paper writes.
The study also discusses that police work seems not a job but a calling by 24x7. A police officer faces physical dangers on a daily basis and stress for which he or she is not trained to deal with. Police officer has to face scrutiny from the community and his/her own peers on a daily basis. Nowadays, Hollywood & Bollywood action packed movies also glamorise police work, portraying the police officer as a hero- a tough character with no fear and who can experience trauma and violence without suffering any ill effects.
Recently, senior IPS officer Shiladitya Chetia killed himself with his service weapon minutes after his wife was declared dead in a city hospital where she was undergoing treatment. Chetia (44), a DIG-rank IPS officer from the 2009 batch, had been serving as Secretary, Home and Political department of the Assam government. According to sources, he had been on leave for the past four months to tend to his ailing wife.
A retired IPS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre talking to GPlus said, “I have worked closely with Shiladitya and his action is very shocking as no one can even think that he could take such a step,” adding that it is not a mental health issue but a “situational decision”.
Many colleagues close to him said that he was very professional and his step was shocking.
Another IPS officer, who is currently working as an SP, told GPlus on condition of anonymity, “Mental health should be given utmost importance and there should be regular peer counselling sessions in Assam Police across sections,” adding that every police official should understand the connect between their body and the soul. He said the officials hardly get time for mental health counselling and it is not even mandatory, so peer counselling sessions will help the police officials to share their mental issues which otherwise is kept hidden.
Another retired IPS officer of the level of DGP said, “May be mental health check-ups are not mandatory but many things used to be done. 15000 police officials were given life skill training for three days and the behaviour was later followed in Assam police,” adding that the training basically focused on how to live a healthy life. He said that mental health should be given importance and it is not that nothing has been done.
Similarly, another serving, who is one of the policy-makers in Assam Police, said that many things are done too take care of the mental health of the police officials. He said in all the districts when anyone is identified with mental issues, counselling is provided accordingly. He also said that much training is continuously ongoing to tackle mental health issues.
Odisha Police recently decided to launch an annual medical test (physical and mental) for its officials, but the awakening has come after the brutal murder of a minister by a serving assistant sub-inspector.
The Odisha Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kisore Das was shot dead by an assistant sub-inspector of police in western Odisha town of Brajarajnagar last year. Thereafter, various policing strategies were studied and developed to understand the mental health of police officials.
Talking about Assam Police, a city-based psychiatrist Prabir Thakuria said, “Physical checkups cannot identify mental health issues,” adding that many times diseases like anxiety, depression, addiction and many more are not detected in the early stage but the situation deteriorates later. He said that like annual physical check-ups, even mental health check-ups should be made mandatory which will help the police officials. He also said that the mental health check-ups also should be done annually.
Well, the police may say that they are taking care of mental health of officials, but what is the harm in making it mandatory?