Many of the men in blue or grey who are supposed to protect us and keep us safe are themselves in danger from themselves, other police officers and residents.
Almost one police officer kills himself every day, plus many are involved in other violence involving loved ones or crimes against strangers.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority has proposed myriad measures to deal with increasing suicide and violence among the police.
Some measures are already in place.
In a report, the authority said tackling mental health issues among the officers requires a multi-faceted approach that starts at recruitment and continues in day-to-day supervision of police officers.
It also said suicide is closely related to criminal activities among the officers.
Ipoa also wants a review of discipline regimes. They want the trend of transferring deviant officers reversed — the equivalent of kicking the can down the road —and instead adopt firm punitive measures.
"Have a firm and apt strategy of dealing with officers involved in crime, indiscipline and misconduct to send clear message that the Service is committed to dealing with indiscipline and not just transferring such cases," the report read.
Cases of suicide within the National Police Service have been on the rise, except in 2020, a Covid-19 year, when they dropped to 10 from 19 the year before.
However, many more cases are forecast and one estimate says one police officer kills himself almost every day in Kenya.
Regarding cases where one policeman kills another, the numbers have been increasing for the last three years with 16 cases being recorded in 2020. This was twice the number of cases reported in 2018.
More suicides than police-on-police killings take place.
Data also show 27 officers have been arrested in four months for engaging in criminal activities.
To arrest the trends, Ipoa wants recruitment of new officers to include psychological and aptitude tests to flag any signs of mental illnesses before they are enlisted.
“[The NPS should] administer psychological and aptitude tests [ when recruiting]. This should be done to determine the state of officer’s mental health during the recruitment process as some officers may have had psychological illnesses before joining the police service,” the report read.
The tests, it says, should be done on a periodic basis at the police station levels.
Besides periodic assessments, the authority proposes that the officers’ health insurance package should include coverage for mental health issues. This should include their loved ones so they get counselling and emotional therapy.
“Extend the Police Medical Insurance to cover mental-related illnesses and conditions including rehabilitation of serving officers: The cover should cover medical needs of police officers’ dependants to ease medical burdens to the officers,” it read.
Further, police officers should receive training on trauma resilience.
Such training, it said, would help them stay alert for major mental illness indicators and highlight avenues of help.
“This training will enable them to be prepared psychologically when faced with traumatic or anxious situations while in line of duty," the Ipoa report read.
Further, the authority wants the NPS to be circumspect when issuing firearms to officers who are suspected or showing signs of mental health issues.
Controlling the issuance of firearms would prevent the officer from harming himself or others with guns.
“Ensure controlled issue of firearms to officers suspected of mental illness or psychological disorders: Police commanders should apply informed judgement when issuing firearms to officers who are suspected to be suffering from a mental disorder.
"Such officers should be assigned duties that do not necessarily require use of firearms as they continue with counselling and other therapies.”
The service should also enhance the number of the officers to enable reviewing of the police working shifts to enable them adequate rest and time with their families.
(Edited by V. Graham)
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