Suicides in Police Service: All regions to receive trained medical psychologists - IGP to personnel

Ghana's Police Chief, James Oppong-Boanuh, has reassured his men and women that he will commit more attention to their concerns, all in an attempt to reduce the spate of alleged suicide cases being reported among them.

This, he intends to do through his commanders and other supervisors within the Service, as a way of arresting and eventually curtailing the growing trend of unattended to concerns they lodge within their respective jurisdictions.

Also, he announced that all regions will soon receive trained medical psychologists.

According to a report on citinewsroom.com, this new move is to help prioritize the wellbeing of personnel under the various commands as they discharge their duties.

In the last few weeks, there have been three cases of alleged suicides committed by some police officers, prompting lots of concerns about the reports by both the general public and personnel of the Service.

Addressing the issue publicly for the first time since the recent cases started making the news, the Inspector General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh said his outfit has committed enough resources to improve the welfare of personnel.

He made this known during a Policing and Psychological Well-Being Workshop for Senior Police Officers in Accra and Tema, reports citinewsroom.com.

“When officers don’t get an avenue for their grievances, some resort to suicide. We must note that there are different levels officers can take stress. We have very young officers among us, so we must take our time and listen to them. Their concerns must be your priority. That’s why there are welfare meetings. So listen to them and if you can’t solve it, push it to us, so we see what we can do," he said.

Expressing regret at the rate at which these cases of unfortunate developments were being reported, the IGP assured the Service of their plans to adopt measures to avert similar occurrences in the future.

“Recent happenings of junior and senior police officers committing suicide are very regrettable. This is a concern of the administration. We need to find a solution to it. Police Commanders must take this cautiously as superiors, so they do not fall victims to the challenges we want to overcome,” he explained.

He also announced plans to equip all regions with trained medical psychologists to support efforts being made so far to help personnel.

The Ghana Police Service has in the last few weeks lost a 50-year-old police officer with the Ashiaman Court Unit, DSP Asiam Divine Yao; a police constable with the National Protection Unit, Eugene Yelnona; and the Police Commander for Half Assini in the Western Region, Superintendent Cyprian Zenge, through reported cases of suicide.