Nature of work and pressure pushing officers to suicide

Police officers take cover during a past riot. Work pressure and nature of their job has pushed many to committing suicide. FILE PHOTO |

What you need to know:

  • A majority of police officers are like a “grenade without a safety pin”.
  • Mr Kimaiyo said that the upsurge in suicide cases in the police force was worrying.

The National Police Service is sitting on a damning report that says that a large number of police officers are either suicidal or homicidal as a result of pressure of work, the Sunday Nation has established.

We established that due to the rising cases of suicide and homicide in the Police Service, NPS sanctioned a study two years ago which was done in collaboration with senior psychologists from Kenyatta University, but recommendations were shelved after it implicated top police officers in causing stress to their juniors.

It also blamed the living conditions of officers.

According to a top police officer, who was among members of the committee that sanctioned the compilation of the report, a majority of police officers are like a “grenade without a safety pin” that can explode any time.

Inspector-General David Kimaiyo acknowledged in a conversation with the Sunday Nation this week that they had engaged Kenyatta University to do the study but was evasive about the existence of the report.

WORRYING

However, Mr Kimaiyo said that the upsurge in suicide cases in the police force was worrying.

He said the most affected were newly- married officers who sometimes have to share houses with officers who are not married for lack of resources.

“We have witnessed many instances where infidelity suspicions among young officers or those who are just married end up in suicide,” said Mr Kimaiyo.

We established that the inquiry committee was constituted by Mr Kimaiyo’s predecessor, former Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere in 2011, in response to rising cases of homicide, which have robbed the force of hundreds of officers.

The committee comprised Dr Christine Wasanga, Dr Margaret Mwenja and Dr Merecia Sirera, all from Kenyatta University’s psychology department, and 20 senior police officers.

Cases of police officers first shooting their bosses before turning the gun on themselves have been on the rise with the latest case being that of Constable Job Ambani Wale, who committed suicide after shooting his supervisor, Senior Sergeant Hussein Barow, at the Haujubey AP Camp in Garissa County last Sunday.

One of the officers told us that the fact that contents of the report were so damning to the senior police hierarchy had seen it shelved.

“Some of the issues they raised included being denied days off or leave days, and duty allocation where some of those who had taken their lives complained about the kind of assignments given to them,” the source said.

The report was prepared following visits to police stations countrywide by the committee members, who interviewed officers on causes of the problem.

HAS SPREAD

A top police officer in the committee said that while the cases initially affected regular police, the problem of suicide has spread to administration police.

“Figures are now rising within the AP ranks. This can be linked to work stress. There are APs who, between 2003-2005, were absorbed in the National Youth Service and were later taken into AP ranks. Some of these officers are responsible for the rise in homicide and suicide figures,” said the top officer.

Those who were absorbed into NYS were formerly street families.

The report is also said to have proposed changes to the leadership style of senior officers, as well as the procedures used in making promotions and appointments.

According to Mr Kimaiyo, suicide is not just unique to his officers, it affects the general public and it should not be made a police problem only.

“Suicide is not just being reported in the police service alone; it is an issue that transcends the service. Isolated as they are, cases of officers who have taken their own lives are largely attributable to personal/private reasons and not work related,” said Mr Kimaiyo.

Mr Kimaiyo did not comment on the content of the report but said the service appreciates the need for counselling and, as such, clinics are organised frequently to help officers cope with work-related stress.

“We have routine daily briefing sessions as well as team barazas where officers are counselled on how to cope with the challenges they encounter in the line of duty. They are always encouraged to seek such services and open up from time to time,” said Mr Kimaiyo

However, he acknowledged the existence of a memorandum of understanding between police and Kenyatta University on strengthening counselling and other support services in the force.

“The partnership with Kenyatta University’s department of psychology is a programme that has seen many police officers attain degrees in counselling.

“Those who have been trained are instrumental in counselling other officers. The partnership has even led to the creation of a special category of security courses that we call ‘police sciences’,” he said.

According to counselling psychologist John Gacheru, the nature of work makes police officers vulnerable to suicidal tendencies.

“There is what we call psycho-trauma, which is a result of exposure to circumstances that are life threatening, and officers have no place or programme to offload strong feelings that build as a result of this situation,” he said.

He said the net effect is a bomb always waiting to explode.

“Eventually, it takes away their ability to reason. Anybody can become a victim of this,” he said.