Cops on rampage: When the threshold of sanity is breached

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KUALA LUMPUR: The latest murder cum suicide tragedy in Ledang, Johor, where a mentally deranged policeman shot

dead his wife and father-in-law using his service revolver, before turning the gun onto himself stands testament to a long ignored problem within the police force.

The society has to accept that the policemen too are human after all and like anyone else they too could breach the fine line between sanity and insanity, due to a host of reasons.

However, when this involves the men in blue the consequences are often dire as they have firearms at their disposal.

This shows that the mental stress of our security personnel is not one to be taken lightly.

The mental stress they undergo, be it due to personal or professional reasons, must be given attention to and addressed before they spiral out of control and lead to irrational actions.

The writing is on the wall

A research conducted from 2007 through 2009 by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre revealed that 53.7 percent of the 453 personnel from six police stations in Kuala Lumpur experienced work-related stress.

With over half of the men in blue feeling the pressure, police personnel outranked those from six other organisations in the study with the fire fighters coming in at 47.3 per cent, teachers (45.8 per cent), nurses (42.3 per cent) and doctors (40.7 per cent).

The study results also indicated that 61.1 per cent of police personnel with the rank of sergeant and above experienced a higher level of stress compared with those of lower ranks, with corporals coming in at 56 per cent and constables at 51.3 per cent.

Case studies

The tragedy in Johor is not the first of its kind.

In another tragic incident that happened on April 26, 2012, Constable Mohamad Sobri Md Sidik, 22, was on duty at Istana Anak Bukit in Kedah, when his colleague shot him eight times with an M-16 rifle. He died by the guard post of the palace compound.

It was believed he had a misunderstanding with his colleague and the threshold of sanity was breached.

In April 2011, a constable was found with a gunshot wound to the head in his room at the Salak South police quarters. The case was classified as sudden death. Earlier in Feb 2011, a sergeant was also found dead in similar circumstances in Jalan Mahang, Puncak Alam 2, Selangor.

In December 2009, a sub-inspector was found dead in his office with a gunshot wound to his chest at the Jelebu district police headquarters.

Despair  due to personal and work related problems cannot be ruled out in the deaths of these three personnel.

Recently, the High Court ordered a police constable to pay RM585,000 in damages to his ex-wife and her brother over the injuries they sustained when he shot them in a fit of rage three years ago in Pantai Dalam. Another case where the policeman lost his mind and turned violent.

These incidents, though small in number, indicate that the mental stress that the police personnel face is a serious matter, one that warrants thorough and regular checks as well as preventive and recovery measures.

Counseling unit

And talking about mental health in any profession for that matter is a challenge itself due to stigma that comes with it.

Social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye recently recommended the establishment a counseling unit at every police contingent headquarters to handle mental stress issues within the force.

Lee, who is also the Mental Health Promotion Advisory Council member said counselling units work as a preliminary form of prevention by providing an outlet for personnel to air their grievances as well as receive advice.

Counsellors are also able to identify possible mental problems suffered by personnel.

Lee said each police contingent had their own Religious and Counseling Division (BAKA) to tackle disciplinary issues among their staff, but the BAKA’s scope of services was too general and did not focus on issues related to mental health.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi agreed with the recommendation and also suggested for the posts of counselors or mental health specialists be created.

“I find the creation of the counseling unit necessary, what with the increasing workload which may contribute to the mental stress among the personnel,” he said to Bernama.

Stricter recruitment process

Meanwhile, Crime Analyst Datuk Akhbar Satar suggested that the police start from the basics by employing a more stringent recruitment process, including psychological or stress screening to identify vulnerabilities that could be hereditary.

“We need to conduct background checks and stress tests, or more specific tests designed by specialists to ensure recruits are free from mental disorders. Police work is highly challenging and calls for physical and mental resilience.

“If right from the beginning they are found unfit to handle mental stress, they are not fit to don the blue uniform,” he said.

He also recommended for the force to conduct more courses on handling stress that are tailored towards handling the typical work stress of a policeman.

Akhbar called on police personnel to adopt a positive attitude towards counseling.

“Those who feel they have problems should be more open towards counseling. Some may be reluctant or embarrassed to talk about their problems, but the pent-up stress may eventually burst and cause an untoward incident,” he said.

The causes of stress

He attributed the stress suffered by policemen to three main causes: the profession, strict rules or policies and personal problems.

“It could be due to genetics, but most of it is due to the pressure from surroundings – work, family and etc. There is the heavy workload due to a shortage of manpower, the mounting pressure to solve a lot of cases in a short time, postponement of court cases, and then there is the negative societal perception towards policemen.

“The policemen could also be shouldering huge debts, bad habits, financial pressure from family members, a small paycheck, and the trauma of witnessing a colleague gunned down can all contribute to stress,” he added.

Police personnel who prefer to  pent up the emotions inside may suffer long-term mental disorders and other dangerous consequences.

Better monitor

The deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin recently said

that the police force would be checking and reassessing the mental health of its personnel more frequently so that those suffering from mental stress could be helped quickly.

He said the move was necessary to prevent the recurrence of tragedies involving policemen.

“We need to be more empathic in helping out personnel with problems. There must be some effort towards resolving their problems,” he said. — Bernama